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Thread: BBA Woes

  1. #1
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    BBA Woes

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    Tank Dimensions (LxWxH, specify units): 4' x 1.5' x 1.5'

    Lighting Intensity(No of Watts) : 4 x 36W
    Number and type of Lighting (FL/PL/MH) :PL
    Age of light bulbs : ~6 months
    No. of hours your lights are on : 9

    CO2 Injection Rate (bps) : ~7-8
    Type of CO2 (DIY/Liquid/Tank) : Tank
    Method of Injection (e.g. Diffusor/Reactor) : NA External Reactor

    Liquid fertilisers Used (Product name. E.g. Seachem Flourish) : None
    Fertilization regime (Frequency and amount per dose) : None

    Thickness of gravel : Nil
    Grain size of gravel :Nil
    Thickness of base fert : Nil
    Type/brand of base fert (Product name. E.g. JBL Aquabasis) :Nil
    Age of base fert:Nil

    Other fertilisers (Product name. E.g. Root Monster) : Nil

    Other additives (Product name. E.g. Seachem Prime) : Nil

    Type of Filter (overhead/internal/canister, Product name/model if possible) :Eheim 2226
    When was the filter last washed : 6 months back
    Filter media used : Biohome/Eheim Substrate/Ceramic Rings
    When was the media last changed : Nil
    What was changed : Nil

    Age of setup (i.e. since initial setup or last major re-do ) :~1.5 month

    Water change frequency : Once per week
    Amount changed : 50%

    Water surface movement (None/gentle/turbulent) :Aided by surface skimmer and cooling fan
    Circulation (None/gentle/turbulent) : gentle

    Tank Temperature : photoperiod: 27-28 C, non-photoperiod: 26-27 C

    Chemical Properties (Fill what you can)
    -------------------------------------
    KH (dKH): 3
    GH (dGH):
    pH : 6.5
    NH4 (ppm):
    NO2 (ppm):
    NO3 (ppm):
    PO4 (ppm):
    Fe (ppm):

    Bioload (Number and type of fish and plants)
    ------------------------------------------
    Fauna: 7 x Cherry Barbs, 1 x Oto, 1 x Yamato shrimp
    Flora: Variety of Java Fern and Nanas

    Describe your problem :

    This new set-up is supposed to be my low-main setup but since it was running, i have been plagued by BBA. Despite upkeeping the CO2 concentration at the recommended 20-30ppm, i am still unable to rid this unsightly algae and the problem had in fact deteriote as time passes.

    Please help and many thanks.

  2. #2
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    Cut your CO2.

    Removed all the leaves that is infected. If the wood is infested, you can bleach it.

    If you use CO2, you must fertilise. Injecting high level of CO2, you are driving up the plant's demand of nutrients.

    To go low-tech, simply cut the CO2. However, ideally you should have some kind of substrate. Substrate will provide a bed for the bacteria to break down waste form the fishes and food, and transform them into plant food, namely CO2 and nutrients. You have a bare bottom tank. I presume you will be cleaning the tank bottom quite frequently. This will not help the plants and will starve them of nutrients. This will cause the plants to stunt and algae to come in.

    BC

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    Quote Originally Posted by bclee
    Cut your CO2.

    Removed all the leaves that is infected. If the wood is infested, you can bleach it.

    If you use CO2, you must fertilise. Injecting high level of CO2, you are driving up the plant's demand of nutrients.

    To go low-tech, simply cut the CO2. However, ideally you should have some kind of substrate. Substrate will provide a bed for the bacteria to break down waste form the fishes and food, and transform them into plant food, namely CO2 and nutrients. You have a bare bottom tank. I presume you will be cleaning the tank bottom quite frequently. This will not help the plants and will starve them of nutrients. This will cause the plants to stunt and algae to come in.

    BC
    That's to say, if i were to carry on with the injection of CO2, a fertilising regime must be introduced?

    I do have driftwood that's infected with BBA but at the same time, my ferns and nanas are attached to the wood. Can i still use the bleach treatment then? What's the recommended dosage?

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    Quote Originally Posted by cherabin
    That's to say, if i were to carry on with the injection of CO2, a fertilising regime must be introduced?
    Yes.

    CO2 and non-CO2 methods are different. You got to decide which way to go.


    Quote Originally Posted by cherabin
    I do have driftwood that's infected with BBA but at the same time, my ferns and nanas are attached to the wood. Can i still use the bleach treatment then? What's the recommended dosage?
    Alternatively, you can use H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) which is available from the pharmacy. Use a syringe and squirt it onto the BBA. The BBA should die away. But do not use too much at one time, it may kill the fishes.

    After that, you still have to give the plants the right nutrients to prevent BBA from returning. In CO2 method, you have to dose the full range of fertilisers: NO3, PO4, K, traces... In the non-CO2 method, you need to provide for a medium for bacteria to break down organic wastes into CO2 and nutrients.

    Plants are living things, they need food too.

    BC

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    Quote Originally Posted by bclee
    Yes.

    CO2 and non-CO2 methods are different. You got to decide which way to go.



    Alternatively, you can use H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) which is available from the pharmacy. Use a syringe and squirt it onto the BBA. The BBA should die away. But do not use too much at one time, it may kill the fishes.

    After that, you still have to give the plants the right nutrients to prevent BBA from returning. In CO2 method, you have to dose the full range of fertilisers: NO3, PO4, K, traces... In the non-CO2 method, you need to provide for a medium for bacteria to break down organic wastes into CO2 and nutrients.

    Plants are living things, they need food too.

    BC
    A big thank you for the advice. Will head down to the pharmacy soon for some H2O2, and will introduce a fert regime soon.

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    make sure that you remove delicate plants before h2o2 treatment. they will 'burn'.

    think the limit is about 60ml for a 20 gallon tank. change the water 1/2 hour after treatment. if you have livestocks in the tank, stay around and monitor the critters. change the water immediately if they show signs of stress.
    thomas liew

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    Quote Originally Posted by tawauboy
    make sure that you remove delicate plants before h2o2 treatment. they will 'burn'.

    think the limit is about 60ml for a 20 gallon tank. change the water 1/2 hour after treatment. if you have livestocks in the tank, stay around and monitor the critters. change the water immediately if they show signs of stress.
    Will remove all fauna before the H2O2 'bombing'. All ferns and nanas considered as delicate plants?

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    Nope. Nanas are bloody tough, and Java ferns are ok.

    It's stuff like expensive plants, crypts (they'll melt I guess) and a few stemmed plants.

  9. #9
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    If its just the wood that is affected, isn't it much simpler and less of an issue to take it out for treatment rather than doing it in the tank? BBA is still a CO2 issue (most have stability issues and measurement errors) except in some cases of high fish loading. I'll eyeball the CO2 closely and monitor it for stability during the photoperiod (target 30ppm throughout the entire cycle). If the BBA still grows, up the CO2 slowly only when you have the stability issue iron out. Nutrients have no real impact on inducing BBA growth as Tom have found out with good test kits from Hach and LaMotte.

    Regards
    Peter Gwee

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