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embarassed but never a prob before

2K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  titan848 
#1 ·
ok so ive had my 12g tank set up for about 2 months now and 2 weeks ago i just a huge hair algae explosion. Since i have no test kits im unable to give stats so my question is what test kits do i need and is it possible to recover the leaves that are infested or should i just prun them off. Once i get the kits i will give some stats.
Thanks
Chris
 
#2 ·
Is it black/brown or green? You need to buy some duckweed and dose (Iron) based on this. If it turns brown add a little more iron during dosages. Anyways you need a Nitrate and Phosphate kit. If you are using CO2 you need to know your kH and pH. Tell me how much light you have, how long it stays on, what you dose your plants with, how often you dose them and how much water you change and when you do it. What type of fish and how many plants you have in your tank and the names if you know them?
 
#3 ·
GB, I'm curious about your duckweed iron indicator. Is this something you developed yourself, or can you reference further discussion on the idea? Also, won't duckweed pretty much proliferate all across the water surface and cut down light transmission? Lastly, I believe duckweed can be very invasive in temperate waters, so please warn other aquarists to be careful not to contaminate their local waters.

Thanks!
splash


ghettobanana said:
Is it black/brown or green? You need to buy some duckweed and dose (Iron) based on this. If it turns brown add a little more iron during dosages. Anyways you need a Nitrate and Phosphate kit. If you are using CO2 you need to know your kH and pH. Tell me how much light you have, how long it stays on, what you dose your plants with, how often you dose them and how much water you change and when you do it. What type of fish and how many plants you have in your tank and the names if you know them?
 
#4 ·
No, I wasn't the one to discover duckweed to be a great indicator of Iron deficiency. Chuck Gadd told me about it. Since duckweed pulls all its nutrients from the water column it will tell us very quickly (2-3 days) if we lacks Iron in our water column by turning a red/brown. I use duckweed to help me measure the proper nutrient level in my tank. When I see mine turn red/brown I increase my fertilizer (I use TMG) 2 mL. I wait 2-3 days to see if the duckweed changes back to green. I keep increasing until I see the duckweed turn green. I do the opposite to make sure I am not adding more nutrients then my tank really needs. Once I get everything set and am happy I remove all the duckweed that I can. You can stick some rainbows in your tank and they will be happy to eat the left over.

Duckweed is a fast growing plant and should not be used in small tanks without monitoring it. If you add fertilizer to your tank everyday you should look and see if you need to remove some of your duckweed. Duckweed is sold throughout the US and should not be a problem to find at your LFS.
 
#5 ·
im running 2 wpg for 12 hours with no co2. Plants are amazon swords chain sword and java ferns. Along with one wentii crypt. I don't dose with anything yet but i have both iron and another fert. Both these are at my other house which i will be returning too this weekend and pick up. Oh and i also have this reddish algae (at least thats what i think it is snice ive had swords for years and never seen a red one) that is covering the amazon swords, just a real thin layer. The hair algae is green.
 
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