Blackout for BGA ?

[joannde]

Between the java moss (which I actually think pearls sometimes !) and the frequent water changes I've had to do on my 10 G betta tank (one of the guys nearly tore his dorsal fin completely off - and now he's managed to mangle half his tail !) my nitrates bottomed out and I've ended up with BGA. I've managed to keep the BGA partially in check by scrubbing as many surfaces as possible, doing lots of water changes (30%+ every 2 days), and dosing KNO3.

I'll be going away for four days and I'm afraid of what I might come back to, so I may take the opportunity to try a blackout while I'm gone. I know I wouldn't be able to try the blackout while I'm home - it would just break my heart not to see the guys for four straight days ! LOL

When I get back and uncover the tank I'm planning a nice 70% water change to clean out the dead BGA and whatever else might accumulate. I'm assuming if I keep dosing KNO3 that the BGA won't come back.

Please let me know if I've gotten this right.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

As long as you keep your nutrients in check after you complete the blackout, you should be fine. It shouldn't come back.

 

[joannde]

Thanks LWB, I was hoping that would be the case. I never expected the java moss to be such a great nitrate sponge so I wasn't keeping as good an eye on that as I should have. Now I know better.

 

[JRagg]

I agree, this is a great opportunity to knock that stuff out. It is such a mess, and once it gets a strong foothold it will take over your tank. I had it in mine and it was having its way with my plants. Good luck on the blackout!

And like LWB said, making sure your nitrates don't bottom out will keep it from returning.

 

[LindaC]

I believe Java Moss was the cause of BGA in my 10 gallon tank. I did a 3 days blackout and it was gone or at least I thought it was gone but it's actually still there in very small amounts. Not sure what I'm going to do yet. Make sure you do it for 4 days and keep the tank completely covered.

Good luck

 

[joannde]

I know my nitrates bottomed out in that tank. Because of all the water changes the highest my readings were was 5ppm (equal to my tap water). The java moss obviously sucked that up. Since I now remove whatever I can find (including a thorough rinse of the java moss until the water runs clear - with two more rinses just for good measure), I'm keeping it to a minimum. I'm encouraged by the responses and hope to never see this icky green slime again