Does food supplements contribute to nitrates?

[mkroher]

So... I have hair algae denser than a tropical rain forrest right now. It's a new tank, so I know these blooms are common.. BUT....
I've been soaking food in zoecon, zoe, and I've also been adding vita-chem to the water every week.
Do you think that contributed to the nutrients available for the hair algae to thrive?
I haven't added any supplements in a week... and my girlfriend says the hair algae is not as dark in color. (Which is a good sign to me). Oh.. nitrates read 0. (duh)
thoughts? thanks.

 

[reefkprz]

adding supplement can definitely promote algaes, the more nutrients you add the more there is to break down. somethign is going to use the nutrients if they are available.

 

[spanko]

Originally Posted by mkroher
http:///forum/post/3178563
So... I have hair algae denser than a tropical rain forrest right now. It's a new tank, so I know these blooms are common.. BUT....
I've been soaking food in zoecon, zoe, and I've also been adding vita-chem to the water every week.
Do you think that contributed to the nutrients available for the hair algae to thrive?
I haven't added any supplements in a week... and my girlfriend says the hair algae is not as dark in color. (Which is a good sign to me). Oh.. nitrates read 0. (duh)
thoughts? thanks.

Agree with reef here. Any and all protienous material added to the tank is fuel for something to use. Nitrates read zero because they are being absorbed by the algae as they are available.

 

[scsinet]

Also keep in mind that food adds phosphates which certainly fuels algae growth.

 

[ophiura]

I think actually that "additives" are one of the most often overlooked problems for hobbyists. They are sold with the intent that they are all good and necessary. But whether they are food additives or coralline algae supplements or "vitamins" they often have side effects that aren't appreciated.
Why I think there are merits to selcon, etc, I don't believe all food needs to be soaked in it. Feed a diversity of foods, and your fish will likely get the nutrition they need. For filter feeders, a diversity also is good, but watch dosing very carefully and, IMO, underdose relative to the instructions. Higher quality filter feeder foods, like live phyto or rotifers is preferable to the bottled-store-on-LFS-shelf for months stuff like phytoplex, etc.

 

[mkroher]

thanks for all the replies everyone
I was soaking food initially for my tang. First he had lympocytis, then had a bacterial infection, then finally had HLLE. (it was one thing after another).
he has come a long way and looks very well. he's quite the trooper and his HLLE scars are slowly going away. he's the tang in my avatar picture... isn't he handsome? haha
I'm not soaking any more food. no more additives for now. although my tang's health is a priority, so we'll see how it goes.

 

[eric b 125]

feeding a variety of quality foods is more beneficial to the fish than 'doctoring up' lower quality foods, IMO.