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Re: [GSAS-Member] Algae control; Vitamin D



Hi John:

I would try to capitalize on the green water situation by adding a daphnia 
culture to the tank. Free live food!!!!!!!!!

Susan

-------------- Original message -------------- 

> This discussion has been helpful. 
> 
> Since my Nitrate measures "0," I'll try to raise that. If necessary, 
> I'll then add potassium salts. 
> Magnesium is next, in the form of epsom salts. 
> I recently added calcium carbonate (crushed seashells) to increase the 
> pH, so calcium should 
> be plentiful. 
> My substrate is fluorite. 
> I'm not quite ready to invest time and money in CO2 equipment. If 
> anyone has some used equipment 
> for sale, though, I'd consider it. 
> 
> My canister filter is 2/3 carbon and 1/3 zeollite. I emptied that out 
> this morning. I think the carbon filtration 
> adsorbed a lot of minerals and trace minerals, and the zeolite and 
> carbon absorbed the available nitrogen. 
> 
> My three other tanks have had none of the green water problem. I'm 
> scratching my head trying to remember 
> what I did differently. The zeolite is the only difference that I can 
> think of - I used it because I ran out of carbon, 
> so I topped off the holder with zeolite. 
> 
> If I was looking at deficiencies in people, I'd know better how to 
> correct the imbalances. Considering the genetic 
> similarities between people and fish (and even plants, if I remember 
> correctly), it should be fairly easy to learn 
> what specific nutritional deficiencies look like in fish and plants. 
> Hole-in-the-head disease in Oscars, for instance, 
> is caused by Vitamin D deficiency according to two books (including the 
> Handbook of Fish Diseases) that I read. 
> Does anyone know if fish create Vitamin D in their "skin" when exposed 
> to the sun, as we do? If so, do any of the 
> available fluorescent lights provide the wavelengths necessary to 
> produce it? 
> 
> John 
> 
> 
> On Mar 17, 2005, at 11:25 AM, Paul M. Wallace wrote: 
> 
> > John: 
> > 
> > I agree with everything that has been posted. You need to feed your 
> > plants! 
> > Another version of PMDD is the Estimative Index of Dosing by Tom Barr 
> > http://www.barrreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1 which might be of 
> > interest. In some circles a distinction is made if CO2 injected. For 
> > tanks 
> > without CO2 a "rich" substrate (soil under gravel) can be used so that 
> > the 
> > nutrients are in the substrate and not the water column. If CO2 is 
> > used the 
> > rich substrate can be relaxed to something like Fluorite or Eco 
> > Complete and 
> > dosing nutrients into the water column like PMDD or EI. 
> > 
> > -Paul 
> > 
> > Thank you Mark. That paper was most useful. I am pasting in below some 
> > of the points from the paper that I will try, including removing the 
> > carbon filtration and discontinuing use of Aquasafe. Maybe Paul's 
> > response which I am awaiting will further elucidate important 
> > considerations. 
> > John 
> > 
> > (c) Enriched substrates are probably the best means of supplying 
> > phosphates to plants provided steps are taken to minimize the leakage 
> > of phosphate into the water column. Substrate fertilizers such as Pond 
> > Tabs should be buried deep in the substrate where their nutrients are 
> > preferentially available to plant roots. Substrate circulation should 
> > be minimized to prevent phosphate from leaching too rapidly into the 
> > water column. Avoid gravel cleaning and other substrate disturbances if 
> > at all possible. Eliminating substrate circulation completely would not 
> > be desirable (even if it were possible) because supplementary 
> > fertilizers are usually added to the water and must be transported to 
> > the roots somehow. 
> > 
> > Tap water is not recommended as a source of trace elements because it 
> > may be deficient in one or more elements, and rapid plant growth is 
> > likely to deplete the elements far more quickly than they can be 
> > replaced. 
> > 
> > Certain water treatment products (Aquasafe, NovAqua) should be 
> > avoided 
> > as they bind metals (including iron), making them unavailable to 
> > plants. They may also contain phosphate buffers. Simple dechlorinators 
> > or products such as Amquel are a better choice for treating tap water 
> > during water changes. 
> > 
> > Carbon filtration may remove necessary trace elements from the water. 
> > With regular water changes and good plant growth, carbon filtration is 
> > not necessary and should be omitted. 
> > 
> > (i) As a general principle, avoid adding fertilizers, water 
> > treatments, or any other products to one's aquarium unless the products 
> > completely disclose the concentration of each ingredient present. 
> > Otherwise, there is no way to knowing what effect (if any!) these 
> > products will have on the aquarium's inhabitants. 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > On Mar 17, 2005, at 7:52 AM, Mark Pearlscott wrote: 
> > 
> >> John, 
> >> 
> >> Since this seems to be a hot topic, and my guess is that lots of 
> >> people don't know lots about it just yet, here is the original paper 
> >> on PMDD (http://www.cam.org/~tomlins/algae.html). This should give 
> >> you all the information you need to know to get your tank in balance 
> >> and all plants growing like weeds. If you need a supplier of 
> >> nutrients, try Eco-Elements (I'm pretty sure that is the name), a 
> >> hydroponic supply store up here in Shoreline (off 175th and I-5). 
> >> 
> >> My experience with green water is that the tank is "usually" deficient 
> >> in Nitrogen. So, going through the method of checking what is 
> >> missing, you might want to confirm this for your tank before adding 
> >> Nitrogen (which seems counter-intuitive). 
> >> 
> >> With that being said, you might just want something fast and easy, and 
> >> there is such a ting. Keep the micron filter or paper filter in you 
> >> canister, and add a "particulate clumper" to the tank (available at 
> >> most pet stores). With the clumper added, all the little pieces of 
> >> algae stick together, and then are able to be filtered out by the 
> >> filter. Just make sure to clean your filter after the algae has come 
> >> out of the water column. I had a friend use this, and it was gone in 
> >> one afternoon. 
> >> 
> >> Good luck, 
> >> 
> >> Mark Pearlscott 
> >> 
> >> 
> >> 
> >> John Ruhland wrote: 
> >> 
> >>> In the past few weeks, I've had an algae problem as well. Rather than 
> >>> coating any surfaces, it simply turns my water green. While it is a 
> >>> pretty color, I am unable to see anything more than about 4-5 inches 
> >>> from the glass. I've added two filters to the original filter. The 
> >>> pleated paper filter that came with the Magnum canister filter, and 
> >>> that I was told would turn water crystal clear, has not filtered out 
> >>> anything, so it must be only a few microns in size. Besides the 
> >>> magnum filter, I have a Magnum HOT, and a Marineland Emperor with 
> >>> Bio-wheel. At first I changed the water every day or two and added a 
> >>> bit of salt, thinking that would slow the growth of algae, but since 
> >>> that did not show much improvement, I decided to wait it out. Any 
> >>> recommendations would be helpful. Anita recommended getting tiny 
> >>> organisms that would eat the algae. 
> >>> 
> >>> Fortunately, the fish seem to be doing alright. 
> >>> Thank you, 
> >>> John 
> >>> 
> >>> 
> >>> 
> >>> It is the tank where I put most of the plants I got at the plant sale 
> >>> as well. 
> >>> On Mar 16, 2005, at 2:56 PM, auntie.fran@netzero.net wrote: 
> >>> 
> >>>> 
> >>>> Thanks, Barbie...I'll see if I can find one. There's a synodontis 
> >>>> in the tank -- got him as a bottom feeder -- but I'm not certain 
> >>>> which type, but he sure doesn't eat algae! 
> >>>> 
> >>>> 
> >>>> Growing old is inevitable; growing up is optional. 
> >>>> 
> >>>> -- "Barbie" wrote: 
> >>>> Synodontis petricola eat hair algae also, and would be much more 
> >>>> suited to life with african cichlids, IMO. 
> >>>> 
> >>>> Barbie 
> >>>> 
> >>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
> >>>> From: auntie.fran@netzero.com 
> >>>> To: gsas-member@thekrib.com 
> >>>> Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2005 11:11 AM 
> >>>> Subject: Re: [GSAS-Member] Algae control 
> >>>> 
> >>>> 
> >>>> 
> >>>> Will apple snails eat beard algae? And, will they survive in a 
> >>>> tank with blue daffodils and yellow labs? 
> >>>> 
> >>>> 
> >>>> Growing old is inevitable; growing up is optional. 
> >>>> 
> >>>> -- "A JACOBSON" wrote: 
> >>>> Shortly after the plant auction I was setting up a 55 gallon tank 
> >>>> and cannibalizing plants from my other tanks to fill it. Sure 
> >>>> enough, the tank I took the most plants out of suddenly was being 
> >>>> overwhelmed by several types of algae. I immediately crammed in a 
> >>>> bunch more plants and tossed in a baby SAE. The increased plant 
> >>>> load stopped the algae spread in its tracks, and now the baby SAE, 
> >>>> the 5 otos, the large SAE, and the snails I no longer bother, are 
> >>>> slowly cleaning the algae from the plants -- I'm also snipping off 
> >>>> leaves that are completely algae-covered, so they can concentrate 
> >>>> on only partially covered leaves. And it seems to be working. 
> >>>> 
> >>>> I bought a 30 gallon long tank a couple of months ago from someone 
> >>>> who had let it go downhill. It had two beautiful pieces of bogwood 
> >>>> covered with a dwarf java fern, but every leaf was black from 
> >>>> algae. Same with the anubias and the sag, and the glass of the 
> >>>> aquarium itself. Did the same thing. Cut off the worst leaves 
> >>>> (and every time I go in there I trim a little more, giving the new 
> >>>> leaves a chance to grow), tossed in 2 SAE, and added a field of 
> >>>> crypts that I bought for that purpose at the plant auction. It's 
> >>>> not quite there yet (crypts are still looking pretty forlorn), but 
> >>>> it is SOOO much better. A few apple snails are surviving, despite 
> >>>> the loaches (maybe there are too big for the loaches?) and they are 
> >>>> going a yoeman's job of clearing off the remaining black on the 
> >>>> leaves. 
> >>>> 
> >>>> Anita 
> >>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
> >>>> From: welenofsky@comcast.net 
> >>>> To: GSAS Member 
> >>>> Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2005 6:56 AM 
> >>>> Subject: [GSAS-Member] Algae control 
> >>>> 
> >>>> 
> >>>> Since the plant auction, I've had all different types of algae 
> >>>> plaguing my tank. What kinds of fish besides SAE will help control 
> >>>> it? Where can I get these fish locally? Does anyone have any SAE or 
> >>>> other algae-eating fish they don't want anymore? I have discus in 
> >>>> the tank. I may just take it down and bleach the plants and/or 
> >>>> strip the leaves off. 
> >>>> 
> >>>> Susan 
> >>>> _______________________________________________ 
> >>>> GSAS-Member mailing list 
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> >>>> http://lists.thekrib.com/mailman/listinfo/gsas-member> >>>> 
> >>>> lists.thekrib.com/mailman/listinfo/gsas-member> 
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> >>>> 
> >>> 
> >>> Dr. John F. Ruhland 
> >>> The Natural Health Medical Clinic 
> >>> 4002 - 25th Avenue S, Seattle, WA 98108 
> >>> 206-723-4891 
> >>> www.drruhland.com 
> >>> 
> >>> _______________________________________________ 
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> >>> 
> >> 
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> >> 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > Dr. John F. Ruhland 
> > The Natural Health Medical Clinic 
> > 4002 - 25th Avenue S, Seattle, WA 98108 
> > 206-723-4891 
> > www.drruhland.com 
> > 
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> 
> 
> 
> Dr. John F. Ruhland 
> The Natural Health Medical Clinic 
> 4002 - 25th Avenue S, Seattle, WA 98108 
> 206-723-4891 
> www.drruhland.com 
> 
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