sirdarksol

I have Java fern and java moss in a tank that also has an unfortunate hair algae problem, and I want to starve the hair algae out. This means clearing as much of the phosphates out as I can. I'm just wondering how much java fern and java moss actually need to survive.

Wolfgang8810

they are prettymuch bulletproof they done need much at all to survive. atleast .5ppm

sirdarksol

Alright, so if I balance this right, I should be able to at least keep the algae under better control.

Wolfgang8810

yup injecting Co2 will help starve out algae too. It will kick the plants into overdrive and therefore will suck up all the nutrients that algae need to live.

sirdarksol

My problem is the cost/maintenance of CO2 injection. I set up a homemade CO2 injection kit once, managed to refill it twice before forgetting about it for months.
In addition, there's a lot of surface agitation in the tank, which I understand takes a lot of injected CO2 back out of the tank. Because it's a tall tank, I have aeration in it, in addition to the short waterfall created by the filter and the mild waves created by the powerhead.
It's something to think about, though, if I can't figure out any other way to take care of this.

Wolfgang8810

that is true surface agitation decreases efficiency of Co2. you could cut back your light to half that of the normal time. Algae really needs more light than javafern/moss.

sirdarksol

Unfortunately, the rooted plants still need more light. I can get them direct phosphate, but I can't target the light so easily.

Wolfgang8810

true....... maybe manual removal

sirdarksol

I'm doing that periodically. The problem is that it's coming back, and it's popping up in the powerhead tube, making it pretty difficult to remove consistently.
I'm going to try a phosphate removing media for awhile and see what happens. I'll also be doing my normal cleaning during this time. Hopefully this will choke the stuff off. I'm also going to step up my water changes to hopefully take out some of the nitrates.

Wolfgang8810

i think thats the best option