Black Brush Algae (Red Algae)

[rkmike]

My driftwood and some of my plants are covered in BBA, I've tried lowering the amount of lighting, limiting the amount of food and even tried the blackout method, all to no avail.

I've been reading up on using a hydrogen peroxide to get rid of it (applied locally via syringe). Has anyone tried this successfully before? What about using a bleach dip on the plants?

I will be moving the contents to a larger tank soon and don't want to carry the BBA over as well... any tips?

Mike

[brad]

Are you injecting c02? If so, how?

Bleach dips can work, but it could also kill your plants, and you`ve still got the spores everywhere else in the tank.

Many people have had success using Excel to kill it. if you google it, you`ll find plenty of info on it.

Co2 is your issue. You need to keep it steady. That will keep it from growing or spreading until the end of it`s life cycle.

[rkmike]

I've been using Flourish excel for a while now, and while the plants have improved, so has the algae. Will C02 really make that much of a difference? I'm not using CO2 yet (I'm waiting for the next meeting, Big Daddy's supposed to be doing a talk about it). I haven't decided if I should go the DIY route or get a pressurized system. The Co2 will eventually all go in the new setup (a 150g) so I want to make sure it can handle the larger tank.

My main concern is when I setup the new tank, is it possible to completely get rid of the BBA on the plants and driftwood or will I have to start with fresh plants instead? Has anyone sterilized pieces of driftwood before? (some pieces are too big to boil).

[BigDaddy]

BBA and blackouts don't work great...

How you got the BBA depends on a few things:

1) type of lighting
2) size of tank
3) fert schedule
4) water chemistry

[kennyman]

My Amano shrimp really seem to go to town on it. But I think in more of a control way that will work once you have gotten ahead of it.

I have a ton of it in my mbuna tank though and I suspect a shrimp would not go very far in there  

[darkdep]

I had a lot of BBA at one time in one of my mbuna tanks but it seemed to take care of itself over time as the tank matured.  Might have had something to do with adding more light.

[Mettle]

My main community tank was covered in it. But then I got SAEs and now it's gone. It was gone, actually, in less than a week. Now I have four grantic SAEs scurrying about all the time, heh.

What type of water chemistry is prone to producing BBA?

[kennyman]

yea it would seem lighting has alot to do with bba. Reading I have done says it is succesfull at lower depths and can not compete in shallower water where there is better light. Also in some turbid conditions. That comes out of Adey's "Dynamic Aquaria".

[pegasus]

I have BBA in only 2 of my tanks. They have only one thing in common that the other tanks don't have.... local driftwood.

[frollo]

Sterlizing large pieces of driftwood using a bleach soluntion. Sterilize your bathtub (ie get rid of  the residual cleaning products from your tub.) Add enough water bleach to cover your driftwood and mix a ratio of approx 1 tablespoon bleach to about 2 litres of water. Let soak... I generally let is soak for at least a day or two. Rinse well with fresh water, then add enough freshwater with chlorine remover and let soak for another day.

About the setting up your new aquarium, keep in mind that even if you add new plants, these could also contain algae spores. I also find that with new setups, you end up going through various types of algae growth until things gets balanced out. Algae synthesize nutrients better than higher order plants. Therefore if there is an abundance of fertilizer, you are contributing to your algae growth.

SAE do a decent enough job on BBA, but the never remove the complete BBA growth. My theory is that they eat enough so that the algae is unable to  mature enough to produce spores, hence, eventually the BBA is gone.

CO2 really makes a difference in plant growth. (I use the DYI sugar/yeast with a bubble counter).

[BigDaddy]

Algae synthesize nutrients better than higher order plants. Therefore if there is an abundance of fertilizer, you are contributing to your algae growth.

Actually, that is not the case.  Higher order plants will always outcompete algae for available nutrients.

The reason we get algae in our aquariums is because we aren't providing ALL the nutrients the plants need to grow.  Most algae problems stem from not ENOUGH ferts, as opposed to too much (I am including the macro nutrients [N, P, etc] in my description of ferts).

[frollo]

I agree that higher order plants out compete algae for the ferts, but there is a balance there. That is adding enough ferts to maintain a healthy plant growth (including CO2 and lighting) will indeed reduce algae, but ferts in excess, also contributes to algae growth. This is observed when establishing a planted tank...algae growth is inevitable until the plants get established and out compete the algae for the nutrients. That is the message that I had intended.

[pegasus]

Interesting facts and observations:
I have more BBA in tank with older driftwood (even decaying)
I once drop a capsule of medication (don't remember what it was) on a lush carpet of BBA. The algea turned into a lush green within minutes.
From this I would speculate that the drifwood supplies different nutrients and the algea is responding to different level of oxygen.

[Mettle]

Sterilize your bathtub (ie get rid of  the residual cleaning products from your tub.) Add enough water bleach to cover your driftwood and mix a ratio of approx 1 tablespoon bleach to about 2 litres of water. Let soak... I generally let is soak for at least a day or two. Rinse well with fresh water, then add enough freshwater with chlorine remover and let soak for another day.

So... then you don't bath or shower for two or three days?  :lol:

[rkmike]

Thanks for all the ideas everyone. I think I'll try soaking the wood in the laundry tub when I'm ready to move things over - only have the one bathtub and I'm a bear without my shower!  :lol:

Now I just need to get things under control. Big Daddy, the stats on my tank are as follows... grant me widom oh great plant guru!

65 Gallon Tall
192 W Compact Fluorescent on 11hrs a day
Run two Emperor 400s with homemade filters (no carbon)
MaxiJet 1200 for added circulation at bottom of tank
Gravel and eco complete mix on bottom
Weekly 30% Water Changes
Weekly Excel and Flourish dosing as per directions

Ammonia is 0
Nitrates are 0
Nitrites are 0.1
GH is 40
Kh is 20
Ph is 6.2 (likely due to all the mopani and driftwood)

Thanks again!

Mike

[Mettle]

A Nitrate reading of 0 is something out of the ordinary for a fully cycled tank. And Nitrites should be at zero... Did you mix those two up possibly?

[rkmike]

I might have mixed them up...   :oops:  

In any case both were the colour of the first box on the back of the testing card.

[BigDaddy]

First off, your nitrates are too low.  You should suppliment to keep them between 5 and 10 ppm.

Are you injecting CO2?  At pH 6.2 and kH of 20ppm, your at 21ppm of CO2.  Otherwise, maybe the Excel is giving you that reading.

Double your dosage of Flourish complete and Excel.

Finally, you have almost 3 WPG, but you have a tall tank (I know, I have the exact same setup).  Treat it like a medium light tank.  No high light plants allowed.

[rkmike]

Thanks BD, how would I increase the nitrates? Smaller water changes? I have a heavily stocked tank and wouldn't want the fish to suffer...  There is no Co2 injection yet, does this rate of C02 mean I don't need it?