[Koen_v_V]

Hi,

I can't seems to open a thread in "algae control", due to some limitations I can't check. Does the admin can for me?

Cheers, Koen.


The text I want to post:
title: BGA is bugging me again and again in a relatively new tank.
Message:

Hi people,

I a little stressed out over here: the BGA (cyanobacteria) keeps coming back, no matter what I do (not assuming I did everything...) In the broad scale of FW aquaria, as owner I turning just on a few knobs…

The current setup is:
180x80x55, net 500 liters/130 US gallon. 2 x T5 49watt (Philips 830+840) for 16 hours at 100%, good aluminium reflectors. 1 eheim 2216 and 1 eheim 2218, with blue sponge and the white cotton wool. Eheim 2000 l/h (500gal/h) power head and a seperate setup with fluidized bed filter, Total gross current is 900 gal/h. CO2 diffusor and UVC 7 watt filter. 3-6mm gravel. CO2 is probe controlled at pH 6.7 with a KH of 7 degrees (maybe the double dropchecker I investigated yesterday is a better solution to keep my CO2 above 30ppm)

Dosing is:
every day 12ml/cc easylife carbo (to be sure, when CO2 can be too low due to mismeasuring)
3 days a week: 60ml KNO3 solution (50gr in 1000ml DW) = 18ppm/week KNO3 and 20ml KH2PO4 (10gr in 1000 DW) = 1.2ppm/week KH2PO4. In total 12 ppm/week NO3, 8 ppm/week K+, 0.8 ppm PO4.
3 days a week: 30ml CSM+B solution (25gr in 500ml DW) = 9ppm/week CSM+B.
After 50% water change on Sunday, I'm adding 20 gr patentkali (for 3 ppm magnesium and extra potassium) but planning to chang that to MgSO4 (Epsom salt?) which I got in stock.

In june I was finished building my new tank, started with to low biomass, no fastgrowing plants, 1 eheim 2216 which couldn't clean the water enough. But started with EI dosing due to succesfull results in a small tank. Plants were growing like mad, but also the algae. And BGA was taking over after introducing fish and feeding. I used a antibiotic which solved the problem of BGA but next my entire nitrifcation process was disturbed. I got an extra Eheim 2218 and powerhead for current and cleaning. Cleaning out filters is now done weekly. After a few weeks I’ve got green floating algae, green white mist/cloud, BBA and some other unidentified algae (other form of cyano?) were taking over. Installed a UVC 7 watt filter to get rid of the mist/cloud. After 2 weeks the water was clear again and a lot of algae were dying, introducing BGA (on plants and gravel, not the surface) again! I bought a lot, but mean a lot, real waterplants (Egeria densa) to boost O2 production (and other nice side effects) to establish a good water quality. I must say after two weeks now, BGA isn’t growing fast anymore, but isn’t retreating yet. I have decreased the intensity of light for 4 hours to 50%. Oh, and BBA is very well established in the tank also

Creating high biomass, a lot of real waterplants, good filter cleaning, dosing, good waterflow, CO2 + excel supported?

What other things can I do to win this thing besides the thing above?

Any hints/tips? (redo gravel, extreme gravel cleaning to eliminate anaerobe (rotting?) areas?

[Tom Barr]

You can Private message Greg Watson.
He should be able to take care of the posting issue.

16 hours of light is most of the issue it seems, try 9-10 hours instead.
I typically do 2x a week water changes when anything is wrong.
So consider upping to 2x a week, cleaning filters, any waste you can find in the tank, allow the plants that are doing well to over take things and retrim only after things settle down some what.


If you have not added anything to the gravel, then vacuuming might help some.
If the light is on for 8-10 hours, then you should be fine.

Clean, water changes, allow the plants t fill in, add some Amano shrimps, Otto catfish, Rubber nose plecos etc.

Regards,
TomBarr

[Koen_v_V]

Hi Toms,

Thanks for replying. The most BGA-growth seems to stopped now that the Egeria is taking over, but not retreating yet.

I'll turn down the length of lighting to 10 hours, hopefully this will help extra.

My gravel is fertalized with french red (iron) clay, some swedish white clay and loam. But I'll do a massive cleanup if the BGA is retreating within 4 week from now. Maybe I can do a blackout for 3 days before.

Patience, patience patience...

[Koen_v_V]

Hi Tom,

I lowered the light to 10hours a day. I did a two day blackout, the BGA was entirely gone. But after 1,5 week the BGA is fully back now, but more blackish. The gravel is 30% covered with it. CO2 is okay, triple checked and dosing EasyCarbo, current is massive and Elodea/Egeria all over the place. I'm still removing a white bio film daily, it keeps returning.

I'm suspecting something in the gravel triving the NH4 up... Maybe my nitrificationcyle is still bad? Is there something to control NH4?

Hope someone can help?

Cheers, Koen.

[aquabillpers]

Hi,

On those rare occasions when I get BGA in my soil-based tanks, the tanks are either newly set up or the substrate has been disturbed. I conclude from that excess nutrients in the water column fuel the growth of the cyanobacteria, just as they will nourish other bacteria. (Some might disagree.)

What are the ammonia, nitrate, and phosphate levels in that tank?

You also have more hours of light than the tank needs.

Good luck!

Bill

[Tom Barr]

If the BBA and BGA are coming back and you have good pla biomass, then CO2. Egeria should respond very well to CO2, but poorly with Easy Carbo, do not use the Easy Carbon with Egeria, it will melt the leaves off and reduce growth by 60-90%.

BBA will appear with low plant biomass and with poor CO2.
You need to get the CO2 correct.

I'd add more KNO3 also.
Do not worry, you can do a water change if it's too much, Blackout will never cure BGA, just kill what is there.

Have you cleaned the filters out often? Make sure that you do that and clean any detritus or decaying plants.

BGA appears when the filters gte clogged often also, that and a low NO3 seem the most common causes, I've been able to induce BGA repeatedly with low NO3.

Dose more KNO3 when you do a black out for 2-3 days, then add more thereafter. Make sure you keep the filter clean and well maintained and prune and keep the plants well manicured.

Regards,
Tom Barr

Regards,
Tom Barr

[Koen_v_V]

Then I'll try it with no Easy Carbo, more reason to well maintain CO2 readings then...
I'm cleaning the filters weekly the last 8 weeks.
Last friday I bought 20 Ottos and 15 Zebra snails to help me clean the tank. Man, what are those zebra snails good in removing algae!!!

I don't have PO4 or NO3 readings, I've stoppped measuring weekly for a year now. In my old small 30 gal high tech low light tank with just plain gravel and only shrimps IE worked like mad. It really convinced me in two months of trying and I've stopped measuring since except pH (CO2 controller) and redox.

I trying now daily to blow (600 gal/hour pump) manually all detritus (etc.) from the plants and gravel upwards in the water column so the filters can pick it up. Lets see what two weeks will bring me. The last two days I can see that detritus and decaing plants/algae is in fact a problem. I will raise the NO3 as Tom said, but still suspecting the NH4 level more. I'll try to get a test set to support my thoughts, but cleanlyness should do the trick. I not that stubborn to not to use Tom's hints, to bad that changing so many aspects in the tank will not help me to point out what did the trick. But hey, I still glad when I getting there.

(Still thinking of buying a Eheim pond filter 500 gall/hour to help me clean out, but those babies are quit expensive)

On short term:
- stop with Easy Carbo
- raise NO3 (and PO4?), say 50%
- blackout 3 days
- maintain clean-out by blowing and filter cleanup.

Can Zeolite help to lower NH4 or are there nasty side effects?

[guy tillmans]

Koen You've to be a member to enter "algae control" most other.

[Koen_v_V]

I've heard from the admin yes. Still have to sign up as payer, the stuff on the forum has helped me so much. I'm talking about the method EI in the aquaclub in Alphen a/d Rijn, but the aren't buying it. Massive algae problem in my big tank aren't supporting it... But I'm sure that the method EI along with good CO2, good current, cleanlyness will bring results. Just nailing down the last issues, just that. And then I can really go dutch aquascaping!