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10-28-2007, 06:29 AM
You have 6.4 watts per gallon and DIY CO2. It is going to be hard to avoid algae with that setup, no matter what substrate you use. If you cut the light wattage in half you have a slim chance to avoid algae, because 3.2 watts per gallon is still too high without doing everything else just about perfectly, and DIY CO2 never does qualify as just about perfect - it does not maintain a constant ppm of CO2 in the water during every day's photo period.
Chlorine in the water at the level we usually see in our tap water does not kill the yeast used to generate CO2 (it isn't a bacteria), because too many people successfully use plain tap water in their CO2 generators.
You didn't mention how densely planted this tank is, but it is always, in my opinion, a good idea to begin fertilizing from the first day of setting up a new planted tank, perhaps at reduced dosing levels until the plants are visibly growing. Unless those plants start growing very soon the fertilizer you put into the substrate is very likely to start some serious algae blooms - my opinion only, again. If you disturb that substrate enough ammonia/urea will leak out to trigger a green water bloom.
I suggest that you study the EI dosing method described in the forum of that name here, and use that method for fertilizing.
Hoppy
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