Algea advice

[Philip99]

I have recently been noticing this ugly type of algae has anyone ever has this problem?










Is there anyway to remove/ get rid of it?

Tank specs 55g
2x 54w 6700k bulbs
Fluorite substrate
DIY co2
Fuval c4 HOB filter

Kno3 once a week to maintain 10ppm nitrate
Flourish iron
Flourish trace

Levels
Ph 7.6
Nitrate 10ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Ammonia 0ppm

Lights on for 8hrs a day

 

[aqua_chem]

Looks like BBA. It's usually associated with an imbalance between co2 and light. That being said, I notice that you've got DIY co2 going on a rather large tank. Beyond about 30g, DIY starts to have throughput and consistency issues, both of which are contributing factors of BBA.

Short of getting a pressurized co2 system, which is advice that no one seems to like to hear, there are some steps you can take to prevent BBA in your tank. First, you can decrease the consistency issues and increase your co2 throughput by installing a second DIY co2 reactor. Obviously this depends heavily on what you currently have. I would recommend at least two 2L reactors, more if necessary. Stagger the dates that you remake the mixture such that the overall output stays relatively stable (as opposed to tapering off over the course of three weeks or so in the case of a single reactor). In addition, you can supplement your co2 with Excel or a similar product. BBA has an adverse reaction to Excel, and in addition to providing an additional carbon source, it will help keep the BBA at bay chemically. Secondly, you can decrease the light by either raising your fixture or wrapping your fixture with fiberglass window mesh, which will reduce the light by about 30%. By decreasing your light, you both directly reduce the amount of light available to the algae and indirectly increase your co2 levels by decreasing uptake of all nutrients,

 

[Philip99]

Looks like BBA. It's usually associated with an imbalance between co2 and light. That being said, I notice that you've got DIY co2 going on a rather large tank. Beyond about 30g, DIY starts to have throughput and consistency issues, both of which are contributing factors of BBA.

Short of getting a pressurized co2 system, which is advice that no one seems to like to hear, there are some steps you can take to prevent BBA in your tank. First, you can decrease the consistency issues and increase your co2 throughput by installing a second DIY co2 reactor. Obviously this depends heavily on what you currently have. I would recommend at least two 2L reactors, more if necessary. Stagger the dates that you remake the mixture such that the overall output stays relatively stable (as opposed to tapering off over the course of three weeks or so in the case of a single reactor). In addition, you can supplement your co2 with Excel or a similar product. BBA has an adverse reaction to Excel, and in addition to providing an additional carbon source, it will help keep the BBA at bay chemically. Secondly, you can decrease the light by either raising your fixture or wrapping your fixture with fiberglass window mesh, which will reduce the light by about 30%. By decreasing your light, you both directly reduce the amount of light available to the algae and indirectly increase your co2 levels by decreasing uptake of all nutrients,

I currently have a 4 liter bottle as the reactor bottle and it's then diffused through a glass ceramic diffuser. Is there a way to simply spot treat the BBA with excel. Because I has really only effected the anubius and some small spots on the glass .

 

[aqua_chem]

The thing about spot treating is that it will only affect the algae in the tank already. If you have an imbalance, the algae will only come right back. If you don't address the root cause, you'll just be treating the symptoms forever.

That being said, if you think you've already addressed the issue, you can spot treat BBA with hydrogen peroxide or excel. Just be wary of any adverse reactions that your flora or fauna may have with the chemicals you're using (Excel with some plants like Val's, peroxide with some species of shrimp, etc).