Hi everyone. First let me start with my tank info. 29 gal. 4wpg pc lights pressurized co2. I have been dosing a sort of modified EI dosing which I add 3ppm kno3 ,.45ppm po4 , K and of course traces every day. So, weekly I add about 20ppm kno3, 3ppm po4 and about 20ml tmg.
I occasionally see very little BGA on the tips of a few of my stem plants, very little mind you, but still it's sometimes there. My question is, if I know my co2 is 30+ ppm,I have adequate water flow and circulation, is it possible that the 3ppm of nitrate I am adding a day is being used up and that's why I am seeing the blue green algae occasionally? As far as I can tell from reading about bga,it seems to appear because of nitrates bottoming out, inadequate circulation or dead spots, maybe a dirty filter. If everything is in order as far as flow and circulation,filter maintenance, co2 and all other nutrients, should I up my kno3 dosing from 3ppm a day? If so, what do you recommend me raising it to? I don't know what else could be the cause of the bga. Like I said, it is not even close to a real problem, but it does still sometimes appear in very small amounts, only on tips of stem plants.
Any help would be very much appreciated.
Thanks,
John

Hi John,

Any reason for not dosing full EI? Unless you maintain non limiting levels at that light level it is difficult to tell. Also might consider dosing Macs and Mics on off days, I've found this to work well.

I'd say clean clean and clean the filter, trim well, fluff the tank good, add carbon, then do a few good size water changes after each cleaning.

That and fluffing the tips will help.
Tweak the CO2 a tad.

No, you have more than enough nutrients.
CO2, cleaning, basic maintenance stuff.

You know, the stuff that causes the real issues, although everyone likes think everything is due to nutrients(haha, hhehe, hoohho!)


Regards,
Tom Barr

Thank you, this is what I will do. Basically, just regular maintenance stuff and keep the nutrient levels the same. Also, bump up the co2 more.
Thanks,
John