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Eradicating BBA
My bad, I thought you were asking how others deal with it, when they had
it... I didn't realize you'd already made up your mind and was just searching for a specific answer to confirm you're already made up mind... Sorry I'm so testy, but the title of the thread I started was "Eradicating BBA". Water control in my opinion has no hope in Hell of 'eradicating' it. Merely controlling it, and not even very well at that. I want to get rid of the stuff, and I am certainly interested in any ideas on that. The AZOO thing is something I did not know about, and that is new. That's great news. But I am just so tired, sick of, and frustrated by the water control approach. I've seen that movie already and know the ending. I now consider it a waste of time to persue any further. I'm sick of beautiful tanks infested with BBA. I'm ready for chemical warfare. Whatever it takes. I just want the BBA gone. Thanks, Chris. |
Eradicating BBA
"Chris_S" wrote in message
... Here are some specs: - Tank 100G - DIY CO2 injected into Heater module on 2226 return, 100% diffusion. Is this yeast CO2? If yes, then it's highly recommended to use a compressed system on tank this size. But with your lighting, you might get away with a yeast system. - (2) PowerCompact 65W 6700K lights. That's only 1.3 W/g. It shouldn't be that hard to stop the algae at this lighting. In other words, to make light as the limiting nutrient for your plants. - Test Kits: LaMotte, Salifert, Seachem. - Flourite mixed into gravel with some tetra sticks. - I have used Seachem Flourish, Potasium, Iron adders, and Vitragro, etc. Have you used Flourish and potassium at the same time? Or were they added sort of ad hoc? You don't really need to use any other commercial additives with Flourish. Just the macronutrients. - Plants, more than I can name. the swords got so big I finally had to get rid of half of them. Crypts, some large ferns, apogeton, Valliseria, java moss, lotus, some bush type plants I can't remember. Nitrates: 15PPM Phos: 0.5 PPM GH: 6 deg Iron: 0.1 PPM CO2: 25PPM Have you measured it both in the morning and in the evening? Like I said this new tank is only 6 weeks old, and I am still working on getting the iron back up. The tank is weak right now on Nitrate and Iron. An iron test is not really a good indicator or iron availability for plants for various reasons. Watch the new leaves of your fast-growing plants. If they are pale or red, add more Flourish. It's not unusual to add several times recommended amount of it. Do the nitrates naturally increase or decrease? If they increase, that's not a good sign. Even at your lighting, I think the plants should be able to overall reduce the NO3 from the water column. It may not be necessary to add PO4, though. I keep my CO2 fairly high. But if it slips for some reason, I get an almost immediate algae outbreak, even if the CO2 is still above 20 ppm. Yeh of course, that's because your nutients are so high. But the other nutrients are still high with adequate CO2. Why doesn't the algae grow with high CO2? any BBA. After I got BBA 5 years ago, it makes no difference how good or bad the water is. The BBA is always there regardless. That's why I've given up on water control for BBA. The most precise water control in the world wouldn't work if you don't think about the plants. It's not the water parameters the algae responds to. It's plant health. Again, I'm not sure how it's connected. It doesn't seem like you've really tried focusing on plant health/growth before. Doing one thing for the plants will not stop algae. The plants have to get enough of every nutrient at the same time. __ Alex |
Eradicating BBA
"Chris_S" wrote in message ... Check with these guys: http://www.adelaideaquariums.com.au/...reatments.html . They used to have the product you want listed, can't find it right now, but they might still carry it. Send them an e-mail maybe. According to the web address, they're located in Australia, which means they probably wouldn't have a problem sending the stuff to the US. Anyway, just a thought. Thanks, yeh I saw that site as well had it. Another in Spain, Mexico, and a couple others as I recall in Taiwan. I may try them. Chris. hey Chris, bleach away man, bleach away. I feel your frustration and have been there myself. Get rid of it and reestablish the tank and monitor it closely for a return of BBA. I had it in a 20g planted tank and finally gave up trying to control it. I had Molly's, SAE's, Otto's, Pleco's and nothing would touch it even though some sites suggested they would eat the new shoots I found that to be B.S. They didn't eat any of it. I bleached everything, rocks, gravel, tank, filter, everything. You leave one spore alive and it will come back. I bleached all the plants in a 20-1 solution and most survived. The stuff has never come back, touch wood.. There is a peroxide article you can peruse that you may want to consider but man for me it was bleach. http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com..._peroxide.html Rick |
Eradicating BBA
SNIP
Up your nutrients cut back on the length of light. I had plants with better growths than my own beard. Cutting out the light doesn't do the trick.... but increasing my light level to @ 2 watts/gallon, upping the CO2, cutting back 10 hrs a day of light, and the Tom Barr method of dosing nutrients ...... slowly did the trick. along with manually trimming the worst of it. A hydrogen peroxide works well if you want to clean up a more delicate plants. Now everything is fine, till I forget something .....;-) or go on vacation. bob Is there a website that elaborates on the Tom Barr method of dosing? Thanks, Harry -----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =----- http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! -----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =----- |
Eradicating BBA
There was no phosphate in the water at all.
Well, there's your problem. Gee, for years other people told me that the cause of BBA was too much phosphate. Now you say having no phosphate causes it. This is typical of the conflicting information I often here about BBA problems. Obviously you are of the camp that believes you can control BBA with the water. I bought into that mentality for years, and fought the BBA using that method. The BBA won. Maybe for some people, their water, their plants, and their type of BBA, that method can have some success. But it is very clear from everything else I have read that more and more 'water treatment' people are becoming convinced that BBA is a different kind of problem entirely. I have seen really nice show aquariums with tons of plant growth and no BBA. When I ask the aqua person how they did it, they tell me: "I rinse every plant in Chlorine before I put it in the tank - I don't let BBA in the tank". That is how they handle it, they prevent it. Once it gets in it's like cancer. Some may go into remission, some may go away, some may respond to therapy, but in most cases it will keep growing. I've had plant growth through the top of the tank. Swords with 24 inch leaves, and so much plant growth I had to prune plants every week. Yet the BBA never went away. I've read articles from other people who believed that water control could combat BBA as well, yet they were left scratching their heads when they lost the fight and the BBA kept growing. I do not know if you have any BBA in your tank(s) right now, but if you would really like to test your theories in practice, I would be happy to send you some of mine. I can send you a rock or plant with the BBA species I have. Just let me know. Regards, Chris. I see that your situation has set your mind already.... it's easy to give up, easier than fixing the problem and I admit, I have been battling BBA for 4 months and what caused mine, is a three fold effect. 1, ran out of CO2, 2 days... only 2 days and it started. 2, PMDD ran out... 3, water changes were neglected for an extra 2 weeks.... In a period of 2 weeks, my tank went haywire... 2 swords that were beautiful, covered, my anubias, trashed, sunset hygro, wadded up with BBA... The only way I know to fix it, was to clean what algae I could, manually... Soak whatever equipment in Chlorine bleach, and startup the CO2 and ferts again... 2 weeks later, it's not growing, but its' a daily manual removal routine that I get into, and it's getting better every day.... There is hope, but only if youre not in denial, that you MUST do something, it isn't such an easy fix that it'll just hit you one day... it's a serious method of nutrients, and CO2... you can deny all you want... Tom Barr knows his stuff... -- RedForeman ©® future fabricator and creator of a ratbike streetfighter!!! ========================== 2003 TRX450ES 1992 TRX-350 XX (For Sale) 1987 TRX250R (sold) 1987 CBR600 Hurricane (sold) 1987 VFR700 Interceptor (sold) 1995 TRX300ex (sold) 2000 CBR600F4 silver/red (sold) *sniff*sniff* '98 Tacoma Ext Cab 4X4 Lifted.... ========================== ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø "By US Code Title 47, Sec.227(a)(2)(B), a computer/modem/printer meets the definition of a telephone fax machine. By Sec.227(b)(1)(C), it is unlawful to send any unsolicited advertisement to such equipment. By Sec.227(b)(3)(C), a violation of the aforementioned Section is punishable by action to recover actual monetary loss, or $500, whichever is greater, for each violation." If you do send me unsolicited e-mail I will proof-read it at a rate of $100 per hour (4 hour minimum). |
Eradicating BBA
I guess I no longer believe that there are any water conditions under which
BBA will not survive. Sure you can make it grow faster or slower, but the point is it keeps growing once it is in your tank. That is not true with Green algae. That you can control and essentially make it disappear. I've never had any significant problem with Green algae. BBA is Red algae (Rhodophytes) and is NOT at all related to Green algae (Chlorophytes). There are over 5000 species of Red algae of which about 200 are freshwater. Most are sal****er. This is seaweed. BBA is really nothing more than freshwater seaweed, and is of a completely different nature than Green algae. It is probably unfortunate that the common term "algae" is use for both because they are totally different. I hear a lot of people describing water treatment methods that certainly have a big affect when dealing with Green algae. But I no longer believe that these methods are relavant or anywhere near as useful for Red algae. Red algae does not respond in the same way at all - it is tenacious. Nick Franks wrote a good article about Red Algae in 1996. As he says, Red Algae is designed to survive on low nutrients. You cannot starve it out of existence. It can survive a long time without photosynthesis. Your plants will die long before it does. The whole point of his article was that once you get it in your tank, you're in for a battle. There's no winning in this game, just minimizing your defeat. His #1 recommendation was to eliminate it before it gets in your tank. Once you have it in your tank, well I guess you could say it's probably like having Herpes. You just have to learn how to live with it. I am fed up living with it and I want it out. Regards, Chris. |
Eradicating BBA
I had a bad outbreak of BBA after an overdose of Seachem Flourish. The stuff
was probably already in the tank, but the Flourish overdose made it spread very fast. I tried starving it, and I tried the blackout - neither was not enough. Last weekend, I trimmed a lot of the leaves that were infested in the faster growing plants. Then I took out the anoubias and java fern and soaked them in a bleach solution. I got distracted, and the anubias was left in the solution for over 10 minutes. By the time I noticed, the BBA was freeling falling off its leaves. Where the plants were soaked for only 4 minutes, I had to rub it off and it took some doing. I also soaked my mopani wood where the BBA had started growing, then scrubbed it with a brush. I could not get it off the "bananas" of the banana plant eventhough it (the algae) was bleached dead. Whatever I could not scrub off, turned white to reddish when it was returned to the tank. I still have it on the dwarf hairgrass even after a very short haircut. But now, my SAE appear to be keeping it under control. Who knows, I may follow in Chris's footsteps if I get fed up in the future. |
Eradicating BBA
"Nemo" wrote in message
Last weekend, I trimmed a lot of the leaves that were infested in the faster growing plants. Then I took out the anoubias and java fern and soaked them in a bleach solution. I got distracted, and the anubias was left in the solution for over 10 minutes. By the time I noticed, the BBA was freeling falling off its leaves. Where the plants were soaked for only 4 minutes, I had to rub it off and it took some doing. I also soaked my mopani wood where the BBA had started growing, then scrubbed it with a brush. I could not get it off the "bananas" of the banana plant eventhough it (the algae) was bleached dead. Whatever I could not scrub off, turned white to reddish when it was returned to the tank. I still have it on the dwarf hairgrass even after a very short haircut. But now, my SAE appear to be keeping it under control. Who knows, I may follow in Chris's footsteps if I get fed up in the future. I can only offer 2 words of advice... Manual Removal - if it's not there, it_Can't_ grow... right? If you have it, you must "Manually Remove" what you can... on substrate, plants, equipment... entirely submersing them in chlorine will chemically remove it... getting rid of it, totally is a hard job... slow but steady manual removal is indeed the slowest but most promising method. A little at a time, will rid your tank of it... Ok, with that said, I ask, will it grow back? If you repeat what started it, yes... If you follow a somewhat strict regimen of CO2, Ferts, and water changes, it'll probably STOP growing, go dormant and may even subside... that I cannot prove, but mine is no longer growing.... When all else seems like it'll too fail, you can always try what someone suggests... it doesn't hurt.. I was the one saying I was going to tear this tank down to the stand and clean it... instead, I removed it manually, added CO2, and ferts, and slowly but surely, it's being removed.... daily. -- RedForeman ©® future fabricator and creator of a ratbike streetfighter!!! ========================== 2003 TRX450ES 1992 TRX-350 XX (For Sale) 1987 TRX250R (sold) 1987 CBR600 Hurricane (sold) 1987 VFR700 Interceptor (sold) 1995 TRX300ex (sold) 2000 CBR600F4 silver/red (sold) *sniff*sniff* '98 Tacoma Ext Cab 4X4 Lifted.... ========================== ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø "By US Code Title 47, Sec.227(a)(2)(B), a computer/modem/printer meets the definition of a telephone fax machine. By Sec.227(b)(1)(C), it is unlawful to send any unsolicited advertisement to such equipment. By Sec.227(b)(3)(C), a violation of the aforementioned Section is punishable by action to recover actual monetary loss, or $500, whichever is greater, for each violation." If you do send me unsolicited e-mail I will proof-read it at a rate of $100 per hour (4 hour minimum). |
Eradicating BBA
Manual Removal - if it's not there, it_Can't_ grow... right?
Wrong. Red algae is designed to survive in fast moving stream water by nailing itself to rocks, wood, and plants. This stuff is related to coraline in the sea. Ever tried pulling barnacles off rocks at the coast? Not easy and certainly not fun. Epoxy cement has real competition here. It is extremely tough just trying to scrape BBA off plastic tubes, virtually impossible to get it off of wood, and IS impossible to get it off other plants without ripping them to shreds! Going through all that work and nightmare may make it less visible for a short time, but you have done absolutely nothing to remove it from the system. There are spores in the water, there are fragments still remaining on all of the surfaces. You will never get rid of it mechanically. It will just keep coming back. Physical removal is a total waste of time and effort unless you have chemically killed it first. I'm convinced that sterilization by Chlorine or equiv. is the only way to be rid of this stuff. Perhaps the AZOO Brush Algae Killer does the trick. It appears that no one in the USA or Canada has this stuff yet. I'm still looking for it. It should be noted, as NEMO said in the previous post, even after you kill this stuff it still does not decay away. The threads are still there, dead and bleached out white. Now ask yourself, if this stuff was anything like Green algae, why doesn't it just fad away as soon as you kill it? Because Red Algae is very different. The threads are made of very tough fiberous material - its freshwater seaweed. Chris. |
Eradicating BBA
Update: AZOO Brush Algae Killer
For those of you like me that are interested in the "Kill all BBA" approach, and live in the USA, I'm afraid we are stuck with Chlorox or Copper as the only methods. Looks like our wonderful Green terrorists, EPA, and DEQ are trying to put the aquarium business out of business too. I just got done talking with the AZOO importer Aquatic-ECO Systems for the USA. They cannot bring this stuff in because of the "product title". They say having "ALGAE" and "KILLER" in the same sentence brings the EPA down on them like a ton of bricks. They told me it is becoming very difficult and expensive to bring anything like this into the USA anymore. They have to pay huge taxes, fees, and attorneys to do it. I think I will talk to some of my friends in Asia have them buy some locally and send it to me. Hey, in a few more years they will probably outlaw all bug spray and weed-be-gone here in the states. I guess we will just have to "mechanically" remove all pests and weeds everywhere. Chris. |
Eradicating BBA
"Chris_S" wrote in message
... Update: AZOO Brush Algae Killer For those of you like me that are interested in the "Kill all BBA" approach, and live in the USA, I'm afraid we are stuck with Chlorox or Copper as the only methods. Looks like our wonderful Green terrorists, EPA, and DEQ are trying to put the aquarium business out of business too. I just got done talking with the AZOO importer Aquatic-ECO Systems for the USA. They cannot bring this stuff in because of the "product title". They say having "ALGAE" and "KILLER" in the same sentence brings the EPA down on them like a ton of bricks. They told me it is becoming very difficult and expensive to bring anything like this into the USA anymore. They have to pay huge taxes, fees, and attorneys to do it. I think I will talk to some of my friends in Asia have them buy some locally and send it to me. Hey, in a few more years they will probably outlaw all bug spray and weed-be-gone here in the states. I guess we will just have to "mechanically" remove all pests and weeds everywhere. Chris. Can you find it online for sale anywhere, especially in Europe? They might be willing to ship to the US. Harry -----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =----- http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! -----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =----- |
Eradicating BBA
"Chris_S" wrote in message
... Update: AZOO Brush Algae Killer For those of you like me that are interested in the "Kill all BBA" approach, and live in the USA, I'm afraid we are stuck with Chlorox or Copper as the only methods. Looks like our wonderful Green terrorists, EPA, and DEQ are trying to put the aquarium business out of business too. I just got done talking with the AZOO importer Aquatic-ECO Systems for the USA. They cannot bring this stuff in because of the "product title". They say having "ALGAE" and "KILLER" in the same sentence brings the EPA down on them like a ton of bricks. They told me it is becoming very difficult and expensive to bring anything like this into the USA anymore. They have to pay huge taxes, fees, and attorneys to do it. I think I will talk to some of my friends in Asia have them buy some locally and send it to me. Hey, in a few more years they will probably outlaw all bug spray and weed-be-gone here in the states. I guess we will just have to "mechanically" remove all pests and weeds everywhere. Chris. Check with these guys: http://www.adelaideaquariums.com.au/...reatments.html . They used to have the product you want listed, can't find it right now, but they might still carry it. Send them an e-mail maybe. According to the web address, they're located in Australia, which means they probably wouldn't have a problem sending the stuff to the US. Anyway, just a thought. Harry -----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =----- http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! -----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =----- |
Eradicating BBA
Manual Removal - if it's not there, it_Can't_ grow... right?
Wrong. Red algae is designed to survive in fast moving stream water by nailing itself to rocks, wood, and plants. This stuff is related to coraline in the sea. Ever tried pulling barnacles off rocks at the coast? Not easy and certainly not fun. Epoxy cement has real competition here. It is extremely tough just trying to scrape BBA off plastic tubes, virtually impossible to get it off of wood, and IS impossible to get it off other plants without ripping them to shreds! Going through all that work and nightmare may make it less visible for a short time, but you have done absolutely nothing to remove it from the system. There are spores in the water, there are fragments still remaining on all of the surfaces. You will never get rid of it mechanically. It will just keep coming back. Physical removal is a total waste of time and effort unless you have chemically killed it first. I'm convinced that sterilization by Chlorine or equiv. is the only way to be rid of this stuff. Perhaps the AZOO Brush Algae Killer does the trick. It appears that no one in the USA or Canada has this stuff yet. I'm still looking for it. It should be noted, as NEMO said in the previous post, even after you kill this stuff it still does not decay away. The threads are still there, dead and bleached out white. Now ask yourself, if this stuff was anything like Green algae, why doesn't it just fad away as soon as you kill it? Because Red Algae is very different. The threads are made of very tough fiberous material - its freshwater seaweed. Chris. My bad, I thought you were asking how others deal with it, when they had it... I didn't realize you'd already made up your mind and was just searching for a specific answer to confirm you're already made up mind... I've been dealing with it for 4 months, and not really having a major spaz about it, it's not growing anymore, it's declining, and nuking the tank isn't one of my preferred methods of fixing stuff... I hope you have some luck with azoo, or clorox, whichever method you choose, as I'll be one that is sincerely interested in what you learn, find and if and when you report back here, we'll go from there.... Thanks for your time... -- RedForeman ©® future fabricator and creator of a ratbike streetfighter!!! ========================== 2003 TRX450ES 1992 TRX-350 XX (For Sale) 1987 TRX250R (sold) 1987 CBR600 Hurricane (sold) 1987 VFR700 Interceptor (sold) 1995 TRX300ex (sold) 2000 CBR600F4 silver/red (sold) *sniff*sniff* '98 Tacoma Ext Cab 4X4 Lifted.... ========================== ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø "By US Code Title 47, Sec.227(a)(2)(B), a computer/modem/printer meets the definition of a telephone fax machine. By Sec.227(b)(1)(C), it is unlawful to send any unsolicited advertisement to such equipment. By Sec.227(b)(3)(C), a violation of the aforementioned Section is punishable by action to recover actual monetary loss, or $500, whichever is greater, for each violation." If you do send me unsolicited e-mail I will proof-read it at a rate of $100 per hour (4 hour minimum). |
Eradicating BBA
"Chris_S" wrote in message
... There was no phosphate in the water at all. Well, there's your problem. Gee, for years other people told me that the cause of BBA was too much phosphate. Now you say having no phosphate causes it. This is typical of the conflicting information I often here about BBA problems. Obviously you are of the camp that believes you can control BBA with the water. I bought into that mentality for years, and fought the BBA using that method. The BBA won. Maybe for some people, their water, their plants, and their type of BBA, that method can have some success. But it is very clear from everything else I have read that more and more 'water treatment' people are becoming convinced that BBA is a different kind of problem entirely. A single thing causing algae is a really bad way to think about it. So is thinking that you can control it with water conditions. Sure, if you make the water conditions perfect for the plants, the algae will subside. But remove the plants, the algae will flourish under the same water parameters. Again, it helps tremendously to think about the plant health, not the algae. I know it's not easy because it's counterintuitive, and because we don't know exactly why it works. I have seen really nice show aquariums with tons of plant growth and no BBA. When I ask the aqua person how they did it, they tell me: "I rinse every plant in Chlorine before I put it in the tank - I don't let BBA in the tank". That is how they handle it, they prevent it. That's because the plant care methodology is a relatively new idea and because those people probably don't follow the online plant forums very much. Those folks probably never even heard of adding phosphate. I've had plant growth through the top of the tank. Swords with 24 inch leaves, and so much plant growth I had to prune plants every week. Yet the BBA never went away. I've read articles from other people who believed that water control could combat BBA as well, yet they were left scratching their heads when they lost the fight and the BBA kept growing. That doesn't prove your plants were at the *peak* of their health. When I say the plants must be as healthy as possible, I don't mean they should simply be growing "well". I mean, they should be growing as fast as possible under the available lighting, with every other nutrient being available to support that growth. In effect, the lighting should be the limiting nutrient. That means if 30 ppm CO2 is required for that kind of growth, then 25 ppm will not suffice. I don't see any indication that you have seriously tried to satisfy your plants' every nutrient requirement in this way. It doesn't matter if your plants appear to grow well. If they can grow better still with the addition of some nutrient, then they are not growing their best. Maybe you can provide some details about tank such the lighting, what kind of CO2 system, the daily CO2 levels, your dosing regimen and the amount and type of plants, and we can advise you on what you can do to help the plants. I do not know if you have any BBA in your tank(s) right now, but if you would really like to test your theories in practice, I would be happy to send you some of mine. I can send you a rock or plant with the BBA species I have. Just let me know. Almost every tank has BBA cells in it, including mine. You cannot kill every last algae cell with nutrient control. That's not the goal. I've had every kind of algae for the first year of keeping plants (except GW). Believe me, I was as frustrated as you are. I too was focusing on starving the algae. All it did was change the predominant type of algae in my tank. Like you, people were telling me that I should not have even a trace of PO4 in my tank. I couldn't understand why I couldn't get a reading on my PO4 test, and yet the algae was choking the plants. But then I started paying attention to Tom Barr's posts on the APD, where he was suggesting supplementing PO4 instead of depriving your plants of it. That's what did it for me. I was already adding everything else but PO4, and had a compressed CO2 system. Since then, I've had minor algae outbreaks here and there. And it turned out that each time the fix was to *increase* the amount of some nutrient, whether it was CO2, NO3, or PO4. I keep my CO2 fairly high. But if it slips for some reason, I get an almost immediate algae outbreak, even if the CO2 is still above 20 ppm. I still have some filamentous algae on the Rotalla wallichi, which is the hardest plant to grow in my tank. That's why it's probably the least healthy. I'm sure the solution is in adding the nutrients more frequently than twice a week, so that the levels never fall very low. If you send me a plant with algae on it, the algae will disappear through pruning of old leaves and will not grow on the new ones. If you send me a rock, it might actually take a long time for the algae to actually die off. But if I clean off as much of it as possible first, it will not regrow either. __ Alex pcalex (at) hotpop.com |
Eradicating BBA
Maybe you can provide some details about tank such the lighting, what kind
of CO2 system, the daily CO2 levels, your dosing regimen and the amount and type of plants, and we can advise you on what you can do to help the plants. Here are some specs: - Tank 100G - Intake/Return pairs on each end of tank through bottom. - Filters: Eheim 2226 and Eheim 2227 Wet/Dry. 2226 is for heating, CO2, and mechanical filtration. 2227 is for bio treatment, nitrogen cycle. - Ebo Jager 250W Heater in Lifeguard A92-19 Heater Module.under cabinet. - DIY CO2 injected into Heater module on 2226 return, 100% diffusion. - (2) PowerCompact 65W 6700K lights. - Test Kits: LaMotte, Salifert, Seachem. - Flourite mixed into gravel with some tetra sticks. - I have used Seachem Flourish, Potasium, Iron adders, and Vitragro, etc. - About 16 fish right now, 5 very large angels. Pleco, 4-SAEs, 4-Octa, some corys, etc. - Plants, more than I can name. the swords got so big I finally had to get rid of half of them. Crypts, some large ferns, apogeton, Valliseria, java moss, lotus, some bush type plants I can't remember. Temp: 80F pH: 6.8 Ammon: 0 PPM Nitrites: 0 PPM Nitrates: 15PPM Phos: 0.5 PPM GH: 6 deg Iron: 0.1 PPM CO2: 25PPM Like I said this new tank is only 6 weeks old, and I am still working on getting the iron back up. The tank is weak right now on Nitrate and Iron. I keep my CO2 fairly high. But if it slips for some reason, I get an almost immediate algae outbreak, even if the CO2 is still above 20 ppm. Yeh of course, that's because your nutients are so high. I've been running tanks for 20 years. I know most of the things that can go wrong, why, and how to fix them. But BBA is different. Years ago even in tanks where the water was garbage, out of wack, I had green algae but never any BBA. After I got BBA 5 years ago, it makes no difference how good or bad the water is. The BBA is always there regardless. That's why I've given up on water control for BBA. Thanks, Chris. |
Eradicating BBA
Check with these guys:
http://www.adelaideaquariums.com.au/...reatments.html . They used to have the product you want listed, can't find it right now, but they might still carry it. Send them an e-mail maybe. According to the web address, they're located in Australia, which means they probably wouldn't have a problem sending the stuff to the US. Anyway, just a thought. Thanks, yeh I saw that site as well had it. Another in Spain, Mexico, and a couple others as I recall in Taiwan. I may try them. Chris. |
Eradicating BBA
My bad, I thought you were asking how others deal with it, when they had
it... I didn't realize you'd already made up your mind and was just searching for a specific answer to confirm you're already made up mind... Sorry I'm so testy, but the title of the thread I started was "Eradicating BBA". Water control in my opinion has no hope in Hell of 'eradicating' it. Merely controlling it, and not even very well at that. I want to get rid of the stuff, and I am certainly interested in any ideas on that. The AZOO thing is something I did not know about, and that is new. That's great news. But I am just so tired, sick of, and frustrated by the water control approach. I've seen that movie already and know the ending. I now consider it a waste of time to persue any further. I'm sick of beautiful tanks infested with BBA. I'm ready for chemical warfare. Whatever it takes. I just want the BBA gone. Thanks, Chris. |
Eradicating BBA
"Chris_S" wrote in message
... Here are some specs: - Tank 100G - DIY CO2 injected into Heater module on 2226 return, 100% diffusion. Is this yeast CO2? If yes, then it's highly recommended to use a compressed system on tank this size. But with your lighting, you might get away with a yeast system. - (2) PowerCompact 65W 6700K lights. That's only 1.3 W/g. It shouldn't be that hard to stop the algae at this lighting. In other words, to make light as the limiting nutrient for your plants. - Test Kits: LaMotte, Salifert, Seachem. - Flourite mixed into gravel with some tetra sticks. - I have used Seachem Flourish, Potasium, Iron adders, and Vitragro, etc. Have you used Flourish and potassium at the same time? Or were they added sort of ad hoc? You don't really need to use any other commercial additives with Flourish. Just the macronutrients. - Plants, more than I can name. the swords got so big I finally had to get rid of half of them. Crypts, some large ferns, apogeton, Valliseria, java moss, lotus, some bush type plants I can't remember. Nitrates: 15PPM Phos: 0.5 PPM GH: 6 deg Iron: 0.1 PPM CO2: 25PPM Have you measured it both in the morning and in the evening? Like I said this new tank is only 6 weeks old, and I am still working on getting the iron back up. The tank is weak right now on Nitrate and Iron. An iron test is not really a good indicator or iron availability for plants for various reasons. Watch the new leaves of your fast-growing plants. If they are pale or red, add more Flourish. It's not unusual to add several times recommended amount of it. Do the nitrates naturally increase or decrease? If they increase, that's not a good sign. Even at your lighting, I think the plants should be able to overall reduce the NO3 from the water column. It may not be necessary to add PO4, though. I keep my CO2 fairly high. But if it slips for some reason, I get an almost immediate algae outbreak, even if the CO2 is still above 20 ppm. Yeh of course, that's because your nutients are so high. But the other nutrients are still high with adequate CO2. Why doesn't the algae grow with high CO2? any BBA. After I got BBA 5 years ago, it makes no difference how good or bad the water is. The BBA is always there regardless. That's why I've given up on water control for BBA. The most precise water control in the world wouldn't work if you don't think about the plants. It's not the water parameters the algae responds to. It's plant health. Again, I'm not sure how it's connected. It doesn't seem like you've really tried focusing on plant health/growth before. Doing one thing for the plants will not stop algae. The plants have to get enough of every nutrient at the same time. __ Alex |
Eradicating BBA
"Chris_S" wrote in message ... Check with these guys: http://www.adelaideaquariums.com.au/...reatments.html . They used to have the product you want listed, can't find it right now, but they might still carry it. Send them an e-mail maybe. According to the web address, they're located in Australia, which means they probably wouldn't have a problem sending the stuff to the US. Anyway, just a thought. Thanks, yeh I saw that site as well had it. Another in Spain, Mexico, and a couple others as I recall in Taiwan. I may try them. Chris. hey Chris, bleach away man, bleach away. I feel your frustration and have been there myself. Get rid of it and reestablish the tank and monitor it closely for a return of BBA. I had it in a 20g planted tank and finally gave up trying to control it. I had Molly's, SAE's, Otto's, Pleco's and nothing would touch it even though some sites suggested they would eat the new shoots I found that to be B.S. They didn't eat any of it. I bleached everything, rocks, gravel, tank, filter, everything. You leave one spore alive and it will come back. I bleached all the plants in a 20-1 solution and most survived. The stuff has never come back, touch wood.. There is a peroxide article you can peruse that you may want to consider but man for me it was bleach. http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com..._peroxide.html Rick |
Eradicating BBA
Hi Rick:
Ditto. Glad you can appreciate my position. I am also very grateful for your feedback. It sounds like bleach is by far the most effective way to deal with BBA. It has real results. That is the conclusion I have come to as well. I agree with everything you say. And that is why I think it is best to bleach the whole tank in place, after removing the fish of course. That way I kill the spores in the entire system: gravel, filters, pumbling, everywhere all in one shot. I have a question for you. What is your feeling about the reinfestation potential from moving the fish into another clean water temp tank, and then moving them back in? Do you feel that is enough to dillute down the BBA spores from the clean water that minimal will be transported back in when I return them? Anything else I can do here to help with the fish move? I just want to make sure that after all this tank filling and draining the BBA is truely gone. Like you say, I want every BBA spore dead or out of the system. When you say it never came back, that is really GREAT news. That's the result I am hoping for. Thanks, Chris. |
Eradicating BBA
Hi Rick:
Ditto. Glad you can appreciate my position. I am also very grateful for your feedback. It sounds like bleach is by far the most effective way to deal with BBA. It has real results. That is the conclusion I have come to as well. I agree with everything you say. And that is why I think it is best to bleach the whole tank in place, after removing the fish of course. That way I kill the spores in the entire system: gravel, filters, pumbling, everywhere all in one shot. I have a question for you. What is your feeling about the reinfestation potential from moving the fish into another clean water temp tank, and then moving them back in? Do you feel that is enough to dillute down the BBA spores from the clean water that minimal will be transported back in when I return them? Anything else I can do here to help with the fish move? I just want to make sure that after all this tank filling and draining the BBA is truely gone. Like you say, I want every BBA spore dead or out of the system. When you say it never came back, that is really GREAT news. That's the result I am hoping for. Thanks, Chris. |
Eradicating BBA
Do a google search through this NG, There's tons of stuff about ferts
dosing. -- **So long, and thanks for all the fish!** "Harry Muscle" wrote in message ... SNIP Up your nutrients cut back on the length of light. I had plants with better growths than my own beard. Cutting out the light doesn't do the trick.... but increasing my light level to @ 2 watts/gallon, upping the CO2, cutting back 10 hrs a day of light, and the Tom Barr method of dosing nutrients ...... slowly did the trick. along with manually trimming the worst of it. A hydrogen peroxide works well if you want to clean up a more delicate plants. Now everything is fine, till I forget something .....;-) or go on vacation. bob Is there a website that elaborates on the Tom Barr method of dosing? Thanks, Harry -----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =----- http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! -----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =----- |
Eradicating BBA
It has real results. That is the conclusion I have come to
as well. On the contrary my dear Watson ;) It has Immediate visual results, but certainly not real. This is as artificial as they come, you're cheating ;) where's the fun in that? Go ahead and bleach your plants and equipment, give it a month and write back and let us know if it has returned. This will be interesting to know. You're still not dealing with the root cause. Patience is a game that has more rewarding outcomes! Especially with planted tanks :) Good luck. -- **So long, and thanks for all the fish!** |
Eradicating BBA
Is this yeast CO2? If yes, then it's highly recommended to use a
compressed system on tank this size. But with your lighting, you might get away with a yeast system. I'm very happy with my CO2 system. Bare in mind I have 100% diffusion so none of it gets wasted. It all goes into the water. I've got CO2 coming out my ears. More than I need. - (2) PowerCompact 65W 6700K lights. That's only 1.3 W/g. Wattage per gallon is an incomplete rating. Meaningless without considering lamp efficiency. PowerCompacts are T5 technology - extremely bright. You cannot compare this by a wattage rating in the day of old T12 technology. Apples and Oranges. T5's are used to light reef tanks. I've got tons of light, if anything too much. Have you used Flourish and potassium at the same time? Yes, for the last several weeks actually. Have you measured it both in the morning and in the evening? Yes, the only thing that changes much is pH, and that by only about 0.2. An iron test is not really a good indicator or iron availability for plants for various reasons. Watch the new leaves of your fast-growing plants. If they are pale or red, add more Flourish. I've got bright green shoots coming out everywhere. The fern grew 12 inches in a week. I always have O2 bubbles on the leaves. Do the nitrates naturally increase or decrease? In the old 55G tank the Nitrates usually ran around 30-40PPM. I liked them in that range. This new tank does not have much nitrate build up yet. It doesn't seem like you've really tried focusing on plant health/growth before. Really. Well I don't seem to have much problem growing plants. Just can't stop the BBA from growing along with it. Chris. |
Eradicating BBA
I'm cheating? No I've just got better things to do than beat my head
against the wall wasting my time. If you have weeds in your lawn, do you think you can get rid of them by controlling how much grass fertilizer you put on? No, you spray them and kill them. When your fish get sick do you give them medicine? If they get parasites do you kill them with chemicals? What's the difference? IMHO fighting BBA with water control is a total waste of time. That works for Green algae. It does not work for Red Algae which is fresh water seaweed. It has to be killed. I've been patient for 5 years putting up with this BBA and trying every kind of water condition known to man. The root cause of BBA is bringing a plant in with BBA on it - period. What, you think the stuff spontaneously generates? BBA lives under all water conditions that support plants. That's the problem. I'm sick of looking at nice tanks infested with BBA. I want a clean tank again. Chris. |
Eradicating BBA
On Wed, 17 Mar 2004 09:10:07 GMT, "Chris_S" wrote:
I'm cheating? No I've just got better things to do than beat my head against the wall wasting my time. If you have weeds in your lawn, do you think you can get rid of them by controlling how much grass fertilizer you put on? No, you spray them and kill them. When your fish get sick do you give them medicine? If they get parasites do you kill them with chemicals? What's the difference? IMHO fighting BBA with water control is a total waste of time. That works for Green algae. It does not work for Red Algae which is fresh water seaweed. It has to be killed. I've been patient for 5 years putting up with this BBA and trying every kind of water condition known to man. The root cause of BBA is bringing a plant in with BBA on it - period. What, you think the stuff spontaneously generates? BBA lives under all water conditions that support plants. That's the problem. I'm sick of looking at nice tanks infested with BBA. I want a clean tank again. Chris. I am surprised that there seems to be so much frustration. I rid my 75 gallon tank about 9 months ago. I didn't use any chemicals. I don't use co2. I am not sure if any one of my changes was more important than any other, but the combination did the trick. Perhaps I have had success has to do with my limited plant selection. My lights are under 2 wpg and I finally bought only plants that accept that condition. If those not getting a fix are using high light and/or co2 maybe that has something to do with the failures. |
Eradicating BBA
On Wed, 17 Mar 2004 09:10:07 GMT, "Chris_S" wrote:
I'm cheating? No I've just got better things to do than beat my head against the wall wasting my time. If you have weeds in your lawn, do you think you can get rid of them by controlling how much grass fertilizer you put on? No, you spray them and kill them. When your fish get sick do you give them medicine? If they get parasites do you kill them with chemicals? What's the difference? IMHO fighting BBA with water control is a total waste of time. That works for Green algae. It does not work for Red Algae which is fresh water seaweed. It has to be killed. I've been patient for 5 years putting up with this BBA and trying every kind of water condition known to man. The root cause of BBA is bringing a plant in with BBA on it - period. What, you think the stuff spontaneously generates? BBA lives under all water conditions that support plants. That's the problem. I'm sick of looking at nice tanks infested with BBA. I want a clean tank again. Chris. I am surprised that there seems to be so much frustration. I rid my 75 gallon tank about 9 months ago. I didn't use any chemicals. I don't use co2. I am not sure if any one of my changes was more important than any other, but the combination did the trick. Perhaps I have had success has to do with my limited plant selection. My lights are under 2 wpg and I finally bought only plants that accept that condition. If those not getting a fix are using high light and/or co2 maybe that has something to do with the failures. |
Eradicating BBA
On Wed, 17 Mar 2004 09:10:07 GMT, "Chris_S" wrote:
I'm cheating? No I've just got better things to do than beat my head against the wall wasting my time. If you have weeds in your lawn, do you think you can get rid of them by controlling how much grass fertilizer you put on? No, you spray them and kill them. When your fish get sick do you give them medicine? If they get parasites do you kill them with chemicals? What's the difference? IMHO fighting BBA with water control is a total waste of time. That works for Green algae. It does not work for Red Algae which is fresh water seaweed. It has to be killed. I've been patient for 5 years putting up with this BBA and trying every kind of water condition known to man. The root cause of BBA is bringing a plant in with BBA on it - period. What, you think the stuff spontaneously generates? BBA lives under all water conditions that support plants. That's the problem. I'm sick of looking at nice tanks infested with BBA. I want a clean tank again. Chris. I am surprised that there seems to be so much frustration. I rid my 75 gallon tank about 9 months ago. I didn't use any chemicals. I don't use co2. I am not sure if any one of my changes was more important than any other, but the combination did the trick. Perhaps I have had success has to do with my limited plant selection. My lights are under 2 wpg and I finally bought only plants that accept that condition. If those not getting a fix are using high light and/or co2 maybe that has something to do with the failures. |
Eradicating BBA
On Wed, 17 Mar 2004 09:10:07 GMT, "Chris_S" wrote:
I'm cheating? No I've just got better things to do than beat my head against the wall wasting my time. If you have weeds in your lawn, do you think you can get rid of them by controlling how much grass fertilizer you put on? No, you spray them and kill them. When your fish get sick do you give them medicine? If they get parasites do you kill them with chemicals? What's the difference? IMHO fighting BBA with water control is a total waste of time. That works for Green algae. It does not work for Red Algae which is fresh water seaweed. It has to be killed. I've been patient for 5 years putting up with this BBA and trying every kind of water condition known to man. The root cause of BBA is bringing a plant in with BBA on it - period. What, you think the stuff spontaneously generates? BBA lives under all water conditions that support plants. That's the problem. I'm sick of looking at nice tanks infested with BBA. I want a clean tank again. Chris. I am surprised that there seems to be so much frustration. I rid my 75 gallon tank about 9 months ago. I didn't use any chemicals. I don't use co2. I am not sure if any one of my changes was more important than any other, but the combination did the trick. Perhaps I have had success has to do with my limited plant selection. My lights are under 2 wpg and I finally bought only plants that accept that condition. If those not getting a fix are using high light and/or co2 maybe that has something to do with the failures. |
Eradicating BBA
Perhaps I have had success has to do with my limited plant selection.
My lights are under 2 wpg and I finally bought only plants that accept that condition. If those not getting a fix are using high light and/or co2 maybe that has something to do with the failures. Hey, count yourself lucky. There are around 200 species of fresh water Red Algae so you may not have the same stuff others have. If you have any doubt about how nasty and tenacious this stuff can be, just do a search for BBA ALGAE or look at the following link: http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Algae/bleach.html Chris. |
Eradicating BBA
Perhaps I have had success has to do with my limited plant selection.
My lights are under 2 wpg and I finally bought only plants that accept that condition. If those not getting a fix are using high light and/or co2 maybe that has something to do with the failures. Hey, count yourself lucky. There are around 200 species of fresh water Red Algae so you may not have the same stuff others have. If you have any doubt about how nasty and tenacious this stuff can be, just do a search for BBA ALGAE or look at the following link: http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Algae/bleach.html Chris. |
Eradicating BBA
"Chris_S" wrote in message ... Hi Rick: Ditto. Glad you can appreciate my position. I am also very grateful for your feedback. It sounds like bleach is by far the most effective way to deal with BBA. It has real results. That is the conclusion I have come to as well. I agree with everything you say. And that is why I think it is best to bleach the whole tank in place, after removing the fish of course. That way I kill the spores in the entire system: gravel, filters, pumbling, everywhere all in one shot. I have a question for you. What is your feeling about the reinfestation potential from moving the fish into another clean water temp tank, and then moving them back in? Do you feel that is enough to dillute down the BBA spores from the clean water that minimal will be transported back in when I return them? Anything else I can do here to help with the fish move? I just want to make sure that after all this tank filling and draining the BBA is truely gone. Like you say, I want every BBA spore dead or out of the system. When you say it never came back, that is really GREAT news. That's the result I am hoping for. Thanks, Chris. I did not have any problem with the algae coming back. To tell you the truth I never even thought about it perhaps coming back in with the fish although I did bleach the net I used to take them out of the infected tank. In response to HappyCampers post it has been over a year for me and it never came back. I have 35 tanks running right now and every single one of them has live plants of some sort with two larger one's heavily planted. I deal with algae on a regular basis and I can handle cleaning glass and bleaching the odd anubias or other slow growing plant or rock that gets some black tuffs on it however once you get to the level of frustration I was at and your at then kill it dead, dead dead and start over. Monitor for any signs of it returning and it's probably then that if it does come back you may be able to control it. I agree with others as far as dealing with the root cause. I'm not even sure why it showed up in one of my tanks and not others. Good luck with this Chris and obviously we are hoping you never see it again but if it does come back then another approach may have to be considered. Rick |
Eradicating BBA
The more I read about bleaching the more I hear people raving over its
success. One guy said he had been doing it since 1960. He said his tanks go 5-10 years with absolutely no BBA problems - ZERO. Nearly everybody says that when they get a reinfestation it is always due to something they put into the tank later being lazy and not bleaching it. Or by adding water from another tank. Their own mistakes. I am extremely impressed. The reports are far better than I even expected. Nearly everyone who has done it right says it really does works, they would highly recommend it to others, and the BBA is deffinetly gone unless you do something stupid and reintroduce it. One guy said he loves having the tanks free of BBA because he can run his water anyway he likes and never has to worry about BBA. He grows plants and forces the nutrients real high for fast growth. It is clear that one must treat the procedure seriously just like a medically sterile operation. You have to think about everything that has been in the infected tank and sterilize those things too. Nets you rarely use, pH meters, tongs, tubes, etc. anything that ever touched the old tank MUST be bleached before it ever goes back in again. The spores can be anywhere. Quarantining the fish in another tank for a day to flush their systems seems to be a very good idea as well, especially if they are SAEs. They also say that most of the plants after bleaching do better than they ever did before. Free of algae, their leaves can really go to work. Beautiful leaves. I'm sold. I'm planning on doing the bleach job next week. Have to get everything prepared first. I'll repost after its done. Thanks, Chris. |
Eradicating BBA
What about a UV sterilizer???
-- RedForeman ©® future fabricator and creator of a ratbike streetfighter!!! ========================== 2003 TRX450ES 1992 TRX-350 XX (For Sale) 1987 TRX250R (sold) 1987 CBR600 Hurricane (sold) 1987 VFR700 Interceptor (sold) 1995 TRX300ex (sold) 2000 CBR600F4 silver/red (sold) *sniff*sniff* '98 Tacoma Ext Cab 4X4 Lifted.... ========================== ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø "By US Code Title 47, Sec.227(a)(2)(B), a computer/modem/printer meets the definition of a telephone fax machine. By Sec.227(b)(1)(C), it is unlawful to send any unsolicited advertisement to such equipment. By Sec.227(b)(3)(C), a violation of the aforementioned Section is punishable by action to recover actual monetary loss, or $500, whichever is greater, for each violation." If you do send me unsolicited e-mail I will proof-read it at a rate of $100 per hour (4 hour minimum). |
Eradicating BBA
I was reading up on that last night. They say they are very effective on
algae, but it of course needs to be in the water. UV would probably be very good at preventing expansion of the BBA by killing the spores and gammets traveling in the water. It would probably kill those outright which in theory would stop the spread of BBA. But of course it would not do anything for the stuff already on surfaces in the tank. UV might be a good way to go for someone who wants to mechanically get rid of what they can themselves, and then use the UV to kill the spread through the water. I'm going with Chlorine. The possibility of getting rid of BBA permanently is just too attractive to pass up. Chris. |
Eradicating BBA
I was reading up on that last night. They say they are very
effective on algae, but it of course needs to be in the water. UV would probably be very good at preventing expansion of the BBA by killing the spores and gammets traveling in the water. It would probably kill those outright which in theory would stop the spread of BBA. But of course it would not do anything for the stuff already on surfaces in the tank. UV might be a good way to go for someone who wants to mechanically get rid of what they can themselves, and then use the UV to kill the spread through the water. I'm going with Chlorine. The possibility of getting rid of BBA permanently is just too attractive to pass up. Chris. Good luck, and take pics, document and keep us posted... your endeavors will save someone from giving up the hobby in years or days to come... -- RedForeman ©® future fabricator and creator of a ratbike streetfighter!!! ========================== 2003 TRX450ES 1992 TRX-350 XX (For Sale) 1987 TRX250R (sold) 1987 CBR600 Hurricane (sold) 1987 VFR700 Interceptor (sold) 1995 TRX300ex (sold) 2000 CBR600F4 silver/red (sold) *sniff*sniff* '98 Tacoma Ext Cab 4X4 Lifted.... ========================== ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø "By US Code Title 47, Sec.227(a)(2)(B), a computer/modem/printer meets the definition of a telephone fax machine. By Sec.227(b)(1)(C), it is unlawful to send any unsolicited advertisement to such equipment. By Sec.227(b)(3)(C), a violation of the aforementioned Section is punishable by action to recover actual monetary loss, or $500, whichever is greater, for each violation." If you do send me unsolicited e-mail I will proof-read it at a rate of $100 per hour (4 hour minimum). |
Eradicating BBA
"RedForeman ©®" wrote in message ... Good luck, and take pics, document and keep us posted... your endeavors will save someone from giving up the hobby in years or days to come... -- RedForeman ©® future fabricator and creator of a ratbike streetfighter!!! and therein my friend is the key. Many people have dumped this hobby because of serious algae problems. You can literally feel the frustration in Chris's posts and from reading his responses he has been in the hobby for years. Man since this thread started I've found myself examining every tank very closely. I have noticed some tufts on my driftwood and one rock in my big planted tank. They hit the bleach today. Rick |
Eradicating BBA
"RedForeman ©®" wrote in message
Good luck, and take pics, document and keep us posted... your endeavors will save someone from giving up the hobby in years or days to come... and therein my friend is the key. Many people have dumped this hobby because of serious algae problems. You can literally feel the frustration in Chris's posts and from reading his responses he has been in the hobby for years. Man since this thread started I've found myself examining every tank very closely. I have noticed some tufts on my driftwood and one rock in my big planted tank. They hit the bleach today. Rick Yeah, my 29g that Ive been battling now for 3 months, may just get the big nuke... I've been leaning away from it... (lazy, too much work, etc) and I really was hoping someone would chime in with more info, but it seems as though Chris has done his homework and educated us all... When I went looking for the info, it wasnt' there, or as much as it is now... which is nice... I'm like you, I'll be looking a bit more tonite... -- RedForeman ©® future fabricator and creator of a ratbike streetfighter!!! ========================== 2003 TRX450ES 1992 TRX-350 XX (For Sale) 1987 TRX250R (sold) 1987 CBR600 Hurricane (sold) 1987 VFR700 Interceptor (sold) 1995 TRX300ex (sold) 2000 CBR600F4 silver/red (sold) *sniff*sniff* '98 Tacoma Ext Cab 4X4 Lifted.... ========================== ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø "By US Code Title 47, Sec.227(a)(2)(B), a computer/modem/printer meets the definition of a telephone fax machine. By Sec.227(b)(1)(C), it is unlawful to send any unsolicited advertisement to such equipment. By Sec.227(b)(3)(C), a violation of the aforementioned Section is punishable by action to recover actual monetary loss, or $500, whichever is greater, for each violation." If you do send me unsolicited e-mail I will proof-read it at a rate of $100 per hour (4 hour minimum). |
Eradicating BBA
I agree with happy camper on this one. You can nuke the tank but if
you don't fix the cause it will all come back. H2O2 is great to get rid of algae in your tank without having to remove any plants or fish, it just takes a long time as you can only treat a small section at a time. I used up to 1ml per gallon without any problems, I used a siringe to squirt the BBA directly on items that could not be pulled out of the tank, then waited an hour and did a large water change. I kept doing this before each weekly water change until everything was gone. Obviously however, I had already fixed the cause of this algae which was low CO2 levels in my case. Anything you can remove from the tank, just dip it in a more concentrated H2O2 solution, it's a nice product to use because you don't have to worry about rinsing everything very well, just a quick rinse and put it back in the tank. I even dipped anubias covered driftwood in a bucket with 5ml H2O2 per gallon of water without any problems, just a little burned edges around the leaves. Bleach is more agressive, more effective, but requires you to remove everything including fish and plants, you'll also probably loose your cycle if you're not careful, plus all that rinsing and redoing the entire tank..... no thanks. But definetly attack the cause first, once you have stopped it from spreading and all that is left is removing what's already there, use whichever method you prefer, bleach or H2O2, they both work. Hope that helps Giancarlo Podio "Happy'Cam'per" wrote in message ... It has real results. That is the conclusion I have come to as well. On the contrary my dear Watson ;) It has Immediate visual results, but certainly not real. This is as artificial as they come, you're cheating ;) where's the fun in that? Go ahead and bleach your plants and equipment, give it a month and write back and let us know if it has returned. This will be interesting to know. You're still not dealing with the root cause. Patience is a game that has more rewarding outcomes! Especially with planted tanks :) Good luck. |
Eradicating BBA
"Chris_S" wrote in message news:OpU5c.59066
It doesn't seem like you've really tried focusing on plant health/growth before. Really. Well I don't seem to have much problem growing plants. Just can't stop the BBA from growing along with it. I'm sorry, but I don't think you've really understood what I've been saying all along. You can grow plants very well with less than optimal conditions. In my algae days, I've had great plant growth, but the algae was still overwhelming to say the least. It wasn't until I started to provide *everything* my plants needed that I got my break with algae. If there's anything I learned, it's that the more you fight algae, the more "aggressive" it becomes. That's why "water control" methods don't work if the only goal you have in mind is stopping algae. But judging from your other posts in this thread, you're not really interested in getting specific help. You're just seeking approval for your bleaching method. I highly doubt that your tank has some algae species that's non-existent in almost every other algae-free tank. There is no quick cure for algae, IMO. __ Alex R |
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