BBA on Echinodorus leaves <UPDATE ON TANK Jan05

[cs_sg]

After the trimming off those BBA that I able to spot on the plants, I still find BBA on some of my Echinodorus

Is there anyway I can remove the BBA on the edges of these Echinodorus cos for a plant with 8 leaves on average, Snipping off 4 is alot
One of my E. Schlueteri (I think thats what it is) has a new shoot with 'flower bud'.

I read that some have a quick dip for those infectd plants in Hydrogen Peroxide.
That means I have to uproot my plants again!?

[PeterGwee]

Just cut it off! It will grow back if you give it good nutrients, light and CO2.

Regards
Peter Gwee

[cs_sg]

How many leaves (minimum) should I leave on each plant?

if 4 out of 6 are infected..that means only 2 leaves left.
If it is left alone, will it spread?

I have just uprooted all the MM and trimmed off those BBA that I can see yesterday (took me 1hr) and forgot about the swordplants

[Simon]

yes, agree with peter... CUT!!!

[PeterGwee]

It should not spread if the CO2 is good all the way. You can consider leaving it in the tank till the plant grow out more.

Regards
Peter Gwee

[cs_sg]

Thanks.

NO doubts why my fish and shrimps don't like their home anymore..

[cs_sg]

After all the trimming of BBA affected leaves, I have not noticed any new ones on the new growths. At least thats what I noticed on new leaves.

HOWEVER, I do find some old leaves (damaged leave) affected by BBA which I could have missed during the trimming.

I have some APP growing in the foreground and other delicate plants are HM and the L. Aromatica.

I'm thinking of dosing the whole tank with H2O2 so that any BBA which were overlooked (can't trim them all seriously. Especially on the APP) and some bits on gravel which is hard to spot.

I read from this link that H202 was used after correcting the root of BBA outbreak.

http://www.gpodio.com/h2o2.asp

I guess I have the CO2 taken care of (BBA only started cos I was over generous with doing the LushgroAqua and Micro and DIY CO2 replacement was delayed). I have stopped dosing totally until I get rid of this BBA problem.

The question is:
From that article, 1ml per gallon of H2O2 was used.
My 3ft tank is about 38gallon.
How much H2O2 should I use to dose the tank?
35ml?
I bought the Robinson Brand Hydrogen Peroxide from the pharmacy and it was '20 volume strength) on the bottle.

I'm also considering to wash my filters in a diluted H2O2 solution to kill any algae spores in case I missed it.

Can someone please help this?

Thanks

P.S. I suspect the BBA outbreak was due to my inproper amount of dosing LushgroAqua and Micro and CO2 depletion. Plant growths were so much better after dosing..so were BBA and Hair algae which I never had before for 4 months since setup.
Now, I've stopped all liquid fert totally until I have cleaned out the algae.

[tawauboy]

maybe a bit late but ...
before you h2o2 bomb your tank, remove all plants with delicate leaves. if not, they'll get burnt.

treatment with h2o2 is more effective if administered through a syringe. by localising the administration, h2o2 concentration will be less diluted.

ime, 2ml per gallon is okay but that would depend on the plants and critters in your tank. after 1/2 hour after administering h202, do perform a water change as h2o2 is a strong oxidising agent.

and i would use h2o2 to clean my filters as it would kill the beneficial bacteria.

after treatment, you should bring up the co2 and dose the complete suite of nutrients.

[juggler]

[quote:ec9fc05e01="PeterGwee"]It should not spread if the CO2 is good all the way. You can consider leaving it in the tank till the plant grow out more.

Regards
Peter Gwee [/quote:ec9fc05e01]

Chyrl:

I would prefer Peter's gas method over chemical warfare. Who knows what after-effects it has on your fish.

Halt the advancement of BBA with good CO2. When the new leaves grow out, then cut off the older affected leaves.

Maybe employ a SAE to help in the BBA control as well.

[bclee]

Don't you have any fishes in the tank? H2O2 bombing is not a good idea at all.

Anyway, those leaves that are affected by algae are weakened leaves and will shed away in no time. Just cut them away! This happens when the plants is not receiving enough CO2 or nutrients.

Echinodorus are quite fast growers. I am not sure about E. schlueteri, my echinodorus sprout at least one new leaf per week. It seems that there is something wrong with your CO2 or nutrients level.

BC

[PeterGwee]

If you are still having issues with CO2, you might consider lowering the light to around 1.5-2wpg range (evenly spread light..not just a single narrow strip of light at the back of the tank though.). Lower light intensity equals less demand on both CO2 and nutrients.

Regards
Peter Gwee

[cs_sg]

Thanks all for your replies.

I have already 'dosed' the tank with some of that H2O2 before your posts.
No casualties so far, and I think I didn't dose at a level high enough, to make much difference.

The BBA is at a less annoying level, and I will just keep an eye on my CO2 more frequent than before to avoid another episode.

Cheers
P.S. Finally built my own internal reactor too!

[cs_sg]

My BBA problem is reduced dramatically. Lately, I see much much healthier growth and I hope it remains that way.

I am still working on the lighting but you'll understand better if you do read the texts on the page and not just focus on the average looking pictures.

By the way, for those who are curious enough to see how it looks like now, welcome to have a look at this link.



Cheers
http://www.freewebs.com/chyrls/planted38g.htm

[barmby]

Hey! Seem like your tank has many different kind of fishes. Very 'confusing' though..

[cs_sg]

The fish I have in there are groups of:
pencilfish (about 8 of them)
otos (about 6)
Lampeyes (10)
1 clown killie
2 female guppies and their fries

Not forgetting the malayan shrimps and 2 yamatoes.

[hii]

Does the H2O2 kill shrimp? anyone try it with the tank with shrimp? I have 7 yamato and 20+ melayan shrimp.... can't take them out cos they hiding everyway....

[augi_ow]

i removed all my lifestock and try to remove as much BBA as i can....
then i whack the tank with CO2
my PH went down from 6.8- around 6... within 1.5 weeks... algae gone....