mrzap
Aquarium Advice Freak
What are the main causes of hair algae? Any of my plants that have leaves near the water surface are getting inundated with long strands of it.
I seem to keep reading conflicting info. Is it too much iron? Too much or too little nitrate? Too much potassium? Would injecting co2 help with hair algae?
Will adding more plants help out compete the algae?
I need a gameplan from the pros. Thanks.
My nitrates seem kind of high, but it seems like I get more hair algae after I do my water changes. Usually I use distilled water for changes.
*Updated*
Ok so I bought a nitrate and phosphate liquid test kit. I meant to get a potassium instead of phosphate, but my mind was elsewhere apparently.
Before I changed any water:
2 ppm phosphate (i think its supposed to be 0 right?)
Somewhere between 80-160 ppm nitrate
After:
1.0 phosphate (liquid test)
20ppm nitrate (liquid test)
~7 PH (liquid test)
Also used a multitest strip
GH - 300 ppm
KH - not reading
PH - 6.8
Nitrate - 40ppm
During this water change I did 5 gallons of tap water (treated with amquel) and 5 gallons distilled.
I seem to keep reading conflicting info. Is it too much iron? Too much or too little nitrate? Too much potassium? Would injecting co2 help with hair algae?
Will adding more plants help out compete the algae?
I need a gameplan from the pros. Thanks.
My nitrates seem kind of high, but it seems like I get more hair algae after I do my water changes. Usually I use distilled water for changes.
*Updated*
Ok so I bought a nitrate and phosphate liquid test kit. I meant to get a potassium instead of phosphate, but my mind was elsewhere apparently.
Before I changed any water:
2 ppm phosphate (i think its supposed to be 0 right?)
Somewhere between 80-160 ppm nitrate
After:
1.0 phosphate (liquid test)
20ppm nitrate (liquid test)
~7 PH (liquid test)
Also used a multitest strip
GH - 300 ppm
KH - not reading
PH - 6.8
Nitrate - 40ppm
During this water change I did 5 gallons of tap water (treated with amquel) and 5 gallons distilled.