# Algae Problem....Lack of fertilizer?



## PlantsGlora (Apr 22, 2006)

Hey all-


I need some advice. First off, here are the tank specs

125AGA Planted, 2-75w root cables, 4 layer bed- 1-peat, 2- playsand- 3 laterrite, 4- caribean sea torpedo beach.. Pressurized CO2, 395w PC bulbs- spec range 55k-12k

Water Quality

pH 6.7
KH 5
GH 9

Assume other parameters not mentioned below are zero!

I'm not sure what the phosphate and nitrate levels are. Im using the EI index for a 120 gallon tank. i does 1 1/2 tsp KNO3 3X/week and 1 tsp K2SO4 3x/week and 1/2 tsp CSM + B. 

Blue green algae and Green Spot algae are the problem in my tank. I've noticed that the blue green algae has recently gone away. However, the green spot algae hasn't. 

Also, My hairgrass doesn't seem to be doing very good. The grass has a good amount of Spot and filamentous algae. 

I just reordered more ferts from greg watson including 10% Fe. How should I dose this?


My main questions are as follows: how do i get rid of the algae? Specifically, the Green Spot Algae. Is my fert program okay and If so how do i incorporate Fe into the fert program?


Thanks for all the help ahead of time

Kurt


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## KeIgO86 (Jun 23, 2005)

Usually spot algae means a lack of phosphate. I see that you are not dosing K2PO4. Time to get some of that.


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

Kurt, you've got a lot of light on the set up. I'd lose the 12,000K bulb, and go with something in the 6500-10,000K range.

As was mentioned, you need to also dose phosphates (PO4). This will go a long ways towards getting rid of your spot algae. Check out the sticky on the fert section of the board regarding EI dosing.

As far as Greg's iron, check out this thread for how to mix it. As far as dosing, I would probably start with 6-7ml at times you don't add your macros and adjust accordingly depending on your plants conditions/reactions.

HTH.


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## PlantsGlora (Apr 22, 2006)

Okay, I lied. I'm dosing Mono potassium phosphate. I just recently increased from the EI index reccommended amount of 1 1/2 tsp to 2 tsp per day, 3x a week. 

Is it just gonna be something that i'm going to have to tinker with till i see results?


Is 395w PC sufficent for dwarf hairgrass growht?


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## banderbe (Nov 17, 2005)

How long has your tank been set up?


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

A more accurate dosage of KH2PO4 for a 125 gallon tank would be 3/8 tsp three times a week. That could be increased to about 1/2 tsp to try to stop the GSA attack.


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## PlantsGlora (Apr 22, 2006)

Banderbe- THe 125 was a 55 for a year then became a 125 4 months ago!

Hoppy- I'm currently dosing 2 tsp of KH2PO4 3x a week.


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

> Is 395w PC sufficent for dwarf hairgrass growht?


 Yes.



> Is it just gonna be something that i'm going to have to tinker with till i see results?


 Yes.



> Hoppy- I'm currently dosing 2 tsp of KH2PO4 3x a week.


 That's quite a bit! Try to maintain in the 3-5ppm range and see what happens.

The other thing is how long are your lights on for? Sometimes just cutting down your photoperiod a bit will take care of minor algae issues. I would say to go for no more than 9 hours and see what happens.


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## PlantsGlora (Apr 22, 2006)

Bert- I've been reading other's posts on algae control and decieded to flux my photoperiod in three hour cycles. 6-9 11-2 4-7 9-12 for a total of 12 hours. 

If I'm dosing 2 tsp's 3x week of KH2PO4 and I still have GSA shouldn't I increase the amount not decrease?


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

There is no benefit I have heard about to running the lights as you have decided. As Bert mentioned, a 9 hour period is plenty, and even an 8 hour period would most likely be enough. The plants just don't keep on growing much longer than that per day, and the "rest" periods are not of value to the plants.

You are overdosing phosphates by a considerable amount, which will, at the least, make using the KH/pH table for determining how much CO2 you have a problem. It isn't a good idea to increase that dosage or even to continue it. I do have to admit though, I too have GSA in my tank. It grows slowly so I can keep it under enough control for now just by weekly cleaning of the glass.


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## PlantsGlora (Apr 22, 2006)

Wow, just tested the PO4 didn't even register >10ppm. I think I'll back off the PO4 for the rest of the week. I'll try to get it between 3-5 ppm


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## PlantsGlora (Apr 22, 2006)

Hoppy- Thanks for the input. I've heard to flux ur photoperiod like that because it takes lesser level plants (algaes) more than three hours to begin to photosynthesize. So if you break your photoperiods in three hours segments theoritically your algae should die because it won't have a chance to photosynthesize? I'm going to greatly reduce the amount of PO4 I've been dosing. I don't want to kill my discus, afterall I just spent 350 on them!


Thanks for the input....I hope to hear lots more!


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Interesting theory, though I am not sure how true or effective that is against controlling algae growth. If lights are on for 3 hours segments, algae won't photosynthesize, but neither will plants either. When plants don't grow well or reach optimal levels of photosynthesis (which takes about 3 hours to reach), algae has a knack for adapting to lesser conditions and will thrive in place of the poor growth of plants.


I'm in favor of providing 8-9 hours of continuous for plants to photosynthesize. This is after all reflective of what happens in nature. 

-John N.


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

I'm not in favor of that on/off stuff either. As with everything, there are folks who do it, and swear by it, I'm just not one of them. As John mentions, it's not only the algae that gets put on/off, it's also the plants. Why turn off the engine just when it's running at full steam? I think you're better served by lowering your total lighting time, than by the on/off. Of course, ymmv.


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## PlantsGlora (Apr 22, 2006)

Honestly, I haven't noticed much change in the amount of algae, however, I have noticed that much of the blue-green algae has died. This is probablya result of the resent increase in KNO3 to my fert prog. 


I'll reset my timer for 9 hour photoperiods and decrease the amount of PO4 I add to the tank.

Anyone else have any idea as to why I haev so much filamentous and GSA?

Thanks for all the help guys and gals!! My tank thanks you!


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