BBA Woes

[cherabin]

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.

[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

[cherabin]

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?

[bclee]

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.

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

[cherabin]

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.

[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.

[cherabin]

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?

[|squee|]

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.

[PeterGwee]

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