BGA Help!!!

[itsuki]

Hi

does anyone know how to prevent BGA???
currently, i have BGA in my 1ft tank.
it grows very fast.

thank

[Loopy]

- Lights out for a few days (3 days)
- Change 10%~20% water daily for 1 week
- Stop dosing anything for 1 week

That's what I do. There are other versions.

[barmby]

Do a 3 day blackout yet?
Fully cover the tank(old newspaper followed by trash bags, say 2-3 deep of the black tash bags work well)

Clean prior and after, 50% water change on pre and post blackout, clean filter, lightly vacuum the surface to remove any detritus on the surface of the gravel, scrape below the gravel line if any algae is along the glass=gravel
line.

Add KNO3, at 1/4 teaspoon per 20 gal of tank pre and post treatment and then at least 1-2x a week thereafter.

Up your CO2. Up Up. CO2 should address the issue after the above mentioned

[blackBRUSHalgae]

What is the condition of your plants and also your plant density?

These factors are important too. If both the health and density of your plants are low, I advise doing an overhaul and redoing your scape, as a 3 days blackout will kill off your weak plants also.

And also your CO2, lights and fertilization have to be in optimal amount and in harmony for plants to thrive.

[torque6]

Up your CO2. Up Up. CO2 should address the issue after the above mentioned

Up co2? Don't think so, try air stone for increase ateration. Highly oxygenated water repels BGA.

These factors are important too. If both the health and density of your plants are low, I advise doing an overhaul and redoing your scape, as a 3 days blackout will kill off your weak plants also.

And also your CO2, lights and fertilization have to be in optimal amount and in harmony for plants to thrive.

The last thing i would advise anyone is doing an overhaul regardless of whether the plants health or density, besides 3 day blackout don't kill plants. It never did for most instances. Also please be specific in your co2, lights and ferts needing to be optimal.

Itsuki,
I've have done several write ups and documentated issues with BGA on AQ with good assistance from Peter Gwee and Shadow for your reading. You might want to check them out here.

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=40780
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=38669

Peter has given the following as an optimal fert regime.

Target NO3 at 10ppm per dose 3x a week
Target PO4 at 2 ppm per dose 3x a week
That is about right for EI based on your highlight tank of 4.6w/g.

[blackBRUSHalgae]

The last thing i would advise anyone is doing an overhaul regardless of whether the plants health or density, besides 3 day blackout don't kill plants. It never did for most instances.

Maybe I need to explain more than "as a 3 days blackout will kill off your weak plants also."

Yes it won't kill your plants, but it will make things complicate further when you go ahead with 3 days blackout with your plants not in good health to start with. Especially those soft tissue plants like micranthemum micranthemoides or elatine triandra, and even plants that are very sensitive to light changes like Bolbitis heudelotii.

when I say it complicate things further, it means that your weak plants will become weaker with 3 days blackout and plants is a higher life form will takes much longer time to recover, when compares to aglae and bacteria.

Giving a 3 days blackout to plants is like asking any living things not to eat for 3 full days. Imagine how is that going to affect its health? So I would only advice a 3 days blackout when your plants are healthy to start with.

[torque6]

The black out period with BGA is usually 5 days straight as recommended by most of us who had this algae before. Of course there are other methods as I've journalised that doesn't require a black out, that is if you had taken the trouble to actually go through them.

By the way, i dont agree with your statement with "asking any living things not to eat for 3 days", since obviously you don't quite understand plant physiology.

If a plant is already dying, regardless of whether performing a black out to manage BGA or fearing killing it off by doing one is still a lose lose situation. It will still die either way, through BGA infestation or blackout.

However, even a small uninfected plant root can sprout life if its pruned correctly once the BGA + black out has been taken care of.