Black beard algae in non co2 tank

[aquarius]

I've ever read some people dosing liquid carbon on alternate days but I don't know whether their tanks eventually end up with algae or BBA issues a few months down the road a not cos they didn't mention anything about BBA issues. My take on this is simple ~ Easycarbo like Seachem Excel, is actually a form of liquid carbon. As such, you need to treat the dosing regime as if you were dosing with CO2 (gas). Meaning you need to dose EVERYDAY using the SAME DOSAGE and change water (40% - 50%) every week to reset the tank. If you need to increase the dosage, do so after your weekly water change. Do note that you'll eventually end up with BBA issues if you fail to keep to what I've mentioned religiously - this is speaking from personal experiences. Dose with the recommended dosage stated on the bottle.

You can keep to using 24W lights but I'd suggest that you leave the lights on for 6-8hrs and also continue with your fertilisation regime as recommended on the bottle so that the plants can grow properly. Do note that reducing the amount of lights will only slow down the growth of the BBA but will not eliminate it.

If you cannot stand the sight of the BBA, you can use Hydrogen Peroxide (remember to switch off your filter for about 15mins) and dose only on the affected leaves but do note that it will also kill the affected leaves, so dose with care or you might end up killing the plant as well. If you're following what I've recommended, make sure you stick to it for at least a month or 2 and your yamatoes will do a perfect job of clearing up the remnant BBAs. Good luck and keep us updated!

[Newbie shrimpkeeping]

Emm... Do i still dose the algexit as i had started the treatment since monday? (As per reccommended on the bottle 10ml for 100litres)
i dose the easy carbo (say 1 ml every day) and dose the fertilizers. I am previously using borneowild lush and borneowild essence k. Do you think it will be ok if i dose 1.5 ml of each daily? At the end of the week do water change. Will this be fine?what do you think?

[Urban Aquaria]

Dose the AlgExit as per the bottle instructions once a week... its effects gradually work over the course of a few weeks (not immediately).

Continue dosing your EasyCarbo (for the carbon supplementation and added algae inhibition) and continue dosing your ferts (your 1.5ml daily dosage amount is only around 30% of the bottle daily recommended amount for your tank volume though, so its still possible to increase the dosage abit more with minimal issues), you need the plants to continue growing well rather than encounter nutrient deficiencies and start deteriorating.

[Newbie shrimpkeeping]

Hi, read ur blog... Even your algae grows so nicely haha... May i know what actually causes this bba to grow? Co2? Nutrients? sorry asking many questions so that at least i try to prevent it in future rather them having then grow again if i manage to make them go away in my tank this time round...

[Urban Aquaria]

Hi, read ur blog... Even your algae grows so nicely haha... May i know what actually causes this bba to grow? Co2? Nutrients? sorry asking many questions so that at least i try to prevent it in future rather them having then grow again if i manage to make them go away in my tank this time round...

I've no definitive info on what really causes BBA either... some say Co2 fluctuations or not enough Co2, some say poor circulation which create accumulated pools of excess nutrients, some say unhealthy plants rotting and encouraging BBA to grow on their leaves, some say nutrient imbalance, some say too much light etc, so many factors, which are pretty much similar causes for most algae issues anyways.

What i did notice in my tanks though, was that BBA seems to have to be introduced into tanks first before they can establish (rather than the theory that they are "always in aquariums" or "drop in from the air"). This is because i have had multiple tanks which have the exact same tank specs and setup (same filters, Co2, lights, ferts etc)... yet i've only ever experienced one tank getting BBA (fortunately it was just my quarantine/holding tank, which i could reset easily) while all my other tanks still haven't encountered any BBA so far (cross-fingers!). I guess its just luck.

This leads me to believe that one or more of the new plants i recently added into the holding tank probably happened to carry BBA strands/spores which then started to take hold and develop only in that particular tank, so it doesn't actually hop around tanks as easily unless physically transferred over.

Maybe quarantining plants for a while before transferring them to your main tank might help (though the process takes more time to do). In a quarantine tank, you can observe the plant growth and condition closely, and if any BBA (or any other algae) appears you can take steps to get rid of it (ie. removing affected areas, nuke chemicals etc), once its clean and algae free then can put in your main tank.

[Newbie shrimpkeeping]

Hmmm... But u tried algexit too right in your experient... Hopefully it works for me too... So in low tech tank i could also add fertiliser everyday? Or once aweek... Planning on dosing easy carbo like what i mentioned earlier.. Should be fine right...?

[Urban Aquaria]

Hmmm... But u tried algexit too right in your experient... Hopefully it works for me too... So in low tech tank i could also add fertiliser everyday? Or once aweek... Planning on dosing easy carbo like what i mentioned earlier.. Should be fine right...?

Yeah, algexit worked to noticeably reduce green fuzzy/brush algae during the treatment period (not all but most of it)... i guess those are similar to BBA (though green in color rather than black).

I only recently started dosing it in my holding tank with BBA too, so will see if it works well on that algae over the next few weeks. I'm also currently putting low doses of algexit fortnightly in all my other tanks as a part of their maintenance routine. Since still have alot remaining in the bottle anyways, might as well use it.

In a low tech tank, you can adjust the fert dosing depending on your plant types and density (less plants or slow growing plants, less ferts... more plants or fast growing plants, more ferts). Daily fert dosing tends to be better than just one large dose per week.

The best way to know if your plants are getting enough nutrients is to observe if they are healthy and growing well.

Another method is to just follow the recommended dosage amount listed on the bottle (or even slightly more), then do large water change (> 50%) every week to reset the nutrient levels, then dose again. Sort of like an EI style dosing regimen.

EasyCarbo has to be dosed daily and during the photoperiod to be effective (as such carbon supplements only last for around 24 hours in tank), it will provide an alternative source of ready carbon for the plants to use during photosynthesis.

[Newbie shrimpkeeping]

Hi guys thanks for all the expert comments on helping my clear the bba in my aquarium... I had used the algaexit method and successfully clear the bba in my aquarium. All the bba had since disappeared. Appreciate your help. Thanks.