Hi Tom,
I've been blessed with Cladophora. I've read many of the posts here on that subject and I am now followwing the advice given:
I have increased my CO2 to the point at which my fish started to act a bit squirely and then backed down a little. As best as I can tell, the CO2 in my tank is now close to 50 ppm. I know that the dKH of the indicator in my bubble checker is 4 because I made it myself using very accurate scales. I also keep a sealed vial of the indicator solution handy as a color reference. Up until recently, the color of indicator in the aquarium matched the nice green color of my reference sample. Since turning up the CO2, it is now a yellow-green color.
I am doing 40% water changes every other day and I physically remove as much of the Cladophora as I can. I am dosing with Seachem's Equilibrium, a little Barr's GH booster (for good luck), KH2PO4 and KNO3. I'm keeping my Nitrates close to 10 ppm and my Phosphates between 1 - 2 ppm. The KH is 5 and the GH is 5. I don't test for trace elements.
My HC , as well as several other plants in my heavily planted tank are pearling nicely. I started to use Excel but ran out and I'm waiting for a new supply.
So far so good. But I do not understand why I am doing what I am doing. How does promoting plant growth adversely affect an algae like Cladophora which, as you've noted, has very similar growth requirements as the rest of the plants? And since I am keeping all nutrients high, how is it possible for the plants to out-compete the algae? I don't understand the mechanism of action. It's not as though plants that "eat faster" take the food out of the "mouths" of the algae, and even if they could, by following the recommended regimen, I am insuring that there are plenty of nutritious plant foods for all concerned to thrive on. So what's really at work here?
I've been blessed with Cladophora. I've read many of the posts here on that subject and I am now followwing the advice given:
I have increased my CO2 to the point at which my fish started to act a bit squirely and then backed down a little. As best as I can tell, the CO2 in my tank is now close to 50 ppm. I know that the dKH of the indicator in my bubble checker is 4 because I made it myself using very accurate scales. I also keep a sealed vial of the indicator solution handy as a color reference. Up until recently, the color of indicator in the aquarium matched the nice green color of my reference sample. Since turning up the CO2, it is now a yellow-green color.
I am doing 40% water changes every other day and I physically remove as much of the Cladophora as I can. I am dosing with Seachem's Equilibrium, a little Barr's GH booster (for good luck), KH2PO4 and KNO3. I'm keeping my Nitrates close to 10 ppm and my Phosphates between 1 - 2 ppm. The KH is 5 and the GH is 5. I don't test for trace elements.
My HC , as well as several other plants in my heavily planted tank are pearling nicely. I started to use Excel but ran out and I'm waiting for a new supply.
So far so good. But I do not understand why I am doing what I am doing. How does promoting plant growth adversely affect an algae like Cladophora which, as you've noted, has very similar growth requirements as the rest of the plants? And since I am keeping all nutrients high, how is it possible for the plants to out-compete the algae? I don't understand the mechanism of action. It's not as though plants that "eat faster" take the food out of the "mouths" of the algae, and even if they could, by following the recommended regimen, I am insuring that there are plenty of nutritious plant foods for all concerned to thrive on. So what's really at work here?