Time and the disappearance of algae

[Soilwork]

Not by everyone...

Further...

My guess would be that high plant diversity in turn encourages high soil microbial diversity and activity which promotes stability and inhibits algae through increased carbon cycling and reduced organics. Also, I suspect allelopathic algae inhibiting interactions are not just confined to higher plants and algae but also occur between bacteria and algae.

Which kind of brings me full circle back to my pioneer community analogy above...

So in short, maturity can result in high microbial diversity which promotes ecosystem functioning and ecological stability. Which in the case of our planted tanks perhaps doesn't favour algae so much.

But I guess it's all a bit chicken and egg for a while after set up; plant diversity is low, and so is microbial diversity and activity. The system will take a while to reach maturity and homeostasis. In that time algae will often flourish especially when plants are adapting to submersed growth and there is a lot of solid and dissolved organic carbon in the system.

yes I can agree with most of that. Thus my point is that algae tends to be almost a guarantee in new set ups and mostly appear more intense in tanks that favour strong light in conjunction with an additional fertiliser regimen. This is because 90% of tanks have excess organics due to overfeeding and adjusting plants and do little to alleviate high BOD. There seems to be a negative loopback in these kind of tanks. Even adding oxygen to a tank that is running a backlog of organics can severely benefit algae if plant mass is low.

so yes tank maturity is a lot of things rolled in to one but many do not have the patience to wait it out or know the steps required to use as a preventative for algae whilst the tank is maturing.

this brings me back full circle to my point that we are taught the incorrect meaning of balance from outset. We focus too much on plants and that balance extends far beyond light, ferts and co2.

 

[Tim Harrison]

Balance does extend beyond light, fertz and CO2 and undoubtedly O2 plays a crucial role. But they are the parameters we can manipulate to enable us to initiate and perpetuate the negative feedback loop necessary to reach a favourable equilibrium; where our chosen plants transition and become healthy enough to eventually dominate.

Plants would probably loose the battle against algae in a high-energy tank if it weren't for our initial intervention. For instance, in addition to good oxygenation, frequent and substantial water changes should prevent the build up of organic matter and reduce BOD, and probably help prevent algae.

Eventually, a homeostasis is reached where less intervention is needed because plants modify the environment and make it habitable for other organisms. For instance, oxygenating the rhizosphere, and making it more conducive to microbial activity. Which in turn benefits plant growth and tank health and so on and so forth...

 

[Soilwork]

Hi all,

My guess would be that there are algal species you are more likely to find in stable long term set-ups, just because they are biodiverse and

Balance does extend beyond light, fertz and CO2 and undoubtedly O2 plays a crucial role. But they are the parameters we can manipulate to enable us to initiate and perpetuate the negative feedback loop necessary to reach a favourable equilibrium; where our chosen plants transition and become healthy enough to eventually dominate.

Plants would probably loose the battle against algae in a high-energy tank if it weren't for our initial intervention. For instance, in addition to good oxygenation, frequent and substantial water changes should prevent the build up of organic matter and reduce BOD, and probably help prevent algae.

Eventually, a homeostasis is reached where less intervention is needed because plants modify the environment and make it habitable for other organisms. For instance, oxygenating the rhizosphere, and making it more conducive to microbial activity. Which in turn benefits plant growth and tank health and so on and so forth...

Perhaps. I would argue though, that with time, good oxygenation and carefully selected plants the plants themselves actually do become healthy enough to dominate with very little intervention and also that the methods we often use in our attempt to give the plants the upper hand is rarely conducive to overall tank health. A discussion for another time.

There was a tank shown here the other day in another thread where clearly the tank would have benefited from the addition of some air (Look at the surface film) but after 40 something posts oxygen had still not been mentioned. This is an example of a post where the main focus tunnel visioned towards light, ferts and co2 etc.

All I’m saying is that we need to think a little broader than plants if we want to help people with overall tank health. Whilst of course they are a large part of a healthy ecosystem they are only part of the puzzle.

There are fish in this tank after all...

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

There was a tank shown here the other day in another thread where clearly the tank would have benefited from the addition of some air (Look at the surface film) but after 40 something posts oxygen had still not been mentioned.

I'd agree, but I think we have <"pushed dissolved oxygen"> as the most important metric in tank health and we have talked about the advantages of not stuffing your <"filter full off filter floss"> etc. I would want to address both the substrate and the surface film in pictured tank.

Perhaps. I would argue though, that with time, good oxygenation and carefully selected plants the plants themselves actually do become healthy enough to dominate with very little intervention

I think this, but they may still become nutrient deficient and need some fertiliser addition. I'm using a <"hybrid Duckweed Index"> at the moment, but I'm definitely still not aiming for optimal plant growth.

I have a large plant mass, but I'm only aiming to keep it ticking over.



cheers Darrel

 

[Tim Harrison]

I would argue though, that with time, good oxygenation and carefully selected plants the plants themselves actually do become healthy enough to dominate with very little intervention

Agreed, but it really depends on your goal though. Like Darrel mentions he's not aiming for optimal plant growth, as such his tanks probably require relatively little intervention. I also state in the introduction to my soil substrate tutorial that the soil substrate route can achieve equilibrium with very little input. On the other hand a high-energy injected tank will require far greater intervention to reach equilibrium since it is an inherently unstable system.

also that the methods we often use in our attempt to give the plants the upper hand is rarely conducive to overall tank health.

I think the importance of O2 is appreciated, but in a high-energy system the balance between your "grail" parameters is often paramount. I guess one of our mantras is concentrate on growing healthy plants not eradicating algae. And it seems to work. By and large healthy plants mean a well oxygenated healthy tank and less algae.

 

[PARAGUAY]

Can we compare a planted tank to say a example things going on in the Amazon or Congo were seasonal change can be vast and stability is ?

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Can we compare a planted tank to say a example things going on in the Amazon or Congo were seasonal change can be vast and stability is ?

I think it is a fair point a lot of freshwater is going to show <"large seasonal variation"> in values. This is from: Rocha, RRA.; Thomaz, SM.*; Carvalho, P. & Gomes, LC. (2007) Modeling chlorophyll-α and dissolved oxygen concentration in tropical floodplain lakes (Paraná River, Brazil) Brazilian Journal of Biology 69:2



It is also back to <"Discus don't live with aquatic plants in the wild"> argument.

cheers Darrel