Monte Carlo Algae Problem

[greenie]

In a few days time, more BBA will turn whitish. I associate fishy smelling water due to dead stuff in your water.

From beneficial bacteria, bba and other critters residing in your tank and filter dead, rotting or dying.

Just monitor ammonia levels and do appropriate water changes. Vacuum the subsrate to remove mulm and detritus and the smell should clear. Just remember, H2O2 destroys not only BBA but also bacteria. Beneficial bacteria should bounces back. I suggest reduce feedings to bare minimum to allow Beneficial bacteria to slowly populate.

[greenie]

For fish quarantine, I treat with aquarium salt and heater set to 30C 24/7. Airstone at full blast. Feed them sparingly with frozen bloodworm and clear their poo as much as I can.
I change water daily and will add epsom salt to purge their digestive tract. If any other disease pop up, then I treat it with the proper meds. I stop the salt treatment but continue with the heater and airstone.

Normally I keep it this way for 10-14days. On the last day I add H202 to the quarantine to kill BBA if any.

Also by then, the fishes should be strong enough to endure the effects of H2O2. But you cannot do H2O2 for scaleless fish like Corydoras or Otocinculus. They seem to not tolerate it as other fish species.

[carcraze]

In a few days time, more BBA will turn whitish. I associate fishy smelling water due to dead stuff in your water.

From beneficial bacteria, bba and other critters residing in your tank and filter dead, rotting or dying.

Just monitor ammonia levels and do appropriate water changes. Vacuum the subsrate to remove mulm and detritus and the smell should clear. Just remember, H2O2 destroys not only BBA but also bacteria. Beneficial bacteria should bounces back. I suggest reduce feedings to bare minimum to allow Beneficial bacteria to slowly populate.

@greenie Thanks for the advise. I woke up this morning and the aquarium water turned whitish and blurry. My fishes are all ok and the heavy smell have disappeared. Just the water is whitish... Any thoughts what this is?

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[greenie]

This is expected. This bacterial bloom due to mass dead matter in the tank. You may have knocked out your beneficial bacteria. It will recover though.

Just remember the dosage used for H2O2 and Excel and slightly reduce the amount if used next time. Though the water looks unslightly, once your good bacteria in your filter repopulate, it will clear up.

You can assist in the recovery by monitoring ammonia levels and do water changes if necessary as your tank filter is going through a mini cycling. Since you have fishes and critters inside your tank, it is necessary to do water changes if ammonia levels gets toxic for them. Secondly, just add a airstone to oxygenate the water because the bacterial bloom also consume oxygen. No need to blast, just enough that you don't gassed out your CO2. It also aid in the recovery of your filter aerobic bacteria.

Importantly no drastic changes in water parameter change unless sudden spike of ammonia that is detrimental to your fauna.

[carcraze]

Thank you for your advise. Will follow accordingly. The good part is at least the smell is gone. I added good bacteria to speed up the process too

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[carcraze]

@greenie most of my MC has turned white and my Repens are dropping leaves and looks like rotting at the ends.

Is this normal after H2O2 treatment?

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[carcraze]

Image of my MC

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[greenie]

BBA infested leaves and weakened HC will melt. You might have dose a tad too much on either the H2O2 or Excel or both. Yamato shrimps and snails will eat them but most of the whitish leaf will melt and add ammonia to your tank water. Just do WC if ammonia spikes.

You may end up with bald patches, but it will recover. This is better than tearing the whole tank and sanitizing everything and start from scratch. In a week or two new leaves should emerge and slowly recover. Just maintain same water parameter.

[carcraze]

BBA infested leaves and weakened HC will melt. You might have dose a tad too much on either the H2O2 or Excel or both. Yamato shrimps and snails will eat them but most of the whitish leaf will melt and add ammonia to your tank water. Just do WC if ammonia spikes.

You may end up with bald patches, but it will recover. This is better than tearing the whole tank and sanitizing everything and start from scratch. In a week or two new leaves should emerge and slowly recover. Just maintain same water parameter.

, a lot to look out for

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[greenie]

This the aftermath. Like I said just keep it simple. Maintain water parameter as the same as possible, no unnecessary sudden changes.

BBA infestation is a losing battle for aquarist. Sooner or later nuking is the only option.

Patience is key.

[carcraze]

Thanks for the advise!

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[carcraze]

Know what this is? The small white egg like spots, next to the bright green algae

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[carcraze]

@greenie Sifu, do you know what this is? Don't have it before I did the hydrogen peroxide treatment. It grows till beneath my soil

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[greenie]

That is BGA. Blue Green Algae. It's a the cyanobacteria. Meaning it's an algae and also bacteria. Suck away the BGA and treat those places you cannot totally remove with H2O2 spot treatment. It grows at spots with little to no water flow. Remember just spot treatment. Due to the mass melting of MC, BGA is taking advantage. If left alone it will cover all your plants.

[carcraze]

@greenie I need some help. I reset my tank about a week ago. The only thing that was recycled from old tank was the fishes and tank. Rest are new including filter. After resetting the tank, after about a week, algae started again on all screens.

I did WC after I reset for about 3x during the course of the week. I didn't see any algae hence didn't scrub the screens. The last WC I did was bse I could see algae on the screens hence I scrubbed it. The next day, algae is back again.

I've been dosing Excel and keeping my co2 injection low or none. I increased my Excel dose yesterday than prescribed on the bottle.

Is this normal for algae to keep growing on screens so aggressively?

Help!!

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[greenie]

Hi,

"on screens" meaning on side glass of tanks?

Is it the BGA like on your last pic?

Do you reuse your substrate?

Help to answer these for me so that I may offer my advice.

[carcraze]

Hi,

"on screens" meaning on side glass of tanks?

Is it the BGA like on your last pic?

Do you reuse your substrate?

Help to answer these for me so that I may offer my advice.

@greenie yes all screens means all 4 glasses of the tank.

no, I changed substrate. Everything is new except for my fishes. I used some Excel in the tank that I used when I reset the tank.

It looks like BGA, but I can't really tell. Here's a pic. When I reset the tank, I used H2O2 to clean the whole tank. Poured hot water into the new drift wood and rocks. Planted new TC plants. Only my Crypts are potted, which are about 3-4 stalks only. New cannister filter.

To date, I've changed water 6-7 times, including 2 WC that I scrubbed the screens. Water was also cloudy like this until my last WC yesterday.

During my first scrubbing WC, I added H2O2 10ml to my 10-12 gallon tank. Waited 1 hr before water change. But the cloudy water wasn't from this doing.

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