Losing Battle Against BBA, Please Help

[sleepylof]

Hi,

I previously posted on this forum under the topic "Algae Overrun." When I placed my Amazon Sword, Crypts, and Elodea in my 26 [acronym:a9ede78dd1="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:a9ede78dd1]. tank, immediately black brush algae began to grow on the leaves of the plants. The new tank is lit by a 96W, 6700K compact fluorsecent light for 6/hrs a day. All the advice I received was very useful and I have been applying it for about a week now. The problem is is while the Flourish Excel dose and two [acronym:a9ede78dd1="Do it yourself"]DIY[/acronym:a9ede78dd1] [acronym:a9ede78dd1="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:a9ede78dd1] (Hagen) systems has helped inhibit the BBA algae by raising [acronym:a9ede78dd1="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:a9ede78dd1] (Level increased from 5ppm to 8ppm), BBA is still reappearing. Eversince I began providing more nutrients, [acronym:a9ede78dd1="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:a9ede78dd1], and Fluorish Excel, BBA growth on the NEW plants is minimal, while BBA grows on the already affected plants more aggressively.

Can anyone help me tweak my routine to keep the BBA in check? Or should I resort to purchasing Rosey Barbs and Black Mollies to help eat the BBA? Any advice is welcome and apprecaited. Thanks so much.

I perform weekly water changes of 20%. I use Flourish once a week as well as Flourish Excel 3x weekly at 13mL, as well as provide Flourish Iron, Phosphorus, Potassium, and Nitrogen according to dosage instructions on the label.

Water Perameters:
pH: 7.4
Phosphate: slightly over 1ppm
Nitrate: very low
Ammonia: very low
[acronym:a9ede78dd1="Carbonate Hardness"]KH[/acronym:a9ede78dd1]: 6 degrees
Iron: Acceptable level

-Erik

[travis simonson]

BBA can be tenacious. You have two options to treat the affected plants: prune the leaves affected with BBA (you should be fairly ruthless about this to get rid of as much of the BBA as possible); or remove the plants from your tank and dip them in a 19:1 water:bleach solution for 2 minutes. The bleach dip will kill the BBA but it can be very hard on your plants too but swords should take it fairly well. I'm not sure about the Crypts or Elodea though. I just love to see bleached white BBA falling off of my plants :P

It sounds like you currently cannot increase [acronym:874e7712f4="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:874e7712f4] to the ideal 25-30 [acronym:874e7712f4="Parts per Million"]ppm[/acronym:874e7712f4] range. It also sounds like you've gotten to the point where the BBA is no longer spreading very quickly and may soon be in check. To prevent a resurgence your best bet is to keep [acronym:874e7712f4="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:874e7712f4] levels as high as possible and continue dosing with Excel.

[Xzap]

Travis is spot on.. one thing I might add.. if you do the bleach treatment, keep it to 2-3 minutes tops, I have went 4 minutes on anubias.

Then rinse the plants until you can't smell any bleach. Then dip them in some water that's been treated with dechlorinator before they go back in the tank.

I'm dealing with BBA right now and I've about got it under control by pruning and dippin'.

Thx,

dave

[sleepylof]

I tested my pH/[acronym:cc1d050f17="Carbonate Hardness"]KH[/acronym:cc1d050f17] again tonight and I've got a pH of 7.4 and a [acronym:cc1d050f17="Carbonate Hardness"]KH[/acronym:cc1d050f17] of 7 degrees with the two [acronym:cc1d050f17="Do it yourself"]DIY[/acronym:cc1d050f17] Hagen [acronym:cc1d050f17="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:cc1d050f17] systems. ... An 8ppm [acronym:cc1d050f17="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:cc1d050f17] level. Do you know what is causing the BBA?... I've spent a month trying to find out and it is certainly aggravating to say the least.

So, I'll just continue the nutrients, dose Fluorish Excel every other day and do the bleach dip. Should I continue to use a toothbrush and physically remove some of the BBA during this process?

Thanks for your replies! I'll try the bleach dip.

[travis simonson]

The cause of the BBA is most likely a well-lighted environment that is somewhat lacking in [acronym:ee704cc3dd="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:ee704cc3dd]. Once you have the dreaded pirate Blackbeard in your waters it can be somewhat difficult to rid yourself of him. [acronym:ee704cc3dd="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:ee704cc3dd] levels in the 25-30 [acronym:ee704cc3dd="Parts per Million"]ppm[/acronym:ee704cc3dd] range will aid you quite a bit in this department. If there is any way for you to increase [acronym:ee704cc3dd="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:ee704cc3dd] it will help you immeasurably in this department. If not, removing affected leaves and/or bleach-dipping affected plants will remove the immediate problem and hopefully put you on the right path. BBA is a real booger. I still fight it in my tank with certain plants. Your best bet is to remove/dip BBA affected leaves/plants as soon as you see them. Some have reported success against BBA by dosing Excel at double or even triple the recommended levels but I can't advise doing so unless you really know what you're doing.

In other news, I'm preparing a report on the use of glutaraldehyde (one of the active ingredients in Flourish Excel that I have been experimenting with in raw form as a treatment for BBA and plant growth supplement) in planted tanks. More on this later

[sleepylof]

I tried a 25:1 (water:bleach) solution for the plants, and soaked them in it for exactly 2 minutes. After that I rinsed them under the sink with copious amounts of tap water until I no longer could smell any bleach. After that I placed them for a few minutes in a bucket of water that was treated with 4x the amount of dechlorinator. So far ALL the BBA on the plants have dissappeared! ...Let's just hope this keeps this in check.

Do you know what is the safe number of times to perform the bleach dip?

Thanks alot of the bleach dip idea! It works! Hopefully, with the Excel and my 2 [acronym:76d8248a39="Do it yourself"]DIY[/acronym:76d8248a39] [acronym:76d8248a39="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:76d8248a39] systems things can get back to normal.

Please let me know your comments!

-Erik

[travis simonson]

Excellent news! Many plants take very well to a little bit 'o bleach.

Do not bleach-dip your plants more often than once a month or you risk burning them badly. Observe them closely for the week after you dip them for signs of distress. If you see signs that they are not doing well then avoid dipping them again.

Keep up the good work and maintain good water conditions and I think you'll get past this

[greenmaji]

you might want to try a powered reactor to get your [acronym:34ec9a364f="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:34ec9a364f] levels up..

your nitrate level should be around 10-15ppm as well..

[BrianNY]

Check your phosphates too. This algae proliferates in a phosphate rich environment.

[Purrbox]

I was just wondering what type of filtration you have on this tank. I would think that with two Hagen [acronym:3fd38cc2dd="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:3fd38cc2dd] Systems your [acronym:3fd38cc2dd="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:3fd38cc2dd] would have gone up more than it has. If you've got a bio wheel in the filter this could be gassing off the majority of the [acronym:3fd38cc2dd="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:3fd38cc2dd] that you are injecting. Another possibility is that when the water is being returned to the tank, it's splashing too much, which would also gas the [acronym:3fd38cc2dd="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:3fd38cc2dd].