plants getting whacked by BBA =(

[jon]

Beginners Info Sheet
++++++++++++++++++

Tank Dimensions (LxWxH): 3 x 1.5 x 1.5
Lighting Intensity(No of Watts) : 122
Type of Lighting (FL/PL/MH) : PL/FL
No. of Hours your light is on: 10
CO2 Injection Rate (bps) : 2 bps
Type of CO2 (DIY/Liquid/Tank) : tank
Method of Injection (e.g. Diffusor/Reactor): diffusor = powerhead
Substrate Used : ada amazonia
How Thick is your base fert : nil (using root monsters)
How thick is your gravel : 3-4"
Liquid Fertilizers Used : dennerle Gold 7, E 15, seachem trace
Frequency of fertilization : 1-2x weekly
Tank Temperature : ard 28C
Type of Filter (overhead/internal/canister) : canister
Filter media used : biohome, biosponge
How long has your tank been set up : 9mths


Chemical Properties (Fill what you can)
---------------------------------------

Carbonate Hardness (kh): 4
Total Hardness (gH): -
PH : 6.4
NH4 (ppm):
NO2 (ppm):
NO3 (ppm): 2-3 ppm
PO4 (ppm):
Fe (ppm):

Bioload (Your Fish and Plants)
------------------------------

3 adult discus, 15 cardinals, 5 corys, 8 corys (very small), 2 holland ram, 2 apistos, a few ottos, 2 pencil fishes, 2 cherry barbs, quite a number of yamatos.

lots of java fern n cyrpts. 2 red lotus (young plants), some anubias, some very long leaved plants. all rosette plants. no stem plants. pretty slow growing plants.



Describe your problem :

BBA! lots covering my java n anubias. not too bad on the other plants. Yet.

----

things im gonna do:

- pump in more CO2
- reduce photoperiod by 1-2 hrs
- add NPK + Fe in addition to Gold 7 and E15
- i already prune like mad every week, but wat the hell. maybe twice a week =p.

any other suggestions? how high should i have my nutrients levels at?

oh yeah, on an unrelated note, is it ok to place my CO2 diffuser under the Filter intake? will it accumulate in my canister n affect performance?

jon.

[geoffrey]

things im gonna do:

- pump in more CO2
- reduce photoperiod by 1-2 hrs
- add NPK + Fe in addition to Gold 7 and E15
- i already prune like mad every week, but wat the hell. maybe twice a week =p.

I suggest you do one thing at a time. Start with adding a bit of NO3 from KNO3. I'm sure E15 recommended dose provides sufficient Fe and K although it does not have Cu and Zn. Both Cu and Zn can come from your Seachem Trace which does not have Fe.

[jon]

ic. hmm.. i dont have KNO3. but i DO have Seachem Nitrogen. its the same thing rite?

i didnt know that E15 contains K.

thanks a lot.

anybody else with useful advise?

[barmby]

Yeah. One at a time as you need to pin point where gone wrong. BBA MAYBE caused by too much NO3 and insufficient C02

First of all, keep up your CO2 level, 20-35ppm for entire photo period.

Next, look at your Macro (NPK) then Micro (Iron + Trace).

[robin]

Jon,

Seachem Nitrogen contains N but somehow I never manage to properly dose enough using Seachem. When i foolow the instructions, My plants show signs of N deficiency. Now, I just dose Twice as much if i use Seachem. It also contains ammonia which is not so good. Think KNO3 from Malick is better.

Robin

[jon]

thanks all

i think i have enough trace, n Fe.

in any case, im cutting photo period by 1-2 hrs first for a week.
then i'll deicde whether to increase/decrease fert dosage.
wat do u guys think? when BBA strikes is it normally a case of insufiicent fert or over dosage?

the boss at NA suggested i lower my dosage, n reduce photoperiod. he explaination was that my plants take in nutrients too slowly. since i have lots of java i tend to agree. just something i need to ask here. should i carry on dosing seachem equilibrium? (forgot to add to the list)

added some fast growing plants.

hmm.. i'll stick to seachem til i finish it. have quite a bit left. $$$ leh.

[PeterGwee]

No, its not the nutrients but the lack of CO2 (the peat effect from aquasoil often gets to folks....I know amano is great but I do feel ADA aquasoil cause loads of issues in terms of CO2 measurements which newbies are not ready to deal with.) and high critter loading vs plant mass (fast/slow growers). Assume an error of 0.2-0.3 in the pH and add more CO2. Monitor the critters behaviour and if things seems fine, you should not have any new BBA growth. All that is left is just pruning away of existing growth and doing large water changes thereafter. Besides CO2, you need to look at the critter loading. 3 adult discus in a 3footer plus so many other critters is also asking for it especially when you have all slow growers in there. Change to a bigger tank or do more large water changes weekly could minimize the ammonia from getting to things but in the long term is a PITA.

Regards
Peter Gwee

[barmby]

Yeah. Ensure CO2 is sufficient so that they can use up NPK and cancel out ammonia (NH3 or NH4 - I can't remember).

Biggest culprits: CO2, NO3 and Ammonia (fish waste)

Existing BBA won't go away unless you prune them away.

Hope this make sense.

[jon]

thanks all~

cant do much about the fishload for now. until im earning enough to support a bigger tank, the 3 feet's here to stay.

is it advisable to throw in some seachem phosguard? i'll just add a small bag of it in the filter or hang it in the tank.

will increase water change to bout half tank weekly. ohh my poor back etc etc....

[bclee]

Jon, you are still getting it wrong.

Plants need NO3 and PO4 to grow healthily. Do not use anything to remove them (other than adding more plants ).

BBA attacks weak growing plants which are suffering from defficiency. Common deficiency that leads to BBA problems are CO2 defficiency, N deficiency and sometimes P deficiency. (K sometimes is needed as it assist in N uptake.)

That's why we are recommending that you keep CO2 at 20-30ppm level (yours seemed pretty alright), and dose NO3 and PO4. Trim away those infected leaves. Forget about everything else.

Java ferns and Anubius sp are slow growers and are more prone to algae attack. You may want to plant them in slightly shaded area in your tank.


BC

[jon]

icic... thanks for the wake up call.
i tot it was an excess of phoshate. :P

cant really move the java. most of them anchored to the large piece f wood in my tank. hmm... can take some out to bleach tho.


thanks again!