Marilyn1998

I have been using the Greg Watson ferts since April. My levels for both phosphates (5.0) and potassium (well over 3.0) seem high. From my tap my potassium is at 0 and phosphates are .25.

I do two 50% WC per week, and always before the WC my levels are this high.
I am dosing KNO3 at 3/4 tsp 3x wk, and CSM+B at 1/4 tsp 3x wk. Are kmy levels too high for my fish?? I have an extremely high natural light in this room. I have my tank moderately-heavily planted. I added CO2 this week. I cant vcount the bubble rate but here are my values:

Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-20 ppm
GH- 8
KH-5
Phosphate- 5.0
Potassium- more than the control tube of 3.0

How can I lower these for my fish?

Is my CO2 at a good level? My whiptails are swimming up to the top and down, but the discus and other fish dont seem to care. BBA seems unaffected.

MatPat

Personally, I don't see any issues with either your NO3 or PO4 levels assuming your test kits are reliable and have been calibrated Is there a reason you are concerned with the high PO4? The plants and algae should be your main indicator for nutrients. Excess (within reason) won't harm things near as much as a deficiency will.

As far as your CO2 levels, it is very hard to determine them from a bubble count. There are a few ways to figure them out but none is better than using the fish and plant growth.

BBA will not go away by turning up the CO2. It must be manually removed by trimming affected leaves and removing hardscape items and cleaning them. Supposedly having good, stable CO2 levels will limit the amount of BBA in your tank. Remove what is there now, make sure your CO2 is at a good level (no fish stress and good plant growth) and see if the BBA returns.

Marilyn1998

Thanks MatPat!

I guess I was wondering because those two levels seem to always be at the extreme end of the test chart for me. I am not even dosing PO4 anymore.

As far as the CO2, I have had it up now for a week and am still trying to make sure I have the levels where they need to be. My plants are growing by leaps and bounds, and the fish are not gasping so I guess I am good.

Mainly the BBA is on my sword and on my moneywort. THe moneywort is now reaching the top of the water so I hate to remove it all to clean it and then replant. As far as the sword, there is no way I will uproot it and then replant.

Is there a good way to clean these off? I was thinking of lowering the water during the WC, then trying to do something at that time.

Any tips out there???

Elkmor

Calibrate your test kits. See PPS articles for instructions.

MatPat

Try and not put so much faith in your test kits! I know it can be difficult to watch the fish and plants at first, but they are really the best test kits we have.

If you plants are growing well and the algae is not, you are off to a good start You may have hit the magic spot for your tank with the CO2. The only way I know that is 100% positive for figuring out a CO2 concentration is to slowly bump it up until the fish start to gasp at the surface then turn it down ever so slightly. You then know you have achieved the maximum amount of CO2 your fish can handle and that should be good for your plants. Make sure you try this only when you will be available to watch the fish, i.e. don't bump it up in the morning before going to work

Remove the affected leaves and make sure your CO2 levels are high. Have these plants been in your tank long?

It is nearly impossible to clean BBA from plant leaves. I have had some luck removing it from Anubias leaves but on other plants, the BBA usually removes part of the leaf when pulled off. It really likes to stick!

You can also look into using some Excel. There is a good thread here on using excel to combat algae. read through the whole thread and doa search on Excel. There are some plants and fish that may be sensitive to Excel in overdosage amounts so take care if you decide to give this a try.

Glouglou

Recently my PO4 went to 5 mg/l. Nothing major Happen...

Marilyn1998

Thanks for all the comments. I guess I wont sweat the small stuff. Today I bleached all my moneywort. what a pain!!! I got rid of all the BBA affected leaves though. Just hoping uprooting all that and replanting wont give me trouble with bacteria.