Trigging thread/hair-algae in low macro-environment with iron?

Re: Trigging thread/hair-algae in low macro-environment with iron?

It might be secondary effects, but you might be right 1+1 = thread algae.

Still... individually.... we know thread algae is not = high Fe.

Building on the individual parts........ you can go back and see if there are multiple interactions occuring, but without knowing the individual parts first.......you have much less chance at figuring it out and the combinations and ranges needed to induce algae.

GSA is inducable by both low PO4 and CO2.
One or both.

There's no reason you cannot have mulitple affects, but you can also may have a downstream effect also=> the limitation of Traces(it very well may not be Fe, it might be Cu or Zn etc) may cause another nutrient to be removed faster, say CO2, that stands to reason also.

When you add more light=> algae.

Was it the light's fault or that the light cause more CO2 uptake causing the low CO2 limitation now?

We do not know those interactions.
I tend not to even bother trying to figure those out either.

I just address every parameter and add enough to rule a deficiency. Then later, with my own set ups, I can test to see if the idea worked or if it was something else.

I do it a few times to be sure, then look around to see if folks have had any similar patterns.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

Re: Trigging thread/hair-algae in low macro-environment with iron?

Exactly, that's the point.
It's not fair to iron to say this UNLESS all the other nutrients are in good shape at their proper levels.

Problems, many folks have trouble keeping the other parameters in good shape!! Which is also why they have algae!! So they are not the best bunch to ask questions from, but they are very doubtful when I come along and say it's something else, they see the correlation but cannot argue for causation.

This exact same case occurs with PO4 as well, or NO3 is some cases.

But if you judge these same nutients fairly and isolate them, this pattern is not found.

This is a simple method to show that correlation does not = causation.

I've seldom seen it ever honestly in my own personal tanks, I get thread algae when I stop dosing nutrients.
I go away for a week or two, I come back to hair algae.

This tells me it's nutrient limitation, macros more likley or perhaps trace limitation.

Many folks see one algae and stop dosing(say PO4, NO3 etc), thinking they can limit the algae. But if you keep dosing Fe--------> algae.

Those are easy issues to deal with though.
Good CO2 is still the hardest thing, but with some work, folks can do away with BBA forever. Then next time it shows up, they can address it fast before it's an issue.
BGA is very easy if you tend the KNO3 dosing.

Well, that's not the Fe's fault now is it???
:gw

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

Re: Trigging thread/hair-algae in low macro-environment with iron?

It gets back to providing the good conditions for plants, not worrying about algae so much.

I mean it really is, that simple.
You do that, no algae.

That's much easier than testing for every possible comination that induces algae don't you think?

Along the way you soon realize what is causing the plants to stall and then later you see the algae.



Regards,
Tom Barr