Lets hear from survivors of BGA

[joannde]

I need some encouragement about the possibility of surviving BGA.

I'm dosing NO3 to 20 - 30 ppm, the current in the tank is "good" (but not great / strong) and I'm manually removing as much as possible. I can't do a blackout right now because the tank has 3 juvie Dwarf Puffers, one of which I suspect of have intestinal parasites (treating with GelTek treated bloodworms).

I'd like to know if anyone has survived a fairly noxious bout of BGA, how you did it, and how long it took - I need to see some light at the end of this slimy walled tunnel !! LOL

 

[sudz]

I had the first signs of it in my 10 gallon, back when i had it. I just upped the flourish excel a bit (don't want to overdose) and reduced the lighting period to 6 hours. I did that at the first little spot of it on some hornwart. I removed it manually, and never saw it. a few weeks later, i put the lights back to 10 hours, but kept the higher dosage of excel, as i enjoyed the plants newfound growth and color.

 

[JDogg]

the one time i had BGA bad i had to do a 3 day blackout...

barring that how positive are you that you really have 20-30 ppm NO3? how old is your test kit?

 

[JRagg]

I got it before I even stocked my tank. When I was fishless-cycling I had the tank planted (bad idea) and nitrates surely bottomed out. I was just coming back into the aquarium hobby and went straight for the Maracyn (not maracyn II). I did a full dose of it for 5 days and it has yet to return. This was about 4 1/2 months ago, and the maracyn has long since been gone from my tank (removed with water changes and AC).

I know that everyone says not to do the antibiotic treatment because you could end up with antibiotic resistant strains of cyano in your tank. Honestly with as much trouble as you've had with the stuff (I've seen countless posts by you about blackouts and such) I would do it. If you're dosing 20-30ppm of nitrates weekly and doing 50% water changes weekly (as recommended by EI) there's no way nitrates should bottom out on you. The problem is solved, and personally I would just do the maracyn treatment and be done with it.

Mine was visibly dying after 2-3 days of treatment, and all gone by the end of the 5 day treatment.

 

[joannde]

I've heard that Excel can help combat BGA somewhere else but wasn't sure if that was true or not. I'd love to hear from others who have combated BGA with Excel - I have anacharis in the tank (at least for now) but I can change that

My kit is only 6 months old and since I got it off the shelf at a busy PetSmart I doubt it was sitting there very long.

This tank is a BGA nightmare ! It was originally a divided betta tank, and when one of the bettas tore a fin I was doing daily water changes to keep things clean as his fin grew back. The java moss sucked up the 5ppm of NO3 from my tap water, NO3 bottomed out, and I've been tacking this <<<< fill in any nasty word you like >>> since then. The tank went through both a 3 day and a 6 day blackout, then a total breakdown as I converted it to the DP tank.

Once the "hold out" DP is cured of the IPs I'll probably go the Maracyn route. I know its not the "ideal solution" but so far I'm not encouraged that anything else will work

 

[JDogg]

excel kills BGA?

are you sure? that is new to me...

excel IS used to fight BBA (Black/Brown Beard Algae)...

 

[Mosaic]

I came back to BGA after a vacation when someone else was watching the tank. I put the lights back on a proper schedule (no timer; I suspect they were left on the entire time) and I may or may not have dosed Excel. I probably did, since it's in easy reach and I knew enough to know the nutrient levels were probably all out of whack. I don't pay a whole lot of attention to ferts, so I couldn't tell you where they were, or how much Excel I added. I just reasoned they needed to be at some steady level.
I also, by a fluke, threw in my giant Marisa ramshorn because his QT time was up, and I firmly believe he's the big (or sole) reason my BGA went away. I sacrificed a few plants in the process (didn't know they were plant eaters at the time), but its gone and hasn't come back. Hooray for happy accidents!

 

[rich311k]

I dose excel at almost double and I have not seen any effect on the BGA. I am almost ready to try the antibiotics myself. I am getting tired of removing it manually and doing extra water vacs to get it all out of the tank.

 

[sudz]

I agree, Excel is at the very least a good preventative. I've even taken in plants with it on it (unknowingly at start) and never had an outbreak. I don't monitor nutriet levels often. In fact, its been a while since i've done any other test but PH (tap water spikes every now and then) When i was cycling my planted tank the first time, i dosed KNO3, which i still have around (potassium nitrate) That lasted about 4 weeks, then i just started feeding the heck out of the tank and buying fish. It eventually found its happy spot, and i just have the regular algae you have to scrape off the glass once every few months.

I credit Excel Flourish for preventing outbreaks in my 15 gallon high growth tank.

 

[joannde]

Rich - I hear ya !!! At this point my water changes are pretty much done one turkey baster at a time LOL

I saw LWB's post that BGA is sometimes caused by high dissolved organic solids, so I added a ton of activated carbon to the filter. So far no effect, but its only been a few days.

Do high phosphates play a role in BGA ? Phosphates in my tap water are a horrible 3.0 !

 

[7Enigma]

joannde,

High phosphates have no role in BGA. My tank (if I trust my liquid test kit) is probably over 4ppm at any given time. I have never had BGA or any other algae because of phosphates.

Excel will not get rid of BGA, it just ensures your plants have a constant carbon source. If you have other nutrient deficiencies, the Excel will not help.

I do not use antibiotics in my tank, but in your situation, if higher levels of nitrAtes and PWC's and good ferts (including CO2) do not rid your tank of them I would consider using the antibiotics.

Antibiotics are safe WHEN USED PROPERLY. Most times they are used for a day or two, the person see's positive results (algae/bacteria dying), and then stops. This is how you get resistant strains. If you've ever recieved a prescription for a bacterial infection, you are always told to take the FULL course of medicine regardless of how well you feel after a day or two. This ensures that ALL of the pathogen is killed.

What happens when only a partial dose is used is some of the pathogen might just barely survive. If it has come in contact with the antibiotic, it can develop an immunity towards it and now that antibiotic is ineffective against that pathogen. This is very dangerous in humans, but also in tanks since you now have to use a different antibiotic. This unfortunate circle continues if the procedure is not properly followed.

Please note it is also possible that your BGA is ALREADY resistant or immune to the antibiotic you are going to use.

Slight rant:

I highly recommend NOT using antibacterial soaps/creames in your household. I also highly recommend AGAINST having your children use these soaps as well. It is very VERY easy to get a resisitant strain to many different antibiotics due to the frequency and sometimes poor washing techniques that many children (and adults) have. Back in college I was utterly shocked when I took a water sample from a pond in my parents backyard. We isolated a single bacteria and then tested it against about 15 commonly used antibiotics (many which are found in handsoaps/etc). The random bacteria I had tested was resistant to 6 and completely IMMUNE to 3 of these. This was a bacteria that should have had very little contact with anything, and goes to show just how dangerous careless use of antibiotics can be. I forsee a time in the near future when a deadly strain of a previously nuisance organism develops immunity to a large amount of antibiotics. Frankly I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet.

/end rant

 

[joannde]

7Engima - I agree with your rant, actually. It used to be that finding antibacterial soap was difficult - now its the "regular" soap that's hard to find. I'd bet we're going to find resistant strains to many common bacteria very soon.

I'm glad to hear its not the phosphates causing / contributing to the BGA - I didn't think it did but someone elsewhere told me it does (I didn't believe it and came back to MY experts LOL).

If I do have to use the antibiotics I'll surely use the entire 5 day recommended dosing regime. I really hope it doesn't have to come to that however. I'm still manually removing and tinkering with the NO3 dosing. If the DPs were older I'd do a 5 or 6 day blackout (not that either has ever worked before in this tank !).

I'm actually getting to the point where I think this tank is permanently infected. I wonder if BGA can grow in a hermit crab tank ???? That would be a cute use for it if I finally really DO throw up my hands and surrender. My mom was looking at the hermits the other day at PetSmart - I could do the setup for her for xmas (instead of adding to the ever growing critter menagerie here !). I would keep the cheapo hood and lightstrip and just get a new tank, a new filter and a new heater for the DPs.

 

[mr funktastic]

i had it bad. it was on every plant and growing faster than my plants were so i went out and got 2 SAE's. gone withing 1 week with 2 very fat and very happy sae's.