API co2 boost vs Flourish excel

[Cichlid Kid]

I have 2 24" ho fluorescents on my 20gal long. It's to much light i realize because of bb algae that creeps up every couple weeks. I have diy co2 on it but don't think its enough. So i looked to suplimenting that with liquid. Flourish product line isn't available to me but api co2 boost is so my question is this... Is it glute based like flourish? Is it as good? And will it help my bb algae if i control my lighting cycle? Or do i need to go less extreme with the lighting?

 

[CorallineAlgae]

If you can raise your lights it may help. Some people use window screen to lower the amount of light from their T5 fixtures. You could also add floating plants to block some of the light.

Yes, the API booster should work just like flourish. I've fought BBA in my 20H with a combo of pressurized CO2, SAEs and flourish. DIY co2 doesn't produce a stable enough level to help fight BBA in most systems. The unavoidable changing levels of co2 with a DIY system may contribute more to the algae growth than having no co2, but there are ways to make it more consistent.

 

[Cichlid Kid]

How can i make it more consistant? I already use a fairly low amount of yeast so it gives off less co2 for a longer period of time. (1bp 1.5sec.) What else can i do?
Thanks for your time. I'm fairly new to planted setups beyond lowlight.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

One method is to have two DIY reactors going at once, each one running for 20 days. You start one, wait 10 days and start the next one. When only one is used it gets weaker as time goes on. This way one is always weak and one is always strong. The two together are more consistent over time than a single one would be. The best answer is pressurized CO2, but this technique makes DIY better at fighting BBA.

 

[aqua_chem]

BBA generally has two major contributing factors which you have correctly identified: CO2 and light. You are right to address the CO2 issue, and I think that a single 2L DIY CO2 reactor is probably insufficient for a 20g tank. You're on the right track there. The rotation reactor method that Coralline mentioned above is a decent method to keep consistent CO2 week to week.

The second option is to reduce the amount of light. 2xT5HO on a 20L can be an excessive amount of light without a properly tuned in system (especially when dealing with decent fixtures), which you very well may not be able to do with DIY CO2. We can offset this somewhat by reducing light. In my experience, there are two easy methods to reduce light from a fixture: raising the fixture or wrapping it. Raising the light is pretty self explanatory, but not always a practical or viable option depending on the setup. The second option, wrapping, is actually pretty simple. What you do is wrap your fixture with fiberglass window screening (cheap at HD). This will reduce the light by about 30%. I've used this method before to great effect, and didn't observe any side effects (such as heat issues). It's definitely something to consider.

 

[Cichlid Kid]

Great idea. With rotating 2 bottles it's a really swell idea to achieve the consistency i want without doing "hi-tech co2" which i cannot afford. Thanks alot guys.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Great idea. With rotating 2 bottles it's a really swell idea to achieve the consistency i want without doing "hi-tech co2" which i cannot afford. Thanks alot guys.

Looks okay. Just remember not to change out the solution in both at the same time. The real goal here is to have stable co2 levels.

Also, Aqua-chem's point about higher than needed light is important. I had to raise my 2 lamp T5 light fixture higher in my hood in addition to being careful about having consistent co2 to defeat BBA in my 20H. I even got a SAE to eat it, though it caused a whole new problem in my tank sadly. ~_~

 

[Cichlid Kid]

Yep got it. One 2L is 2wks old and the second one is fresh new today so I'll rn the first one for another 10 days then renew it and at 20 days I'll renew the second one. Basically every 10days I'll re-up the oldest one.
Btw. Do bnp's eat bba?

 

[Cichlid Kid]

Also. In your opinion "and or" aquachem's opinion, do these liquid co2 supliments fill the gap to not going hi-tech? Or am i just wasting my time?

 

[aqua_chem]

BNP do not eat BBA. SAE, many shrimp, some livebearers occasionally, and flagfish are the only BBA eaters I know about.


Let me try an analogy for your other question. Imagine you need to dig a hole. You have three options: trowel, shovel, and backhoe. Each one refers to a type of carbon supplementation: trowel for nothing, shovel for Glut, and backhoe for CO2. In our case, think of the size of the hole you need to dig as the carbon demand of the tank, fueled by light level. For smaller holes, it doesn't really matter if you have a trowel or a shovel, but you quickly begin to see where a shovel is a huge advantage. For bigger holes yet, you can still shovel it all out, or you can bring in a backhoe. There are jobs where either could work, but the backhoe is pretty much universally better. Eventually, you might need to dig a hole large enough that you just can't do it with a shovel, and then you pretty much need a backhoe.

So where does that leave us? Basically, using a shovel when you've already got a backhoe running makes the shoveler feel silly. Sure it's helping, but come on, you've got a backhoe. This analogy of course only refers to CO2 demand. If you're dosing Glut for its chemical qualities (hindering the growth of some hair algae species), this doesn't really apply.


I guess as far as DIY vs Pressurized goes, it a matter of one of those 'attach to the back of a tractor' shovels vs an industrial earth mover. They both work great for some things, but the thing designed to do the job right will almost always be better.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

My SAE ate up BBA like crazy but constantly pulled up nearly all of my glosso in the process. My bushynose never even looked at it. lol

If you want to use a carbon supplement to help fight an algae break-out along with CO2 you can definitely use it. It really can help. Your lights may be stronger than you need, that makes it hard to control algae, even with CO2 and booster.

Keep in mind that high tech is basically determined by having high light levels, not necessarily pressurized co2. At least that's how I understand it. If you have high light you'll eventually want to consider either going pressurized or lowering the amount of light entering your tank.

The shovel analogy is spot on. If you didn't quite get it here's another: A tank with lots of fish will need a larger filter than the same tank with only a few fish, just to handle the added waste. Light and CO2 work together in a similar way. If you have low light, then a small amount of CO2 will be all you need. If you have strong light you will need more CO2 to deal the extra light energy.

Filters don't allow you to keep fish all on their own. You really need the bacteria living in the filter to consume the fish waste. If you have a lot of fish you need a lot of bacteria to deal with all of the waste or ammonia will build up and threaten the system.

Similarly, if you have a lot of light you want a strong, stable CO2 and fertilizer source to allow your plants to deal with it, otherwise algae will take over and threaten the system. Sorry if I'm not saying it clearly. I've been a bit ill lately.