BBA and Hair algea Attacked!!

[henree]

Hi , need some advise on solving BBA issue. My tank got infected with this algea 2 weeks ago, and it is getting worst. The portion get the most BBA is near the rainbar where the CO2 is distributed. So I think lack of CO2 might not be the root cause. Where else the hairy algea seems to be eveywhere. It can be seen on stem plant, moss, hair grass. Really at a lost on what to do next.

Appreciate if someone can help to address the root cause.

Attacked pic with BBA on plant and another 1 with light brown hair algea attached on the moss

My tank specs are as follow:


Tank Dimensions : 4x2x2

Lighting Intensity(No of Watts) : 54Wx6 T5HO
No. of hours your lights are on : 8hrs

CO2 Injection Rate (bps) : 6bps
Type of CO2 (DIY/Cylinder) : cylinder
Method of Injection (e.g. Diffusor/Reactor) : external reactor

Liquid fertilisers Used (Product name. E.g. Seachem Flourish) : KH2So4, KNo3, KHPo4 and Seachem Flourish as trace
Fertilization regime (Frequency and amount per dose) :EI regime

Other additives (Product name. E.g. Seachem Prime) : Seachem prime when Water change

Type of Filter :2xEheim 2028
When was the filter last washed : 1weeks ago
Filter media used : bio media Eheim substrate Pro

Age of setup (i.e. since initial setup or last major re-do ) : 7 months

Water change frequency : once per week
Amount changed : 50%

Water surface movement (None/gentle/turbulent) : gentle
Circulation (None/gentle/turbulent) : gentle

Tank Temperature : 25.5 - 27.0 (Chiller control)

Chemical Properties (Fill what you can)
-------------------------------------
KH (dKH): 3.0
GH (dGH):
pH : 6.2-6.8
NH4 (ppm):
NO2 (ppm):
NO3 (ppm):
PO4 (ppm):
Fe (ppm):

Bioload (Number and type of fish and plants)
------------------------------------------
50+ rummy nose and Cardinal
6 Discus
5 oto
5 cory
3 SAE
3 guppies

[EvolutionZ]

since u metion that u have 3 SAE, u might wanna get another 2 or 3.. den starve your fishes for a few days, ur SAE will eat those aglae up.. =)

[r36613]

I think hair algae and BBA caused by to many biological waste/ammonia/ammonium ... like overfeed the fish. Also maybe your biological filter did not work properly.

Anything changed for the last 2 weeks? like dosing fert, introducing new ferts ....

[henree]

the only thing that i can think of might be the feeding of bloodworm for the discus . It seems to me that this might be one of the cause. but I might be wrong.

Have since done a 90% water change and stop feeding of fish for the time being. Have also removed almost 80%of the plant affacted by BBA.

will try to monitor if the condition improve.

[FishFan]

Hi there,

How is plant growth in general? You need to keep your CO2 level up and enough nutrients to promote plant growth to out-compete the algae. Having said that, this out competition would not cause the existing algae to disappear. You need also to remove as many as the infected leaves as possible and over time, the algae should be eradicated.

Good luck!

[henree]

Hi,

Plant growth are generally quite good. These inclusive of stem plant, and mosses.

CO2 and nutrient are still maintance at usual, have not change the regime all this while.

Have since removed most of the infected leaves. Will see if the condition improve in nest few days. Thanks

[koon]

u mentioned u washed ur filter 7 days ago.
Maybe your beneficial bacteria in your filter media has being destroyed.

If that is the case, you need to restart your biosystem again.
Go and get on the shelf (any LFS) bacteria solution and add in as prescribed every day.
While doing this, reduce your feeding by > 50%, reduce lighting, change water 50% if it become cloudy every other day.

Hope the above helps. I just encountered the same problem as yours one week ago when my filter got problem. Take me 1 week to recover back the ecosystem.

warmest rgds

[henree]

Hi, I don't think i have destroy the beneficial bacteria because when washing the filter , I used the tank water to wash the bio-media instead of using water directly from the tap. Theoritically the benificial bacteria should still be there. Thanks

Regards.

[koon]

Everytime you wash your filter, regardless of whether it is tap water or not,
the ecosystem will be disturbed.

Furthermore, your tank seems to be overcrowded.
How big is your discus currently ?
What did you feed them with and the frequency of feeding ?

I rear discus in planted tank also. Mine is a 5 feet tank.
As they grow bigger, your bioload will increase.

warmest rgds

[henree]

Discus size : 2 pcs 5" , 2 pcs 4" and 2 pcs 3".
I think I might have overfed them last couple of weeks. There always seems to have some left over food on the gravel after 1 hrs from last feeding.

Actually was hopping that the rummy nose will pick up all the uneaten food, but they seems to be overfed too. I think thats the biggest mistake I have made in this BBA outbreak.

Have since revert back to the normal routine of 1 feeding per day. Feeding on both Tetrabit and Bloodworm.

Current Situation seems to be getting better. Think BBA not spearding aggressively at the moment. Will try to get more SAE to clear out the remaining BBA.

Regards

[koon]

One of the mistake to reduce bio-overload is to introduce more fish into the ecosystem.

SAEs, once you have available food for other fishes, the SAEs will not eat up the BBA but instead will feed on your delicious fish food especially bloodworm.

Just clear away those leaves which have BBA.
That will do the job.

It is tough to maintain an algae free planted tank with 6 discuses, you will face with more challenges when they grow even bigger.

warmest rgds
Koon

[crystalreds]

Consider using Yamato while blacking out your tank for 3 days. Need not feed your fish during that period. Don't worry, they won't starve to death.

[Gessi]

Consider using Yamato while blacking out your tank for 3 days. Need not feed your fish during that period. Don't worry, they won't starve to death.

Agree, Yamoto is quite efective against hair algae,half a dozen of them will clean them out in a week or two depending on the area infected,try to limit your feeding for your fish, shrimp prefer fish food over algae, but they'll munch on the algae if they find no alternative

[dcwk]

There are two 5" discus. Yamatos may become their expensive meal.

[henree]

HI , just a update on the progress of the tank.

BBA - almost gone. (left some on the gravel)
Hair algea- not existing

Steps taken :
Split Co2 into 2 outlet, 1 using external reactor and the other diffuser, outlet placed at different corner of the tank.
Installed 1x 440l/hr small circulating pump to ensure maximum flow circulation
Cutdown on the feeding of the fish to 1 feed per day

----------------------------------------------------------
New problem - BGA found on bogwood
----------------------------------------------------------
Step taken : did a black out for 3 days. follow by a 90% WC.

Result : BGA still can be seen on the bogwood ,but have reduce about 30%.

I have return to normal routine of EI dosing regim.

Seems that BGA might start to spread again.


Need some expert help in removing these ugly algea.

Appreciate for any advise. Thank You.

[grey_fox]

BGA is a pain. I know because this is the first form of 'algae' that I encountered myself.

Did the following and it vanished.

1. 50 % or more water change (suck up whatever BGA you can)
2. clean up of filter.
3. airstone dropped into the tank.
4. turned CO2 timer off.
5. covered entire tank with newspapers, 0% change of light to penetrate.
6. exactly 3 1/2 days after, removed newsapapers, 50-70% water change.
7. clean up of filter again.
8. restart your dosing regime.

PS: By the way, when you do the blackout, don't bother to feed your fauna. Leave the tank untouched, no peeking too.

BGA or cynobacteria is mainly due to the lack of poor water flow combined with the lack of NO3. You might want to go about checking your tanks' flow and also to be a bit more generous with your NO3 dosing.

[henree]

Hi, I did exactly what you have done for the blackout , but seems that the result is not totally convincing, although I can see some improvement on the BGA issue.

No3 dosing is now at 1.5 time the recommanded amount. Should I increase it further? (1-1/2 tsp on 4x2x2 tank)

[soulfinder78]

yamato will eat hair algae??? cause i have a hair algae infected tank though not very serious but quite un sightly especially when they are growing on my spiky moss.

[grey_fox]

Hi henree,

The blackout method works. Did you do a good clean up before attempting to do the blackout? Even a small bit of BGA can end up leading to a tank filled with BGA again. Some folks here do a 5-7 day blackout for kiasu reasons of course

I've heard of antibiotic resistant BGA but not blackout-resistant BGA.

As for your NO3, what were you previously dosing? For my 5 footer, I'm dosing 2 teaspoons at every dose. If you think that the NO3 is sufficient, next suggestion is to check your flowrate through the tank.

[henree]

Hi, thanks for your quick reply,

Maybe my clean up is not thorough enough .
Pump flowrate are generally good, at the moment there are 3 pumps working - 2 cannister and 1 submerge circulation pump. My previous dosage for NO3 is at 1-1/2 tsp per dose for 3 days a week.

I think my fert regim, CO2, water flowrate should be OK. I am thinking of repeating the blackout again, but this time will make it at least 5 days and will make sure that all the BGA is being clear preior to the blackout.

Will update again after the 2nd blackout. cheers