Does anything eat bb alage

[Mijo51380]

Does anything eat bb algae

 

[Mijo51380]

This stuff is killing my aquarium I keep cutting it out but I can't get it off my driftwood I'm going to change to dry ferts next month but I will lose all my plants to this stuff if I just cut it all out

 

[Kilohana49]

This stuff is killing my aquarium I keep cutting it out but I can't get it off my driftwood I'm going to change to dry ferts next month but I will lose all my plants to this stuff if I just cut it all out

I had this same problem in 150 gallon tank until I got 4 Siamese algae eaters (don't confuse for flying fox) and within 2 weeks all of it was gone .

 

[Mijo51380]

That's what I was thinking I think I'll pick some up tonight if I can find them thanks

 

[bshenanagins]

That's what I was thinking I think I'll pick some up tonight if I can find them thanks

You also need to find the source of the problem. For me it was too much light intensity and not enough root feeders. I raised my lights to even out the intensity, increased my potassium dosage, and the BB has been wiped out. In addition to algae eaters, Excel works quite well with the overdose method

 

[Rivercats]

How long do you run your lights daily? You should only run them 6 hours daily until algae is gone.

You can also spot treat the BBA with hydrogen peroxide 3%. Pull up 1-3ml peroxide for every 1 gallon of tank water in a syringe, turn off your filters, slowly squirt the algae, leave filters off for 20 minutes. If you have a lot you'll have to treat an area a day. Usually within 24 hours you'll see the BBA turning white, pink, or red which means it dying.

The thing is unless you find and fix the problem that is causing the BBA in the first place it will just keep coming back. The use of fish, shrimp, or snails isn't the answer in how to fix the problem.

 

[bshenanagins]

How long do you run your lights daily? You should only run them 6 hours daily until algae is gone.

You can also spot treat the BBA with hydrogen peroxide 3%. Pull up 1-3ml peroxide for every 1 gallon of tank water in a syringe, turn off your filters, slowly squirt the algae, leave filters off for 20 minutes. If you have a lot you'll have to treat an area a day. Usually within 24 hours you'll see the BBA turning white, pink, or red which means it dying.

The thing is unless you find and fix the problem that is causing the BBA in the first place it will just keep coming back. The use of fish, shrimp, or snails isn't the answer in how to fix the problem.

Listen to this wonderful woman, she is the answer to all your algae problems.

 

[Mebbid]

I'm not sure how much good some fish are at eating the BBA but what I do know for certain is that the BBA is AMAZING at devouring my sanity

 

[Kilohana49]

Rivercats is exactly right fish and snails are not meant to be the solution to a algae problem, they can only be used as a preventive measure for small outbreaks. However if you are getting algae there is a bigger problem you can't just fix with a band aid solution. In addition to the Siamese algae eaters I also started my tank on a drip system (like Urajoey the king. Of DIY on YouTube) and cut back on my lights.

 

[aqua_chem]

I agree with the 'address the cause of the algae' sentiment. Proactive prevention is almost always better than reactive fixes.


Can you share a little more about your tank? I am especially interested in your lighting (ie T5HO, T8, LED, etc), your fertilization, and if you're using CO2/liquid carbon supplements like Excel.

 

[Mijo51380]

Ok lights are oddysea quad T5ho x4 54w 6500k bulbs I drop the time down to 6 hours a day. Co2 is a paint ball tank set about 2-3 bps run by a pH controller at 6.7-6.8 with a sprio defuser. And ferts I'm doseing seachem flourish comp 2 times a week trace 2 times a week and iron every other day

 

[aqua_chem]

How big is this tank? Do you have a drop checker?

 

[Mijo51380]

It's a 55gallon and no drop checker that and ferts are next on the list

And root tabs

So I'm I running with my eyes closed lol

Ammonia 0,nitrite 0, nitrate 5.0, phosphate 0, iron 0 these are my levels

 

[aqua_chem]

It really sounds like you're using too much light to not know you have enough CO2, and you absolutely need to have dry ferts with that much light and CO2. I think that if you shore up your basics, it will go a long way towards fixing your algae issue.

 

[Mijo51380]

Ill turn two of the lights off until I get the drop checker and dry ferts

 

[aqua_chem]

Ill turn two of the lights off until I get the drop checker and dry ferts

Good plan. You can also hit the BBA you already have with H2O2 to try to get rid of what's already there.

 

[Mijo51380]

Ok thanks for the help

 

[Mijo51380]

Would lowering the temp in my tank help with the bba the temp was at 80f should I drop it to 75f ?

 

[aqua_chem]

It probably won't help at all.

 

[Mijo51380]

Ok so a update on my 55gallon bba tank lol. I got my dry ferts been dosing for a week and have a drop checker and installed my co2 reactor drop checker shows green good co2 levels and also put another filter on the tank the water looks a lot the bba is red in the morning and turn black at the end of the day is there any thing I can do to get rid of this stuff even if its dead its still going to be hard to get off everything