GSA with 8-10 ppm of P

mlfishman

Junior Poster
May 5, 2005
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I still have some very very minor GSA on some anubia leaves and some shows up on the glass (but progressivley gets less). I had been dosing 2ppm of P 3-4x a week and found out my water has around 2ppm at the tap. I had recently pulled out my glosso lawn and vacuumed my 3 year old substrate, so I think this may have leeched P in to the water as well. Well I Was bored so I Tested my P and it showed 8-10ppm. SO I am assuming I have a co2 issue right? Maybe I need to bump it up a bit. I have a KH that has fluctuated lately from 4 to 3, but my Ph is still 6.4. MAybe my PH kit and KH kit are lying a bit each way so I need to bump it up another notch, what do ya think? With all that P I shouldnt get any GSA, right??
 

Tom Barr

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Jan 23, 2005
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Re: GSA with 8-10 ppm of P

If it's not PO4, then it's CO2.

It's easy to add more, just make sure there's some surface movement and fish are fine.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 

JadeButterfly

Guru Class Expert
Jan 23, 2005
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Re: GSA with 8-10 ppm of P

I'm in the same situation and I feel its a CO2 issue.

I was wondering if I do correct the CO2 level, will GSA automatically go away? or will I have to manually remove it like some other algae.

Thanks.
 

Jay

Lifetime Charter Member
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Jan 26, 2005
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Re: GSA with 8-10 ppm of P

That’s a definite maybe...on the algae just going away.
I was certain that my CO2 was a rock solid 40ppm during the photoperiod, but I had to prune, scrape and depend on my ottos for compete eradication. It has never come back.
 

Tom Barr

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Re: GSA with 8-10 ppm of P

One good scrub should do it once the CO2 is set.
A credit card is very useful.

You can induce GSA with CO2 and PO4 by reduction of either of these.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 

JadeButterfly

Guru Class Expert
Jan 23, 2005
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Re: GSA with 8-10 ppm of P

Okay something weird is going on in my tank.
Here is my scenerio:

Last week:
- Cleaned out filter (it was clogged) and replaced the filter floss in it.
- Added some Manzanita wood and river rocks into the tank

During the week:
- Dose EI as usual (never had problems for almost 4months, algae free)
- 1/2 tsp KNO3 + 1/4 tsp KH2PO4 every other days (45G tank)
- 10ml of TMG in between
- note: it may seem like I dose a lot, but I haven't had any problems since dosing at this amount. at 1/4 tsp KNO3 I sometime start seeing BGA, at 1/8 tsp KH2PO4 I start seeing GSA

6 days later:
- started noticing a lot of GSA on glass, on wood, and rocks
- since I didn't change my dosage method, I assume it could be a CO2 issue (I checked the tank, it was running low)
- I increased the bubble rate + added a solenoid (been running it 24/7 before)

A week later:
- all my shrimps are dead this morning
- fishes are doing okay, not gasping at the surface.


I haven't been using test kits nor do I have any at the moment for a while...so I do not know my water parameters, I will continue to do my weekly water change to reset everything, but does anyone have any clue as to why these things are occuring? have been really stable for 4months.

Thanks
 

Tom Barr

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Jan 23, 2005
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Re: GSA with 8-10 ppm of P

You might have gassed the shrimp to death.

Also, use sponge material, like 20-30 pores/inch in place of floss.
Easy to rinse andf retains most of the bacterial needed.

You need to watch the CO2 when you add more.
Shrimp will die first before fish(NO3 , NH4, and CO2)

Regards,
Tom Barr
 

mlfishman

Junior Poster
May 5, 2005
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Re: GSA with 8-10 ppm of P

the same thing happened to me. All my shrimp died (except my red cherries) but all the fish were fine. I think in my case and yours, that the buildup from the high nitrate dosing killed off the shrimp. I was dosing high amounts of nitrates as you were and after not testing for a while, i tested and found my levels to be around 80 ppm (maybe more). I havent added nitrates in 2 weeks, while trying to get these levels to 15-20 ppm. Or you could have gased them, but I never had that problem.