Re: Identifying Algae
srozell said:
I believe I've seen Tom write somewhere that if you could tell him what algae you have, he can tell you how to get rid of it, or what nutrient you are missing.
My question is how do you identify your algae accurately. Aren't there 1000's of types? Aren't many of them similar in appearance?
If I want to know EXACTLY what type of algae I have, what is the best path to follow?
There are only a few noxious species that infest our tanks(about 10-15), not thousands.
It's a combination of experience and looking under a scope. There are perhaps 10-50 species of diatoms that are in the tank, but......diatoms are seldom an issue, there are many species of phytoplankton, but only one that bugs us.
The other issue that while there are 1000's present, only a few become a problem and perhaps only 50 to 100 species total at any one time.
Rather than species identification for every species, we simply need to know the species that is becoming a problem.
Diana Walstad seemed resigned to give up completely as have many others labeling the algal issue a community, which is true, but when an algae problem appears, it's the blooming of one or 2-3 species, not 1000's or hundreds etc.
Rather than giving up, knowing a little bit about the algae of question, being able to reproduce and induce the alga's growth is a key if you want to understand the environmental conditions that allow for it's growth and control.
Chasing after the problem, only when there is a problem(due to alack of control over the tank's environment) is a very very poor way to solve a problem. To critically test a weed, algae etc, you need to be able to culture it so you know it is growing due to a lack of CO2, additions of NH4, low NO3 etc.
I have to grow weeds to kill them and then go back and repeat the test for confirmation.
To my knowledge, no other planted aquarist has ever done this.
I've suggested they try it, but few take me up on the offer.
Few are willing to trash their tanks full of algae.
All they are willing to do in experimenting is get rid of their probhlem, which showed a lack of environmental control to begin with.
Without having the control to confirm and being able to go back and induce, you cannot answer why a certain algae grows or not.
Many plant folks are willing to test different nutrients to improve
plant growth, and different nutrient routines..............
But few are willing at add NH4 or lower their NO3/CO2 etc to get an algae bloom. They talk about algae in terms of their
mistakes rather than anything done
purposely.
Observation versus experimentation. Many try to experiment but only to cure the issue rather than seeking why it's growing in the first place.
Chasing after a problem after it's already started and waiting for it to appear makes testing for it makes for a rare event and you miss why it grows and is induced in the first place. You'd have to be very very lucky..........
But they can see and test to see the conclusions I have reached are valid and solve the algae problem they have in virtually every case if they really address the environmental issue.
EI allows a good simple method to control most all of the parameters except CO2. So the focus is on maintaining good CO2 typically takes care of things with a little pruning and work after 1 to 3 weeks to whip a tank back into shape.
Most all algae issues are dealth with the same way, reset the parameters, clean out the algae, add herbivores, prune and maintain the tank.
A specific species can tell me what is wrong if their is one , perhaps two problems........multiple species means there are big issues....so CO2=> NO3=> K+=> PO4 on down the line is a good flow chart.........
Regards,
Tom Barr
