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PFK algae reduction article.....

JohnC

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14 Nov 2008
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If using tapwater you are often off to a bad start straight away, as this is full of fertilisers like nitrate and phosphate that will fuel algae growth from the second you put it in.

Phosphate build-up in anything but a heavy planted tank will fuel algae growth and phosphate remover is well known and widely used.

Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear...
 
One step forward ten steps back, it's no wonder so many people are so poorly educated when the nations biggest fishkeeping magazine which was formerly at the forefront is digging up articles that were out of date a decade ago, poor show on them really, it's just frustrating that this is simply going to perpetuate the ph probe and substrate heater brigades reign of tyranny.
 
Thyink about it a little guys. phosphate remover will reduce algae....in a non planted tank. This article is after all aimed at all fishkeepers.

So in a non planted tank it makes sense that not introducing ferts and keeping ferts low will reduce algae.

However the planted part obviously written by someone who knows nothing about planted tanks :)
Plants
Nature’s battling plants steal the algae’s light source and starve it of nutrients. Few well-balanced planted tanks will have any trace of algae and any levels of nitrate or phosphate either. Plant heavily, stock lightly with fish and your algae problem may go away all by itself.

Steal the algae's light source? Does algae only grow under plants then?
Starve it of nutrient? Yawn
Few well balanced tank will have any trace of nutrients? Oops
Stock lightly? Since when did that matter?

No wonder the author's name isn't listed :)

AC
 
SuperColey1 said:
No wonder the author's name isn't listed :)

AC

i noticed that too. :)
 
It does appear to contradict some modern planted tank methodology but it's not aimed at this readership, as Supercoley has observed.

If anyone is not happy with the content in PFK articles then consider writing into the editor. This is what I did quite regularly before I became a regular contributor about 5 years ago.

You may also comment on the website itself.
 
Personally, I find anything that I write that goes against the PFK flow gets censored. Having said that, I only attempt to write on their blogs when they start blabbing on about ocean "acidiification" and the end of corals as we know them.
 
My comment to the article got trough, which hopefully will help others to understand the real causes of algae on a tank. I am not expert on the matter, but there are some basics that need to be put across.

I think that the problem is that there are a lot of "experts" that are using old data and beliefs. :) Sad that the magazine is not moving with the times.

It could be just that they need to use the "official" planted tank experts, people such as George, and others. :)
 
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