battling algae, the kent freshwater product paradigm. + pics

Up your CO2 to 25 - 30 ppm and up you water change to 35 - 50% weekly.
You need to keep the PO4 between .50 and 1 and N between 5 and 10 along with the above to keep the plants growing properly.
That will discourage algae growth.
BTW, the tank looks really nice......keep up the good work!!


Len

What is the GH and KH of your Tap water?

Regards,
Tom Barr

Why did you buy RO silly?
That's perfect tap water.
Well, the RO water does taste good, that's what mine is for.
Why remove something then add it back?
Don't use the RO water for water changes.
All you are doing is making more work and hassle for your self.

You are not going to gain anything from this.

As far as you tanks/set up etc, I'd suggest buying a couple of things: stump remover=> KNO3. And some Fleet enema(sodium Phosphate) or if you are too shy, KH2PO4 from www.litemanu.com.

You have the traces from Kent already.

If you do large frequent water changes, say 50% weekly, you will remove any excesses that can occur in this tank. If you dose after the water changes, and 1-2x more during the week, you will not run out of any nutrient.

If you tell me how big the tank is, I can tell you pretty much what to add and the frequency.

A typical 20 gal with high light/CO2:
50% weekly water change
After the water change I'll add:

1/4 teaspoon of KNO3 powder
5mls of trace
Rice grain or two's worth of KH2PO4 or one-two drops of Fleet

Repeat after 3 days and then again 1-2 days fbefore the next water change.

Higher light tanks will get this about 3x a week, lower light tanks, around 2x a week and low light tanks2w/gal or less, weekly after the water change only.

This is very easy to do and keeps the nutrients in very good ranges.

The pH is the only thing folks need to test for often to make sure of their CO2 levels.

Now CO2: add tap water from now on, use only the CO2 ghas to lower the pH to 6.5 and keep it there the whole time the lights are on(am to pm).

Shoot for 20-30ppm of CO2. Error on the high side as a general rule, most all fish are fine with this.

You do this, and the algae will not keep bugging you. The plant health will greatly improve.

But you need to remove the algae that's there now, then prune good to get it all off, then add some algae eaters, Amano shrimps(lots) are good. Then you correct the conditions with water changes and the above routine.


Regards,
Tom Barr

If you use CO2, using the tap water added directly to the tank is fine when doing 50% water changes.
Folks been doing that and using CO2 for years.
Temp should be close though with tank water.

I use a 2" siphon to drain my 75 gal in about 1-2 minutes and then refill with tap water right away, the CO2 quickly reduces the pH and the fish have never had anything but good things to say about it.

Many others will mirror this observation with large water changes and CO2.

For your 37 gal tank:
Adding 1/4 teaspoon of KNO3 will add about 6.5ppm of NO3 and 4ppm of K per dose.
With high light, good CO2, the NO3 will be removed in about 2 days.

So you'd need to add this 3x a week along with the PO4(1-2 drops) and traces(about 7mls).
50% water change, (prune/clean before the water change).

You can also add a mega dose about 12-24 hours before you do the water change, add 2x the amount and then remove the excess after the plants have their fill and then dop a 50-70% water change(wait a day to dose again).

Some Discus folks do 2 water changes a week 50% or so and dose right after.

The above routine is simple and will work extremely well if you keep the CO2 at 20-30ppm during the day.

CO2 and NO3 are the biggest players in all this, K+, traces, PO4 are less important players. Check things in this order=> CO2>CO2 again>NO3>K+>Traces>PO4.
Water change and re set the tank if you are unsure or over dose the tank with KNO3 etc.

If you know the weight of the chemiocal you are adding and know the tank volume, you can know precisely how much is in there, better than the test kits.

This is how they make reference solutions that calibrate test kits. Using large frequent water changes and dosing afterwards, you can reap the same benefits without testing for PO4/K/Traces/NO3 all of which can cost a fair amount and take a lot of time and often will be incorrect sending you off down a wild goose chase.

While it does take some time to do a water change with tap, it doesn';t really take that much time if you use a good water change method, like Python etc or garden hose and a large siphon running to the drain etc.

Some use PVC and hook it up direct to the water supply in the house for real easy fast water changes, 90 gal of water in about 2-3 minutes.

Regards,
Tom Barr

Here's one of those 'mirror' observations Tom is talking about.
I have a 40 gal.(actually closer to 37) and can siphon 50 - 60% of the water out and refill with a python in less than 15 mins. with no problem for the fish. The difference in ph, tap to tank, is 1.1 pt., from 7.5 to 6.4.
The fish are fine with this, in fact showing their best color and most activity during and just after the change.
Important, as Tom says to keep the temp within a few degrees(tap/tank) and use Tap Water Conditioner that will remove Chloramine(most important) and Chlorine while in process.

Len