dennis

Sorry folks this is a double post, but I realize that Seachem probably won't get back to me in time, what with Christmas and all. Also, I did not put this in fertalization becaus eI wanted more traffic to see it

I will be away for hte next week. I have arranged for my roommate to dose my tanks and feed the fish while I am away. I dose KNO3, KH2PO and Flourish, amcros and micros on alternating days. I plan on storing each days dose (Macros in one vial, micros in another)in seperate test tubes or specamine vials to make it fast and easy for her. I dose 10NO3/1PO4 on even days and 2.5ml Flourish in 10 gallons the other days (for my 10 gallons, the 15 gallon get 3ml Flourish). The Flourish is a brand new bottle, if it matters.

Two questions:
- Will storing the days flourish in a clear vial cause any problems with light. The room gets little natural light and no sun. The vials can be stored above the tanks away from the tank's lights.

- To make it even easier, can I mix all the ferts together in one daily dose(ie, 5/.5ppm NO3/PO4 and 1.25ml Flourish all in the same vial)? How much precipitation will I have to deal with, account for?

Thanks in advance
_________________
Dennis Dietz

cS

If I recall correctly, photoreduction should not occur with Seachem's iron as the Fe is already in its reduced state as ferrous gluconate. The loss of useable Fe is more likely due to the relatively fast spontaneous destablization of the weak gluconate chelator.

Fe and PO4 react to form insoluble iron phosphate compounds so keep the macros and micros in separate containers. I don't think that anyone will be able to quantify, without much difficulty, the degree of this precipitating reaction.

PARTY AT DENNIS' CRIB!

bharada

My three tanks have already got me thinking about maintenance when my family goes on vacation next summer. One is a low tech tank so that should be a simple matter of feeding the fish.

My other two tanks are both high-light and have me worried about getting back from vacation to an ocean of algae. One thing that I'm anticipating to help is evaporation from them being open top. I plan to reduce the lighting period and cut down on the CO2. Then I'm thinking of having a bunch of 1gal jugs of water pre-dosed so that adding one to the tank will add maybe 2-4ppm of NO3 and K, and .1-.2ppm of PO4. This way all my brother-in-law will have to do is feed the fish and top off any evaporation. I'll have traces in pre-measured doses that he can add a couple of times a week.

At least I hope this will work. I may have to try the routine out a few weeks before I actually go on vacation just to be sure that I won't come home to total disaster.

John P.

Good luck, Bill. I just returned home from 5 days of vacation to find the most gargantuan mass of thread algae I've ever seen.