# to much phosphate = blue green algae??



## esarkipato (Jul 19, 2005)

Wow, sounds pretty bad! 

Personally, I'd take care of the nitrogen thing before addressing phosphates. You don't want to limit phosphates, since that's limiting plant growth!

I'd start dosing N, and do regular cleanings and maybe a 4 day blackout! Have you tried the blackout method yet?


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## TheOtherGeoff (Feb 11, 2003)

no i havent tried a blackout yet. not sure if it will really work on the blue green or not. 

i sure dont get it though. i start taking good care of the tank and all i get is problems. haha.


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## hir0 (Nov 3, 2005)

increase nitrates! the stuff will start to fall off withing several days.


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## putty (Nov 19, 2003)

i had a bad case in my tank. increasing nitrates did not help, but two days of Maracin at 1/2 dose destroyed all of it. i now keep my nitrates up, and it has not come back for almost a month. nitrates are the key to keeping the stuff away.

i am not sure about the phosphate relatioship, but it has been suggested that high PO4 levels do not contribute to algae in healthy tanks.


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## jake (Feb 20, 2004)

IME, neither low nor high phosphates lead to bga. As others have stated, it seems to be more linked to low nitrates, but it can also be linked to poor water flow / current. I've gotten rid of bga more times than one with just a powerhead in the right place.


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## Intros (Jan 28, 2006)

I have had BGA (not a very severe outbreak) in a small 8G only tiger shrimp and planted tank. I was surprised because the phosphate level was almost 0 (Sera kit) and 10 mg Nitrates/liter. I've gotten rid of them after three days of teatment with low doses H2O2. After that I've introduced some fish to balanced the phosphate deficit, DIY Co2 to boost the plants growing. Since then it looks no return of BGA.


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