How much of this did you dose? I did one treatment last night and it says 48 hours later to do a second dose if necessary. I don’t have a massive breakout, spots here and there that manual removal wasn’t completely getting rid of.
Welcome to ScapeCrunch
We are ScapeCrunch, the place where planted aquarium hobbyists come to build relationships and support each other. When you're tired of doom scrolling, you've found your home here.
Cyanobacteria
- Thread starter Calamardo Tentaculos
- Start date
- Tagged users None
I can't remember off the top of my head, but it was whatever the directions call for I believe!
- Thread starter
- #23
@Naturescapes_Rocco coming back to this as the cyano is making a comeback. Having tested my water, it appears that PO4 is at 1-2ppm and NO3 is showing zero. I have just dosed 880 milligrams of saltpetre potassium nitrate to reach 10ppm of KNO3, but these results have led to me pondering whether the ratio elements in APT E may be too high on PO4.
A quick look on Rotala butterfly indicates that 1ml of APT EI would give
On the contrary, 1ml of TNC Complete (alternative in the UK) would give a far lower ratio of PO4 but a far higher ratio of K to NO3.
Seems to me that it would be better for me to switch to TNC Complete in the future as the PO4 to NO3 ratio would mean that I do not have to add KNO3 to the tank but just increase the amount of ferts dose.
Is my logic sound?
A quick look on Rotala butterfly indicates that 1ml of APT EI would give
| NO3 | 1.31 |
| N | 0.3 |
| P | 0.31 |
| K | 1.57 |
| Mg | 0.3 |
| Fe | 0.03 |
On the contrary, 1ml of TNC Complete (alternative in the UK) would give a far lower ratio of PO4 but a far higher ratio of K to NO3.
| N | 0.2778 |
| P | 0.037 |
| K | 0.9259 |
| Mg | 0.1481 |
| Fe | 0.0148 |
| Mn | 0.0033 |
| Cu | 0.0004 |
| B | 0.0019 |
| Zn | 0.0019 |
| Mo | 0.0002 |
Seems to me that it would be better for me to switch to TNC Complete in the future as the PO4 to NO3 ratio would mean that I do not have to add KNO3 to the tank but just increase the amount of ferts dose.
Is my logic sound?
Thanks for the update! Adding it to my list of aquascapers with zero NO3 and non-zero PO4!
This is the reason I stopped using it. It IS low on NO3. It basically states that on the site:
Your logic is sound, especially if you're using testing/observation on your tanks. I Almost ALWAYS find that cyanobacteria is a result of little-to-no NO3, which (after C) is the most consumed nutrient by plants. If I see Cyano, 99% of the time I will test <2ppm NO3 in my tank at that time.
My biggest tank consumes over 20ppm NO3 per week, sometimes as much as 30ppm or more. I'd have to dose a TON of a weak fertilizer like APT 3 (APT complete's new name) to achieve non-limiting NO3 levels, meanwhile all the remaining P, K, and Micros/TE would not be consumed.
I still love APT line of products. APT 3 is great for tanks with rich levels of NO3 in the aquasoil, or for tanks with decently high fish load (where fish waste provides extra NO3). It's also great for low-light tanks with little to no CO2, if not overdosed. However, if you have a high-tech CO2 enriched tank with high light, you will either need to dose much more APT 3 and increase your water change frequency, or just use a fertilizer that has more NO3, to achieve non-limiting NO3 levels.
Or, you could do what I do, and just create your own liquid ferts... or dry dose them! That way you have full control of your nutrient levels and save money. Comes at the cost of a learning curve and many hours spent on Rotala Butterfly's nutrient calculator, but worth it once you figure out how it works.
On all my tanks, I use an auto-doser to dose micros daily, and I front-load KNO3, KH2PO4, and K2SO4 after each water change to ensure my levels never reach zero. My aquasoil is basically fully depleted, and my experiment tank only uses inert sand. To keep cyanobacteria away, I just need to make sure my NO3 never reaches zero (especially if my PO4 is also never reaching zero).
- Thread starter
- #25
Glad to be an example.
I'm afraid I don't have the time to make my own ferts as I spend too much time on my tank for my wife's liking as it is. Also can't seem to find a decent seller for dry salts in the UK now. The UKAPS gang are going with coir tec to make their own ferts.
Question now is will my phosphates be consumed after I've increased nitrates?
The easiest tell for limiting phosphates is GSA (green spot algae). If you start to see those little hard dots of circular algae on glass/leaves/hardscape, you know your PO4 has been depleted, too!
These tanks are a constant balancing act
I have a touch of cyano and trying to keep it no more than that. So this is great info.These tanks are a constant balancing act
What makes it complicated for me is that right now is my fresh aquasoil sucks down the PO4. So I have to add a bit extra. Eventually that will stop, so there will have to be a dosing shift. It will also give out of nitrogen at some point producing another dosing shift. I'm trying to navigate these without too much headache or algae. This helps a lot.
- Thread starter
- #28
It explains why my other tank had no issues with cyano no matter what. It was full of GSA so phosphates were depleted.The easiest tell for limiting phosphates is GSA (green spot algae). If you start to see those little hard dots of circular algae on glass/leaves/hardscape, you know your PO4 has been depleted, too!
These tanks are a constant balancing act
Found a great product that genuinely worked for me. It delat with a second outbreak of cyano in a couple of days a month or so ago. So far so good.
- Thread starter
- #30
I used this numerous times in the past. Finished it without having much of an impact on the cyano in my substrate.
I guess, like any of these cures, the actual cause needs to be removed from the equation first. In my case that was the dead wood. And an improvement in flow and distribution. Also, perhaps increasing nutrient status. So far so good. I’ll keep you updated. If it comes back then I’ll have to reconsider my opinion.
I used it about a month ago or so, worked great for me. I’d say it took about a week to fully disappear.
