Go figure!!

GM,

Do you dose the 10 ppm NO3 weekly, or maintain 10 ppm NO3 throughout the week? If its the former, at 5 Watts per gallon you are probably using up all your nutrients in 1 or 2 days.

I dose .5 ppm Fe + traces, 1 ppm PO4 and 10 ppm NO3 (TWICE PER WEEK), and I probably only have the equivalent of 2.5 Watts/gallon.

I would strongly recommend you turn half the lights off. If you insist on the 5 W/G you need to double or even triple the nutrients, which gets very expensive. It will be much easier to grow the plants and not the algae at the 2.5 W/G.

With a KH=7 and pH=6.4, from the chart, your CO2 would be 80 ppm which would probably be lethal. Check your parameters again.

Regards,
Steve Pituch

thanks for the reply (MY RESPONSES IN CAPS)

Do you dose the 10 ppm NO3 weekly, or maintain 10 ppm NO3 throughout the week? If its the former, at 5 Watts per gallon you are probably using up all your nutrients in 1 or 2 days.
YES, USUALLY WEEKLY... I'LL ADMIT I DONT CHECK THE NO3 THROUGHT THE WEEK AS I SHOULD. MY TEST KIT ISNT VERY GOOD AT JUDGING LEVELS IN THE 1PPM RANGE... OR EVEN IN THE 5 PPM RANGE

With a KH=7 and pH=6.4, from the chart, your CO2 would be 80 ppm which would probably be lethal. Check your parameters again.
YES, I'LL RECHECK, HOWEVER THE FISH DONT SHOW ANY SIGNS OF STRESS AND I AM GETTING GOOD PEARLING. MY TAP COMES OUT AT KH 3, PH 7 SO THE KH MAY DRIFT LOWER THAN THAT WITH WATER CHANGES..I TRY AND ADD CACO3 TO INCREASE BUFFERING CAPACITY SO I CAN PUMP THE CO2

MY THINKING IS THAT THESE TWO VERY NON DEMANDING PLANTS *SCARLET HYGRO, POLYSPERMA AND ROTALA INDICA, WOULD THRIVE IN COMPARISON TO OTHER MORE DEMANDING SPECIES, EVEN AT LOWER NUTRIENT LEVELS..IF THAT WAS THE ISSUE...

thanks and look forward to the input!!!

GM

thanks for the reply (MY RESPONSES IN CAPS)

Do you dose the 10 ppm NO3 weekly, or maintain 10 ppm NO3 throughout the week? If its the former, at 5 Watts per gallon you are probably using up all your nutrients in 1 or 2 days.
YES, USUALLY WEEKLY... I'LL ADMIT I DONT CHECK THE NO3 THROUGHT THE WEEK AS I SHOULD. MY TEST KIT ISNT VERY GOOD AT JUDGING LEVELS IN THE 1PPM RANGE... OR EVEN IN THE 5 PPM RANGE

With a KH=7 and pH=6.4, from the chart, your CO2 would be 80 ppm which would probably be lethal. Check your parameters again.
YES, I'LL RECHECK, HOWEVER THE FISH DONT SHOW ANY SIGNS OF STRESS AND I AM GETTING GOOD PEARLING. MY TAP COMES OUT AT KH 3, PH 7 SO THE KH MAY DRIFT LOWER THAN THAT WITH WATER CHANGES..I TRY AND ADD CACO3 TO INCREASE BUFFERING CAPACITY SO I CAN PUMP THE CO2

MY THINKING IS THAT THESE TWO VERY NON DEMANDING PLANTS *SCARLET HYGRO, POLYSPERMA AND ROTALA INDICA, WOULD THRIVE IN COMPARISON TO OTHER MORE DEMANDING SPECIES, EVEN AT LOWER NUTRIENT LEVELS..IF THAT WAS THE ISSUE...

thanks and look forward to the input!!!

GM