I Won...bba Lost

[augi_ow]

just wanna share how i killed my BBA..which has been bothering me... its a long process.. so don't expect to see results overnight. Took about 1.5 months

Things i did:
1)Up my lifestock cause i only had 15 cardinals in my 3 feet originally... now i have 2 altums, 35 cardinals, 5 otos and 10 yamatoes. ( this ensure higher nitrate levels)

2)Massive seachem excel.. everytime i change water i add 4 capfuls of it, everyday 1 capful of it. Water change is done weekly

3)Up my CO2 from 3bps to 5bps(lazy to use test kits so don't really know whats the ppm)

4)Day to day if you have time try to remove BBA manually...

5)Fert dosage as follows : 2 capful of LGA,18 drops of LGM, rice grain KH2PO4, 2 teaspoon K2SO4, 1.5 teaspoon MGSO4 AFTER WATER CHANGE. 2 pumps of Ferka aquatilizer and balance k every alternate days.

now i change my water once in 2 weeks. Fert regime and excel regime remains. Only algae which remains are those spot algae on glass which doesn't irritate me... Those who are fighting BBA, hope my thread would be a little help to you.

[xxdivinityxx]

Another atestment to the powers of Excel, Good C02 and proper dosing..

[XnSdVd]

Pardon my ignorance but, 1 bag of daphnia can turn a 1ft tank of green/brown water clear in just 6 hours... Wouldn't the same thing work for your 3 footer? Or is BBA the stringy stuff that clings to the leaves of plants? Once again, pardon the potentially stupid question.

[|squee|]

BBA is black beard algae.

[XnSdVd]

It looks like hair moss right? Well thanks anyway.

[Phillipians]

it doesnt look like hair moss, its black and very hairy, usually appears like a ball shaped thingy. It is always stubbornly stuck to either plants or gravel or DW and its very hard to remove..

[XnSdVd]

ahh... thanks.

[|squee|]

[XnSdVd]

Woah... freaky stuff... Does anything eat that though?

[|squee|]

Spotted headstander, some plecos, etc. The best solution is to get your CO2 above 30ppm and stable. Going off topic btw

[ah^siao]

wad about those that are black like the black beard algae but it is longer like 1 to 2 cm and doesn'tgrow as thick as the black beard algae. is it the same thing also? removing it as the same method? good co2 levels, phospate levels, nitrate levels, seachem excel?

[flyinmysoup]

Augi_Ow:

Congrats mate! =One more victory for mankind!!! Whoo Hoo!!!

Thanks for sharing!!!!

[|squee|]

wad about those that are black like the black beard algae but it is longer like 1 to 2 cm and doesn'tgrow as thick as the black beard algae. is it the same thing also? removing it as the same method? good co2 levels, phospate levels, nitrate levels, seachem excel?

That'll be staghorn algae imho. Removing it manually seems to be the only way to beat it, as well as making sure your plants grow.

[chrissia]

BBA = Black Brush Algae
BBA = Black Beard Algae

Most of the time when BBA is mentioned, it is the first one that most of us encounter (pic shown by squee).

Black Beard Algae is different from Black Brush Algae. It usually grows very long if left unattended and appears like a beard, hence the name.

Staghorn on the other hand is green in colour and is very fine.

[ah^siao]

so the one i kana is black beard algae? not staghorn?
is the way of clearing same as black brush?

[augi_ow]

black beard algae... yamatoes eat it.. at least for my yamatoes..
honestly i don't see my yamatoes eating my black brush algae

[ah^siao]

this is how mine looks like

[xxdivinityxx]

That's Staghorn.

[ah^siao]

wad are the possible ways of clearing it up? sorry borrow your thread bro

[K11]

I've got BBA problem also, since very long ago. more CO2 will help?