Inconsistant CO2 distribution

[aquarius]

I've been having BBAs for a very very long time. Now my tank have BBAs and fuzz algae. I've increased CO2 to more than 4bps using a external reactor bought from NA. I've done almost everything to try to solve the problem and have come to the conclusion that it's probably due to CO2 not being consistantly pumped into the tank. (i'm using a CO2 cyclinder)

My question is what cause the CO2 to be not consistantly pumped into the water? I'm using a solenoid regulator and also a rainbar to distribute the CO2 as evenly as possible round the tank.

[|squee|]

Try the internal reactor design by Tom Barr (stickied). I've not tried it myself, but I've read numerous reports on it working well.

After fixing the CO2, water circulation is another problem. After that, bomb the existing BBA (as with all algae it will still grow if not removed...even after correcting conditions).

Keep changing equipment placement and see what works best. 4bps is nuts imho =x

[PeterGwee]

Try getting a diffuser into the reactor that you have now and use the mist as an indicator to see how good the CO2 mist spreads throughout the tank. That will tell you how good of a circulation you have throughout the tank. If the circulation is good, then its the lower CO2 level that is causing issues. Most of the issue stems more from circulation (not enough current...not a torrent but gentle good circulation.).

Regards
Peter Gwee

[aquarius]

I don't think is circulation problem cos the whole tank is covered with BBA and not one part of the tank despite having about 4bps or more CO2. Also after water change when the particles from the gravel is stired up, you can know where the water "current" is flowing by looking at the particles floating all over the tank. The tank is also not very densely planted. I only have two or three stem plants while the rest are low light plants.

I understand that BBA is also caused by inconsistant CO2 and i'm wondering is it because the regulator is not pumping in a consistant amount of CO2 that's causing the BBA problems? If so, how's that possible since it's a solenoid?

[PeterGwee]

If you assume everything without giving it a try or at least put in some effort, there is really nothing that I can do to help. The water needs to be consistently moving pass a plant carrying CO2 rich water in order for it not to be depleted. Does your bubble rate change during the day or throughout the week? How big exactly is the tank? I know from experience that the CO2 line is prone to leak due to the amount of back-pressure on it and the CO2 rate can change. Too little plant mass means more chance of algae as does lack of nutrients.

Regards
Peter Gwee

[aquarius]

From my observation of the bubble counter i noticed that there is a slight fast and slow of bubbles. My needle valve (the thing used to fine tune CO2 injection) is not the normal type that you see in a JBL regulator. That's why i suspect it's got to do with the regulator but want to confirm first b4 changing the regulator. Unfortunately i'm not able to post a pic of the regulator here cos i don't have a camera.

I encountered bad BBA problems even when my tank was densely planted and doing EI. My tank is 3ft with a filter running at 600l/hr. My rainbar is pointing upwards toward the back of the tank.

[PeterGwee]

If the rate is inconsistent, what do you think of the CO2 then? For the flow return, try placing the spraybar vertically next to the inlet and spray the water return around in a clock-wise direction when view from the top of the tank.

Regards
Peter Gwee

[fi5hkiller]

you may also want to see if there is anything causing splashing that remove CO2 from your tank.
Things that cause surface turbulence, like waterfall, air stone, etc.
once confirmed no external disturbance, then you look at how well the CO2 is dissvoled in your tank by looking at the suitability of the CO2 reactor you are using.
if yours is a small tank, especially those less than 1 ft tall, those ceramic diffusor will not be suitable as height of tank is insufficient for CO2 to dissolve efficiently.
the trick is to prolong the distance for CO2 to travel to the top so it can dissolve more effectively along the way.

[aquarius]

Thanks guys for the suggestions and advice. I've just bought a new regulator, changed the tubes and pump up the CO2 a little more to >3.5bps. Will have to observe for the next couple of days to see the results.

[ranmasatome]

as mentioned.. you still have to remove the old bba.. once bba is established.. it wont "ungrow" even if conditions are good. New ones might not appear..but the old ones will stay if not removed.