Trying Java fern

"Larry Blanchard" wrote in message
news
On Thu, 20 Dec 2007 18:24:14 -0600, Reel McKoi wrote:

I found if I change mine about every 18 to 24 months or so, I
do not get black algae and I do not add any FE to my tanks.......I add
very little of any kind of fertilizer and everything does just
great..........

* I have to use a fertilizer or the plants lose color (go chlorotic) and
start to fail. Even with aquarium plant fertilizer the vals are starting
to
fail.

Are you using fertilizer tablets or a liquid?

I have and use both. I also use Flourish Excel but it's expensive and
worthless. The algae loves it.

I bury one of the tablets
under each plant as I plant it. Seems to last at least a year and by then
I'm ready to re-landscape :-).

I'm using the Tetra tabs and see no difference in vals. The crypts and last
surviving Sword are responding to the tabs but the algae are suffocating
them. The otos, clown plecos and rubberlipped pleco aren't eating the
algae. If they are they're not making a dent in it.

The reason I ask is that I read somewhere that the buried tablets don't
encourage algae as much as the liquid fertilizers do.

The liquids aren't supposed to stimulate algae since they don't contain
nitrogen and phosphate. It was suggested I do a few major water changes and
vacuum the gravel thoroughly... the problem continued unabated.
--

RM....
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
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