joeman
MorphingSquid
So having recently had a Hair Algae problem, I have been doing a lot of reading on the subject.... what seems common knowledge is that Algae need three main ingredients to thrive:
1) Nitrates
2) Phosphates
3) Light
My Algae problem began following a house move, which gave rise to a small cycle and a Nitrate Peak.
I brought the Nitrates down to zero and kept them there with a De-Nitrator. I tested the water daily and saw Nitrates and Phosphates at a consistent zero - but the algae continued to grow!!!
I tried turning the lights off of a day but that didn't seem to make much of a difference, and I didn't want to keep them off for a longer period of time...
I puzzled over what might be feeding it...
The only real option (if all the literature was correct ) was photsphates, so I introduced a bag of PhosBan.
Two weeks later the algae is almost gone - just transparent filaments where it used to be :bounce:
So: if you have algae and yet your water tests tell you your water is perfect, it's probably because the algae is doing it's job :frustrat:
1) Nitrates
2) Phosphates
3) Light
My Algae problem began following a house move, which gave rise to a small cycle and a Nitrate Peak.
I brought the Nitrates down to zero and kept them there with a De-Nitrator. I tested the water daily and saw Nitrates and Phosphates at a consistent zero - but the algae continued to grow!!!
I tried turning the lights off of a day but that didn't seem to make much of a difference, and I didn't want to keep them off for a longer period of time...
I puzzled over what might be feeding it...
The only real option (if all the literature was correct ) was photsphates, so I introduced a bag of PhosBan.
Two weeks later the algae is almost gone - just transparent filaments where it used to be :bounce:
So: if you have algae and yet your water tests tell you your water is perfect, it's probably because the algae is doing it's job :frustrat:
