BGA problem

[ccs]

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

Tank Dimensions (LxWxH): 120x60x60
Lighting Intensity(No of Watts) : 234w
Type of Lighting (FL/PL/MH) : PL+FL
No. of Hours your light is on: 8hrs
CO2 Injection Rate (bps) : 3bps
Type of CO2 (DIY/Liquid/Tank) : tank
Method of Injection (e.g. Diffusor/Reactor): diffusor
Substrate Used : JBL Base fert and lapis sand
How Thick is your base fert :
How thick is your gravel :
Liquid Fertilizers Used : lushgrow micro
Frequency of fertilization : weekly
Tank Temperature : 27
Type of Filter (overhead/internal/canister) : canister
Filter media used : original media that comes with eheim filter
How long has your tank been set up : 4yr but rmajor revamp 1yr ago


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

Carbonate Hardness (kh): 3
Total Hardness (gH): ??
PH : ard 6
NH4 (ppm): ??
NO2 (ppm): ??
NO3 (ppm): abt 10ppm
PO4 (ppm): ??
Fe (ppm): ??

Bioload (Your Fish and Plants)
------------------------------
Fauna:5 altum and 30+ cardinals
Flora :crytocoryne wendtii,balansae,java ferns,nanas and echino uruguauy,tenellus and oriental.

Problem

Having BGA problem for afew mths already tried black out method problem was solved but BGA came back a few week after blackout.Do not have extensive range of test kits so can only test for NO3 and KH.Hope info can provided can helps.

[PeterGwee]

Toss the NO3 kit, it is crap. Try to get a pH test kit that has a more narrow range...0.2 difference or better still, get a pH test pen or monitor. For the BGA problem, a blackout would kill it but you would need to keep up on the plant nutrient side of things...namely NO3 which you are likely to have bottom out for the BGA to come in. For plants to grow well, you need light, CO2 and nutrients (NO3, PO4, K, GH(Mg/Ca), traces). Now, what do you think you are missing out on?

Regards
Peter Gwee

[plantmania]

Try using UV-C to kill the spores during the blackout period as well as a few thereafter or use a diatom filter to remove the spores mechanically... Your tank have a gentle current ?

Else you can try using anti-biotics(note can be harmful to your biological filter).

[bclee]

[quote:1771536565="plantmania"]Try using UV-C to kill the spores during the blackout period as well as a few thereafter or use a diatom filter to remove the spores mechanically... Your tank have a gentle current ?

Else you can try using anti-biotics(note can be harmful to your biological filter).[/quote:1771536565]
BGA is a bacteria and do not spread by spores. A simple blackout by itself is usually sufficient to get rid of the BGA. Remember to do a proper dosing to prevent it from coming back.

BC

[plantmania]

I know it's a bacteria and has many species but it does have spores. They reproduce by simple cell division, filament fragmentation and spores.

[quote:3f5c6092bb="bclee"]
BGA is a bacteria and do not spread by spores. A simple blackout by itself is usually sufficient to get rid of the BGA. Remember to do a proper dosing to prevent it from coming back.

BC[/quote:3f5c6092bb]

[bclee]

[quote:1f26bbab="plantmania"]I know it's a bacteria and has many species but it does have spores. They reproduce by simple cell division, filament fragmentation and spores.

[quote:1f26bbab="bclee"]
BGA is a bacteria and do not spread by spores. A simple blackout by itself is usually sufficient to get rid of the BGA. Remember to do a proper dosing to prevent it from coming back.

BC[/quote:1f26bbab][/quote:1f26bbab]

Oops... pardon my ignorance on BGAs...

BC :P

[ccs]

[quote:7bcaf0a4b8="PeterGwee"]Toss the NO3 kit, it is crap. Try to get a pH test kit that has a more narrow range...0.2 difference or better still, get a pH test pen or monitor. For the BGA problem, a blackout would kill it but you would need to keep up on the plant nutrient side of things...namely NO3 which you are likely to have bottom out for the BGA to come in. For plants to grow well, you need light, CO2 and nutrients (NO3, PO4, K, GH(Mg/Ca), traces). Now, what do you think you are missing out on?

Regards
Peter Gwee [/quote:7bcaf0a4b8]

Hi Peter

As you can see from my info sheet my light is not exactly high.so i have doubt on adding more NO3 without causing other problems.Anyway do you think the bioload is enough to create enough NO3 under my light intensity.

Thanks
Cheeseng

[PeterGwee]

[quote:7d0f5efeb9="Cheeseng"]As you can see from my info sheet my light is not exactly high.so i have doubt on adding more NO3 without causing other problems.Anyway do you think the bioload is enough to create enough NO3 under my light intensity.[/quote:7d0f5efeb9]

Causing other problems? What problems? Not giving the plants the necessary nutrients to grow will cause issues..namely algae and poor O2 production. Do not use critters to meet the NO3 level...critters produce ammonia first and if that gets too high beyond the plants uptake threshold, you will get algae no matter how much CO2 and nutrients you give it unless you do daily water changes. It really does not hurt to give the plants some NO3 and large weekly water changes would keep things within limits.

Regards
Peter Gwee

[Plantbrain]

I add 11ppm of NO3 every other day and do weekly 60% water changes, never found any NO3 related issues, I really do not know what an excess NO3 level is in terms of plants and algae.

It's much higher than any plant needs and above 20-30ppm certainly.

Most NO3 measurement kits are poor.

I would suggest you estimate the NO3 through dosing+water changes and assuming the tap water is 0ppm.

That is how a standard is made using pure water + the chemical of interest.

They use these standards to calibrate and gauge the test kit.

So this is much more accurate and effective than a kit generally and requires no testing after you estimate your NO3 needs.

I'd rather re set the tank each week with a good water change, cheap, takes less time, less error etc etc etc etc



Regards,
Tom Barr