There are other factors that go towards creating an algae bloom. CO2 is one, iron is another, and let's not forget light. In the lab where I used to work, we had all-glass water stills. Algae used to grow in the distillation column and in the glass receiver. No phosphate was present because that was left behind during distillation. However, CO2 would always distil over, and the algal spores that were not killed by boiling, attached to the glass, and grew. We determined that miniscule amounts of iron leached out of the glass and allowed the algae to grow. We got over the problem by covering all the exposed glass surfaces with aluminium foil. What we often forget is that algae need a suite of parameters present in the correct proportions to grow. An overabundance of one nutrient will do nothing in the absence of the others. What was needed here was a determination of the available iron concentration and a measure of the light in terms of intensity and duration. A simple action such as overfeeding the fish one day, changing the fish food or forgetting to turn the light off at the proper time can have the effect of triggering the algae into overdrive.
I have had phosphate levels very high & never had an issue. Maybe I was just lucky. Sometimes I cannot tell if it's green or just cloudy water, at times. Will usually sample a bit of water in a white, plastic cup. The green color obviously will show it's an algae bloom. If the water looks clear in the white cup, it's a bacterial bloom. BTW, I made a little holder, for the test viles, from a piece of wood. Drilled a bunch of holes in the wood & the test viles sit more stable. It eliminates the "bowlng pin effect" .🎳 Good video, Dan. 👍📺😎
My phosphate levels are quite high in all 5 of my planted tanks and rarely if ever have to clean algae off glass and never have algae blooms. I've used phosphate buffers for years because of stability and only add with RO water I use for water changes. I stopped measuring phosphate levels as not an issue for me nor my fish and shrimp.
I am a bit over a year into aquariums and am hooked. Learning a lot yet lots to learn. That is the beat part about fish keeping and aquascaping. Its complicated and keeps you thinking!
If it helps prove your point, just tested my 55 planted tank and phosphate over 5 ppm. 😅 No algae issues, no cyano and very vigorous plant growth and spawning tetras.
It doesn't surprise me that with elevated levels of minerals and by adding minerals and fish things go out of whack and you have green water when you have relatively slow growing plants. Creek chubs are getting pretty big I would lighten the load before they snack on the algae eaters
Hi. I'm planning a planted aquarium. My tap water shows 1 to 1.5 phosphorus level. Will my plants (fairly well planted with quick growing plants) get the phosphorus level down to a reasonable level, or should I try and reduce the level beforehand? Someone told me Pothos plant is good for lowering phosphate.
Plants will use some, but hey aren't magic. Plants don't remove as much as a lot of people seem to suggest, but they will remove a fair amount. Especially the fast growing stuff like pothos. I wouldn't worry about it unless you start having problems. Phosphate is harmless to fish.
you are testing these tanks all wrong in how you read the vials. You do the vial up as directed and hold one inch away from the white part of the card with the color code chart. NOT right against the card. use two hands to do this properly. lean the card against a glass or cup and hold the vial an inch in front of the card and read the colors that way.
![The *PHOSPHATE* [BLACK] Algae Connection!](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_712-bJONAs/mqdefault.jpg)
![The *PHOSPHATE* [BLACK] Algae Connection!](/img/tr.png)
There are other factors that go towards creating an algae bloom. CO2 is one, iron is another, and let's not forget light. In the lab where I used to work, we had all-glass water stills. Algae used to grow in the distillation column and in the glass receiver. No phosphate was present because that was left behind during distillation. However, CO2 would always distil over, and the algal spores that were not killed by boiling, attached to the glass, and grew. We determined that miniscule amounts of iron leached out of the glass and allowed the algae to grow. We got over the problem by covering all the exposed glass surfaces with aluminium foil.
What we often forget is that algae need a suite of parameters present in the correct proportions to grow. An overabundance of one nutrient will do nothing in the absence of the others. What was needed here was a determination of the available iron concentration and a measure of the light in terms of intensity and duration. A simple action such as overfeeding the fish one day, changing the fish food or forgetting to turn the light off at the proper time can have the effect of triggering the algae into overdrive.
I have had phosphate levels very high & never had an issue. Maybe I was just lucky. Sometimes I cannot tell if it's green or just cloudy water, at times. Will usually sample a bit of water in a white, plastic cup. The green color obviously will show it's an algae bloom. If the water looks clear in the white cup, it's a bacterial bloom. BTW, I made a little holder, for the test viles, from a piece of wood. Drilled a bunch of holes in the wood & the test viles sit more stable. It eliminates the "bowlng pin effect" .🎳 Good video, Dan. 👍📺😎
My phosphate levels are quite high in all 5 of my planted tanks and rarely if ever have to clean algae off glass and never have algae blooms. I've used phosphate buffers for years because of stability and only add with RO water I use for water changes. I stopped measuring phosphate levels as not an issue for me nor my fish and shrimp.
Your videos are really informative. Keep it going!
I am a bit over a year into aquariums and am hooked. Learning a lot yet lots to learn. That is the beat part about fish keeping and aquascaping. Its complicated and keeps you thinking!
Water changes never reduced my phosphate which were in the dark blue on the chart. Used phosphate and silicate remover.
If it helps prove your point, just tested my 55 planted tank and phosphate over 5 ppm. 😅 No algae issues, no cyano and very vigorous plant growth and spawning tetras.
It doesn't surprise me that with elevated levels of minerals and by adding minerals and fish things go out of whack and you have green water when you have relatively slow growing plants. Creek chubs are getting pretty big I would lighten the load before they snack on the algae eaters
May be the tank has a lot of fine particles of crushed corals and seashells, and algae are growing on those particles... guessing...
For each 1 part of phosphate in a tank it needs 7parts nitrate befor algae can form you learn this if research enough
Hi. I'm planning a planted aquarium. My tap water shows 1 to 1.5 phosphorus level. Will my plants (fairly well planted with quick growing plants) get the phosphorus level down to a reasonable level, or should I try and reduce the level beforehand? Someone told me Pothos plant is good for lowering phosphate.
Plants will use some, but hey aren't magic. Plants don't remove as much as a lot of people seem to suggest, but they will remove a fair amount. Especially the fast growing stuff like pothos. I wouldn't worry about it unless you start having problems. Phosphate is harmless to fish.
Damn I need that epic vision Shaq is rocking !!! Oh hey dan , phosphate huh lol 😂 bro Shaq was spinning the projector lol 😂
Do you mean the milky water? Thats a bacteria bloom
you are testing these tanks all wrong in how you read the vials. You do the vial up as directed and hold one inch away from the white part of the card with the color code chart. NOT right against the card. use two hands to do this properly. lean the card against a glass or cup and hold the vial an inch in front of the card and read the colors that way.