Path: utzoo!hoptoad!mejac!decwrl!gringort
From: gringort@decwrl.dec.com (Joel Gringorten)
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria
Subject: Re: Fresh water plants (and marine too!)
Message-ID: <434@bacchus.DEC.COM>
Date: 9 May 88 20:22:47 GMT
References: <411@bacchus.DEC.COM> <5316@ihlpg.ATT.COM> <3037@leo.UUCP>
Reply-To: gringort@decwrl.UUCP (Joel Gringorten)
Organization: DEC Western Software Lab, Palo Alto, CA
Lines: 22

In article <3037@leo.UUCP> harald@leo.UUCP ( Harald Milne) writes:
>
>	Reduce nitrate levels to zero. You can't get rid of algea, but you can
>slow the growth at the food source. If you have no light, you can't have
>algea at all. Or caulerpa. Kinda a catch-22.
>

Actually there may be a way.  There have been reports that maintaining
high redox potential promotes macro algae, while diminishing the simple
algaes.  I've been experimenting with ozone to increase my redox potential.
About all I can report so far is that too much ozone destroys caulerpa.
I've cranked the ozone level down a bit, and my caulerpa is thriving, although
it seems not to be propagating as fast.  Micro algaes, including slime
algaes still exist and thrive.  These algaes in particular, so a report
claimed, thrive in low redox conditions.  This same report recommended
an ozonizer for increasing the redox potential.  I'm beginning to think
the whole redox/algae connection is a bunch of bunk.  The *right* way
to experiment with redox is to use a redox meter and probe.  However, 
these gadgets start at around $350.00 and are noted for being unstable.  
 
-- 
                          -joel