FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Greg sells that also,
He's very professional to deal with.
1lb will last a decade or so.

Main thing about BGA, you can kill it 2 different ways, but preventing it from coming back is the real issue folks should think about.

We can kill and remove easily enough..........

But does the tank need antibiotics or a blackout to grow plants? Rubbish!

Algae is merely a symtom of poor growth and things that need changed and improved.

But even before that........plants will slow their growth down, pearling will decline, some might not look as full, MIcrantherum umbrosum is an excellent NO3 indicator.

So you can simply watch a tank and see what you need to add in many cases before algae hits.

Also, if you simply do large weekly water changes, and dose these nutrients back 2-3 x a week, then you maitain stable nutrients without a need for test kits.

Yuo dose frequently to prevent anything from running out and do large weekly water changes to prevent anything from building up.

Add good CO2 and you are set.

Then you get spend your time growing thiose weeds and gardening, which was the original goal in the first place.

Don't lose sight of that and keep that as you focus. The plant's needs.

Thanks for all the replys!

Plant Brain - Yes, I was using Seachem Excel. And to add that much to a 75 gallon, it's going to be cheaper to set up a CO2 system, don't you think? I know where to get a CO2 tank... I'll need to learn about everything else that goes with it, though.

I blacked out the tank Fri, Sat, and Sun. And by last night, I couldn't see any more BGA. I'll try to get stump remover today, and order the other stuff online.

Should I only turn on two of the bulbs for now (130 watts, 1.7wpg)?
What do you think about actinic bulbs? They came with the fixture. Is it worth it to replace them with 6700K's, or something else? And, I also run a moonlight (LED) from 6pm-11pm. Does that aggravate algae?

Thanks Again! This is a great forum!

Georgia, a tip on the stump remover, check and make sure that it's pure Potassium nitrAte. There are different brands and some of them have other additives.
I found mine @lowes. Neither my local garden store nor home depot carried the right kind.

^_^
[hr width='40%']"Somewhere beyond happiness and sadness
I need to calculate,what creates my own madness...
and I am waiting for disaster"

Excel can be bought in 4 liter amounts for about 45-50$ from Big Al's online.

Gas systems are easy to deal with once set up and adjusted correctly. They make things much easier and yes, they are very cheap once set up.

You can turn on the bulbs once you add KNO3, you need to add the KNO3 now, not afterwards or the BGA will come back. Follow those instructions to the letter.

Remove any atinics, they are not useful for planted tank and simple waste most of the energy, they cause no harm and they do look weird.
Moonlights cause no issues.
6700K are nice.

Regards,
Tom Barr

Hi
KH2PO4 is regular, old, Epsom Salts found at any drugstore.
Be sure that it has no additives.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

I'm actually still using Seachem's Flourish Excel for carbon. Is liquid carbon driven out of the water by surface agitation as quickly as CO2 gas? I knew I'd loose some, which is the reason I held off on the bubble wand. And, I only run it about 14 hours. But, it was the only thing I hadn't tried.

CO2 injection system is next on my wish list. As well as a powerhead. Thanks for the suggestion!

Yes, low water circulation is often a problem that results in BGA guess we forgot to mention it this time around .

With that much light you're running CO2 right So you don't want to increase the surface agitation which drives it off.... What I do is run a powerhead instead, water circulation without the surface agitation. Just an idea.

^_^


[hr width='40%'] "Ah, yes," said the toad. "You've got Nac Mac Feegles!"[/font]

Well, I don't want to jinx myself, but the BGA looks to be gone completely.

I've been dosing KNO3 and Seachem Excel religiously, but as I posted, the BGA was staging a very slow, but deliberate comeback on my hornwort. It was frusterating. So, I tried to step back and find an aspect of the tank I hadn't considered. That's when I noticed how listless my corys had become lately, and how much mulm was collecting on the bottom of the tank. I don't think I was getting adaquate water circulation / oxygenation because the Fluval outflow was below the water level (to reduce the water noise in my bedroom). Originally, I thought that was okay, since it helped retain the CO2 in the water.

I went and bought a bubble stone/curtain and put it on the side wall of the tank, so that the water flow was much more circular (more bottom to top flow).

To my amazement, the next morning I couldn't see ANY BGA in the tank!

So, I'm hoping this was the missing link. I've read BGA can be a sign of low oxygen levels / poor circulation. I'm definately going to continue the KNO3 and CO2, and keep my fingers crossed.

Thanks again to everyone!

Here's a picture of my tank from yesterday:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/SSanchez/IMG_0534.jpg

The BGA is still visible on the hornwort. But, you have to look very closely. And, as I said the plants are looking much better.

Last edited by Georgia at 02-Mar-2005 11:32

This time, it was almost exclusively on the Hornwort, which I found odd. I bought it because it was supposed to prevent algae.

Remember that cyno isn't just an algae. The first things I ever see cyno appear on is hornwort and water wisteria, two of the fastest consumers in my tanks. Which is why it's important to keep the nitrAte levels high enough.

^_^
[hr width='40%']"There&#8217;s an emptiness inside her. And she&#8217;d do anything to fill it in.
And though it&#8217;s red blood bleeding from her now. It's more like cold blue ice in her heart.
She feels like kicking out all the windows. And setting fire to this life."

Well, I may have spoke too soon. Upon closer inspection Friday evening, I noticed some BGA creeping up again. This time, it was almost exclusively on the Hornwort, which I found odd. I bought it because it was supposed to prevent algae.

Currently running the daylight bulbs (1.7wpg) 12 hrs. each day, with the 18000K's on in the middle of the day (3.4 wpg for 4 hrs).
Added 1/2 tsp. KNO3 and 1 capful of Flourish three days ago. 1.3 capful of Flourish Excel every day.

The plants are looking much healthier. I'll post a picture soon. And, what little BGA has reappeared isn't taking over, like it was before.

Do I need more KNO3? I tested the nitrates over the weekend, and think they're about 15ppm. (A.P. Nitrate tests are really hard for me to read in the 10-160ppm range...)

Or maybe more of the excel (until I figure out a CO2 solution)?

On a related note, I'm using the same recipe of ferts on my other 75 gallon (only 1.3 wpg, with laterite substrate). Originally, it was just to improve the poor growth I was seeing. But, in the past two days, BGA is growing accross the surface of the gravel, which is another puzzling observation....

BF-
I think it's not BGA if it's survived a week
Sounds more like BBA.
Few green algae and BGA can last longer than 5 days.

They generally don't have the reserves, at least the species that infest our tanks......

Do you have a pic or can describe it in good detail??
Did you cover the tank and make 0% light got in or is there ambient light in the room and you just turned the light off? It makes a difference.

GA-
Make sure you add 1/2 teaspoon KNO3, that's why you got BGA to begin with, a lack of NO3...
That's about 8ppm of NO3, not much.
Snails are extremely tough, copper and a very few other things will kill them but fish and shrimp will die long before the snails will.

In general, I'm not suggesting folks kill algae really, I am suggesting to beat it back and then correct conditions that caused the algae in the first place.

Most got into the hobby to grow plants, so focusing on those needs is all I try to help folks do, whether it's with CO2 or not, test kits of water changes or marine methods.

Regards,
Tom Barr

Georgia,

Glad to hear it's working out! No reason the KNO3 would harm inverts.

Keep us updated on the progress. Lots of people battle this stuff so it would be good to have a thread that follows thru until the end.

I've seen elsewhere when folks follow Tom's method they not only get rid of the algae but end up with a tank and plants looking better then ever. Hope to see the same result here

---

Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Congrats Georgia keep up the fight

...emmm either I've misnamed my algae foe, or I've got a mutant strain of cyno. Mine survives a week long blackout .
Ideas anyone?

^_^
[hr width='40%']"There&#8217;s an emptiness inside her. And she&#8217;d do anything to fill it in.
And though it&#8217;s red blood bleeding from her now. It's more like cold blue ice in her heart.
She feels like kicking out all the windows. And setting fire to this life."

Thanks for the link Bensaf!

Update: Day two after blackout. 1/8 tsp. KNO3 added yesterday. 1/8 tsp. + Seachem Excel added today. So far, so good. No sign of the BGA.

I'm a bit nervous about the KNO3, because of the snails (which is why I didn't add 1/2 tsp to start with). They're still a little off, but all the fish look great. The amano shrimp look fine too, and I'd think they'd be indicators if the KNO3 was bad for inverts. I'm assuming it completely safe, right?

Also, when adding it to the tank, should it be diluted? I put a bit of dry KNO3 into my other 75 gallon, and my Green Severum thought it was food and tried to eat it! I almost had a heart attack. But, it didn't seem to bother it. After that I added it to a cup of tank water, then put it into the tank.

Thanks Again for everyone's help!

For BGA, using KNO3 in the primary issue.
I suggest adding it right after your water change before the blackout. Then again after the blackout.

KH2PO4 is for halting green spot algae on the glass.
You can get rid of it forever by adding more PO4.
This will amplify a CO2 enrcihed tank and perhaops a non CO2 tank with a low fish load or added trace amounts once a week etc.

3.4 w/gal is too much for a non CO2 tank, add CO2 or reduce the lighting, excel might get you through to some degree, I doubt it over the long term.

BGA just one of the algae you will get if you have that much light and no CO2.

Reduce the light or add CO2.
Otherwise you will have troubles and far less flexibility.

Regards,
Tom Barr