Re: Plants - sound the death march.

[Wright Huntley <huntley@ix.netcom.com>]

Robert Marshall wrote:

> 
> Never research their needs and I know, for that, I deserve a smack in
> the side of my head.  Learned my lesson for today.  Load of nuturients -
> having a bad algae attack.  

Green water can drive one crazy. We need it for feeding small fry and
can't get it to grow. You don't want it, so there it is.

A few ideas:

Cut duration of light to well below 12 hours. Add fast growing plants
like hygrophila. Be *double-damned-sure* that nothing is allowing
phosphates into the water column, particularly that unspecified kind of
kitty litter.

Phosphates are the limiting nutrient for the green water flagellates.
Higher plants can outcompete them for all nutrients if given adequate
"dark time."

Now the real cure. Add lots of daphnia to the water in the tank. They
will clean it up in a week or so. Nothing I can do will allow me to keep
a thriving daphnia culture in a tank of green water. As filter feeders,
they just multiply and clean it right up.

Now, if someone can tell me how to not *kill* my green-water cultures,
I'll be a happy man. τΏτ

Wright

- -- 
Wright Huntley, Fremont CA, USA, 510 494-8679 huntley@ix.netcom.com
"Subvert the dominant paradigm!"