On 27 Apr 2006 08:07:43 -0700, "Frank"
wrote:

Mister Gardener and Altum,

Must be my water - comes out of the tap with nitrAtes between 10 and
20ppm depending on the time of year. Any direct sunlite at all = green
water. Funny though, lights are on a timer and at peak light, I'm
putting 4 watts per gal. in the tank (4 hours). Late afternoon sunlite
would hit the tank if the drapes were open - every once in a great
while one of us will forget and leave them open - by the next morning
we have the start of an algae bloom. Hmmm - mabe it's just that little
bit of extra light that does it (?)
.................. Frank
4 watts per gallon is a lot of light, though I don't know the science
well enough to comment on the effect if it's only on for 4 hours a
day. Plants need nutrients, light, and CO2. Too little of one, and the
others are left over to feed the algae. Too much of one, and it feeds
the algae. Are your non-algae plants getting enough nutrients, usually
added from a bottle, and CO2, with Flourish Excel or a CO2 bubbler?
And finally, do you have enough plants to take up all the nutrients,
CO2, etc - grabbing them before the algae gets them?

That's where my experience ends and Altum's takes over, so I now pass
this thread on to Altum.

-- Mister Gardener
-- Pull the WEED to email me