Everyones an expert

[justinl]

dabandit, while i agree that people who have no idea what they are talking about shouldn't talk, you are currently shooting yourself in the foot. There are quite a few cyanobacteria species that are known as nitrogen fixers. At low levels of nitrogen (at normal phosphorus levels), usually in the form of nitrate for obvious reasons, nitrogen fixers outcompete other algal species in natural settings. This is what Ive learned from my university limnology class... there's plenty of scientific papers detailing this mechanism if you're willing to look for it. Granted that in captive systems, all bets are off, because our systems only emulate nature in the barest of degrees. is the best way to stock more (but not overstock... i dont think that's what he meant)? maybe, maybe not, but there's merit to it at least.

edit: "are you saying im wrong?" now who's the expert?

[Samw]

Originally Posted by justinl

dabandit, while i agree that people who have no idea what they are talking about shouldn't talk, you are currently shooting yourself in the foot. There are quite a few cyanobacteria species that are known as nitrogen fixers. At low levels of nitrogen (at normal phosphorus levels), usually in the form of nitrate for obvious reasons, nitrogen fixers outcompete other algal species in natural settings. This is what Ive learned from my university limnology class... there's plenty of scientific papers detailing this mechanism if you're willing to look for it.

Interesting. OK, just for fun and my self learning, I did some Googling.


http://www.environmentalleverage.com...nobacteria.htm

"The presence of large amounts of tetrads or Cyanobacteria in a wastewater treatment system can indicate a severe nutrient deficiency, typically nitrogen."
"Tetrads and cyanobacteria are usually found in environments where there are low levels of nitrogen present. "
" Usually increasing nitrogen levels in the influent often causes them to disappear quite quickly as opposed to adding high levels of polymer to try to drop them out. "
"Low nutrient levels and high BOD are usually the cause of tetrads and cyanobacteria. Ammonia should be increased in the influent and usually with a little bit of time they disappear."

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/art...?artid=1151820

"Nitrate and Phosphate Affect Cultivability of Cyanobacteria from Environments with Low Nutrient Levels

Nitrate and phosphate concentrations higher than those found in the natural environment slowed down growth of two strains of non-bloom-forming, phycoerythrin-rich Synechococcus spp. isolated from mesotrophic subalpine lakes.

For both strains, high initial nitrate and phosphate concentrations delayed growth. "


http://gwapa.org/wordpress/articles/...-aquarium/#bga

"Causes:

Low nitrates - Usually present when all of the nitrogen/nitrate has been removed from the water column. While this is a triggering condition, it is also exacerbated by the bacteria itself using any remaining nitrogen.

Cures:

Increase nitrates - Dose nitrates until the concentration reaches ~5ppm. "


http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm

"Cause Often caused by very low nitrates. It is fairly common to have it growing in the substrate against the front glass from where it can spread. "

"Removal A blackout is the best method for this. Clean out as much of the algae as you can and do a 30 to 50% water change. If your nitrates are low then add some potassium nitrate to get levels to 20ppm. "

http://www.aquarium-pond-answers.com...aquariums.html

"To protect the Nitrogenase from oxygen, many nitrogen-capturing Cyanobacteria (usually of the filamentous variety) have developed special nitrogen-fixing cells called Heterocysts encased in thickened cell walls. Because of this ability, low nitrate levels are generally not the key to stopping this plague."


http://www.aquatic-eden.com/2006/10/...algae-bga.html

"Causes: Low nitrate levels (NO3), "dead spots" of low water circulation, organic waste build-up
Prevention: Dose nitrates (NO3), add powerheads to aid circulation, frequent water changes and do not over-feed"

"Since it can fix its own nitrogen, a lack of nitrates gives it an advantage over plants. If nitrates are not high enough, it will quickly find a dead spot to start a colony and begin growing extremely rapidly."

http://www.bioremediate.com/algae.htm

"Nitrogen fixation is the process of converting unusable nitrogen (atmospheric nitrogen) into usable nitrogen (ammonia). This characteristic allows these species to exist in areas where low nitrogen availability inhibits growth. Therefore, under phosphorus-rich conditions, when nitrogen may be limited, blue-green cyanobacteria algae have a competitive advantage because they can utilize ("fix") nitrogen directly. "