Bluegreen algae in emmersed pot

[budak]

My turn to ask a question....

has anyone dealt with BGA in emmersed pots? I have a watertight container with a healthy E. cordifolius which is smelling like a swamp. The plant's growing in a mixed plain gravel/peat/jobe stick substrate and I keep the water level just above the substrate. Apart from digging up the plant and changing the substrate, is there any other (non-antibiotic and non-invasive) way to deal with the stuff?

[juggler]

Have you tried putting some gravel and peat over the BGA? Not sure if it will help to cover/solve the problem.

[budak]

hmmm. ok.... will try my darnest to smother the critters...

[Simon]

OT: looks like BGA really likes you

[checkerboard]

I had that problem before with my emerse culture. I suspect this si because the pipes in my garden has BGA in them due to exposure to sunlight, hence when I fill up the styrofoam boxes where I cultivate my plants, the BGA stayed.

Covering them with more gravel or peat will not help. maybe you can let the water level fall below the substrate level, and teh BGA will dry out. then you can manually remove the BGA film. Drying out will not harm you E. cordifolius much.

[juggler]

Is exposure to direct sunlight a cause of BGA appearing?

[stocker]

[quote:3aa8befef0="juggler"]Is exposure to direct sunlight a cause of BGA appearing?[/quote:3aa8befef0]

It seems to be more likely. I have a emersed container that is near a window and the BGA appearred on the side of the container near the window but none at the other side. It's a south facing window.

[Anubias]

BGA prefers an environment low in oxygen and high in dissolved organic material. A water change will remove much of the DOC, and hydrogen peroxide is a quick but temporary method of increasing the oxygen levels. A brisk circulation of the water column might help. Personally, I 'd ignore the "problem."

Regards,