Still fighting Algae

[robin]

I am still fighting the algae war and would welcome any comments, suggestions or feedback.

this is my tank
http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=10ccais...0&y=8yk10v

I think these are the plants inside
Sagittaria subulataat
Sagittaria platyphylla
Bylxa japonical
Amanzon Sword Plant
Cryptocoryne sp
Echinodorus 'Ozelot Green'
Hygrophila polysperma
Nuphar Japonica
Echinodorus Bleheri
Crypto balansae

Just uprooted some Sagittaria subulataat and replaced with Hair Grass

BioLoad
45 Cardinals
20 Harlequin
1 big SAE
1 Big Clown loach
4 Otos
2 black mollies
1 Baby Black Molly
40 Yamatos
1 Albino Algae eater

BBA is greatly reduced but existing ones on my background seems to be there to stay. No new growth though. spotted green still appears on my glass. On the gravel, there seems to be BBA growing. I remove it, but it will spread again.

My tank parameters as follows
Tank type : Juwell Rekord 120 3 ft x 1.5 ft x 1.5 ft abt 31 gallons
Filter : internal default that comes with tank
Lights : 4 x 30W FL
Hours on 10
Using CO2 tank with Ehiem Diffuser
PH : 6.3
Kh : 1.5
PO4 : 0.25 mg/l (after water change) - using sera kits
NO3 : 0 mg/l (after water change) - using sera kits
Temp about 26.3
fan cooled

Water change every Friday

Dosing Regime - every Friday and Monday
TMG 5 ml
Mallick K2SO4 10ppm
Mallcik KH2PO4 0.6ppm
Seachem Nitrogen 5ml

Could also someone check if i am dosing the right ppm

This is what I did for

Mallick K2SO4
Stock 3 tablespoon in 800ml
every dose 40 ml

Mallick KH2PO4
stock 2 teaspoon in 500ml
every dose 5ml

Any guess if I am doing something wrong?

Robin

[budak]

with your CO2 level at around 22 mg/l, try raising it to 25-30 mg/l and hold it there..... BBA takes a while to peter off... i waited 2-3 months before they totally disappeared after I kept my CO2 levels raised. Watch your yamatoes though...

Your plants are very very fert hungry species!!! Try dosing more N (10 mg/l per week) and P (1-2 mg/l per week) to get them going better. Think 15-20 ml of TMG would be better too.

[PeterGwee]

BBA takes a while to peter off...

Geeee...what does that mean?

Regards
Peter Gwee

[PeterGwee]

Seachem nitrogen is different from KNO3...it contains ammonia in binded form and can cause issues if overdose. I would rather go with KNO3 as it is safer and more economical.

BBA is an algae that is almost 99% associated with low or inconsistent CO2 levels. Try to measure your pH and KH at different times of the day for a start for one day. Look at it closely and see if the CO2 level drops too low. You might want to get some flow going pass the diffuser so that the CO2 rich water can get to all parts of the tank. Once you had the CO2 nailed, you should dose nutrients regularly. Your tank has plenty of light and can crash very fast if one of the critical nutrient runs low or bottoms out. You need to dose 2x per week at least for that amount of light. Bioload is on the heavy side of things so you might need less KNO3 thats all.

Regards
Peter Gwee

[juggler]

[quote:6090294e47="PeterGwee"]

BBA takes a while to peter off...

Geeee...what does that mean?

Regards
Peter Gwee [/quote:6090294e47]

Relax, Peter. Not talking bad about you lah.
It means "tapering off". See the thesaurus http://www.bartleby.com/62/15/P1121500.html

[robin]

I am really confused now.
Looking at my PH and KH, i thought I have enough co2.

Budak, i am really confused by your dosing instructions, am i already dosing correctly?

Also, thanks Peter for your warning about seachem.
But i am already dosing twice a week.



My CO2 levels are pretty consistent
Anymore suggestions?

Robin

[budak]

You have to factor in some CO2 loss, so aiming for 25-30 mg/l should provide the CO2 the plants need.

I didn't calculate your dosing regime - just wanted to stress that you should probably keep your NO3 levels up (via dosing KNO3) to about 10 mg/l each week and PO4 to 1-2 mg/l... if you are already getting this amount of PO4, it's fine.

BBA's a horrid thing, but patience (and lots of CO2) is needed before they "peter" out. :P

[robin]

Thanks Budak!
will update this again once there is improvement.

Repeated whacking of "peter" may result in some people taking offense :P

[PeterGwee]

Heh!

Regards
Peter Gwee

[blurrblurr]

[quote:278dfd71b4="budak"]You have to factor in some CO2 loss, so aiming for 25-30 mg/l should provide the CO2 the plants need.

I didn't calculate your dosing regime - just wanted to stress that you should probably keep your NO3 levels up (via dosing KNO3) to about 10 mg/l each week and PO4 to 1-2 mg/l... if you are already getting this amount of PO4, it's fine.

BBA's a horrid thing, but patience (and lots of CO2) is needed before they "peter" out. :P[/quote:278dfd71b4]
does it means beside co2 low level, poor water circulation, BBA will grow if NO3 and PO4 is not monitored properly?

[IUnknown]

BBA also seems to be an issue with tanks that have a heavy bioload. I only had this problem in my messy goldfish tanks.

[Aeon]

[quote:e543fa85dd="IUnknown"]BBA also seems to be an issue with tanks that have a heavy bioload. I only had this problem in my messy goldfish tanks.[/quote:e543fa85dd]

Not exactly. BBA occured in mt lowload tank and highload tank before.