I guess the first thing to ask is - are you getting good growth on your plants?
There seem to be two schools of thought on algae, one is - too much nutrients give you algae, the other is - too little nutrients give you algae.
I think there is a consensus that good plant growth (especially fast growers) tends to reduce, eliminate algae.
So things I would consider are:-
Are you plants pearling in the evening?
Do you need to prune regularly?
Have you enough plants in the tank?
Finally I would do an experiement, do not add Nitrate and see if your tank nitrates go to zero (or near) over a week or so.
I suggest that if you are saying NO to these questions then you need to stop adding fertilisers and look harder at your tank parameters. My experience (still bear the scars) is that adding ferts to a tank that is not ready will only feed the algae.
We all tend to look at the interesting (chemically) fiddly bits that allow us to play with our tanks, thats part of the hobby, but before we do that we really need to get the basics right so that the plants can then survive :razz: our fiddling.
There seem to be two schools of thought on algae, one is - too much nutrients give you algae, the other is - too little nutrients give you algae.
I think there is a consensus that good plant growth (especially fast growers) tends to reduce, eliminate algae.
So things I would consider are:-
Are you plants pearling in the evening?
Do you need to prune regularly?
Have you enough plants in the tank?
Finally I would do an experiement, do not add Nitrate and see if your tank nitrates go to zero (or near) over a week or so.
I suggest that if you are saying NO to these questions then you need to stop adding fertilisers and look harder at your tank parameters. My experience (still bear the scars) is that adding ferts to a tank that is not ready will only feed the algae.
We all tend to look at the interesting (chemically) fiddly bits that allow us to play with our tanks, thats part of the hobby, but before we do that we really need to get the basics right so that the plants can then survive :razz: our fiddling.
