Algae ID/ solutions.

[dw1305]

Hi all,

If so, try leaving the lids off for a day or two and see what happens.

It is a pretty low level of nutrients to not get any algal growth. When we used <"distillation units in the lab."> we used to get a very fine fuzz of green algae in the aspirators where the water was stored, you are only looking at ~ 10 microS conductivity so it really is a <"trace of nutrients">. You don't get this with the DI units we use now.

cheers Darrel

 

[ceg4048]

Hey @ceg4048 I've responded to this statement before, but no response, so I try again 🙂

I have kept RO water in food safe (new), transparent water containers throughout summer, in direct sun with not a sign of algae. So, if nutrients don't cause algae, what does?

Maybe I was just very lucky to have a truly clean water container with no Algae spores?

Hi ,
Apologies if I missed your previous post asking about this. It's a well worn road and these are two completely different subjects when we talk about causality. Many moons ago the claim that nutrients cause algae in a planted tank was falsified by the mere fact that an algae free tank can be produced by adding nutrients. Our goal is to demonstrate what factors in plant husbandry are NOT causative.

Knowing what does NOT cause a thing takes us a step closer to understanding what DOES cause that thing but it cannot automatically tell us the cause. Determining causality is too difficult a question but what we do have is correlation to certain factors.

Furthermore, the system we are interested in is a system where both plants and algae are present. In the system you tested there were no plants.
a we mention repeatedly, algae are not simple automatons that pop up randomly. There is a behavior involved. Algae exhibit a behavior and so do plants. So there is a behavioral relationship going on between the two. That relationship is a predatory one in which algae are the predators and plants are the prey. Have a read of the post Cladophora! Will I ever be able to remove it all?

I'm not able to reach any conclusion regarding your experimental system sitting in the sun. I can only tell you what we have discovered in our systems. I can also comment that there are natural systems where nutrients cause algae and there are other systems in which nutrients result in a decrease in algae. So this subject has to be approached systematically and not have conclusions drawn on a random scenario.

What we know is that if nutrients are withheld from the plants they suffer deficiency, become weak and are susceptible to algal blooms. If we add nutrients the blooms can be eliminated - perhaps not automatically, but when healthy, plants have a better chance to resist the attacks.

Because of this correlation between healthy plants and reduction of blooms instead of focusing on what is causing algae it is a better strategy to focus on "what causes healthy plants".

Cheers,

 

[bazz]

Hi all,

It is a pretty low level of nutrients to not get any algal growth. When we used <"distillation units in the lab."> we used to get a very fine fuzz of green algae in the aspirators where the water was stored, you are only looking at ~ 10 microS conductivity so it really is a <"trace of nutrients">. You don't get this with the DI units we use now.

cheers Darrel

Yes, if I Keep the tight fitting lid on my potable water container, containing 130l of RO (occasionally RODI for SW) it remains fresh for as long as I have ever left it, if I leave the lid off for any reason e.g. heater/pump cables, after 24 hours the inside and contents start to become coated in brown slime/diatoms. I always assumed this is because algae spores are entering the container, germinating (or whatever algae does) and probably triggering life. This is in my kitchen with no windows, an obscured nano tank light and where the main kitchen light is brief and random.
I'm not a biologist though so who knows?
Cheers!