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Re: My very first 'green pea soup' algae?- BGA : O



Kathy,
bad news it may be -but thanks for breaking it to me :   )

I've done some digging and decided on a battle plan. First I'll try the
'natural' approaches
beginning with seeing if I can help the plants out compete the BGA;
manual removal, water change nitrate/phosphate testing, susbtrate water
column fertilisers, more frequent changing of Co2 reactors, addition of
new plants. and add a few bunches of hornwort.


If that doesn't halt or significantly slow down the BGA I'll try the
'lights out' approach combined with the snails which I've already added
last night (about 2 tablespoons full of ramshorns snails from my 15 gal
tank) but will continue to add more.

My concern over that though is that without light the plants won't be
producing oxygen and the Co2 levels will skyrocket dangeriouslyso is
that a problem? Should the Co2 be turned off (detached from the reactor)
during the lights off period?

If that doesn't work I'm going to throw algae at it- make some green
water and green fuzzy/thread algae in a bucket outside. Actually I
spotted a lovely little clump of fuzzy green algae today- I think I'll
leave in there and I was reminded that I had a strip of shadecloth on
the back wall with java moss growing on it that was regulraly inundated
with the fuzz but I just recently took it down and put it along the
front as a groundcover and it has no more fuzz on it.

And failing these 'natural' methods I'll use antibiotics or something
similar to nuke the algae and reset the tank. I have a unused bottle of
'Algae Cure' with simazine sitting around but I've read it can affect
aquarium plants (so it is on the very bottom of the list!). I've also
got some Waterlife Myxazin that I've used last year seemingly without
bad effects and it is a bactericide- I might try that- think that'd
work?

I can't believe it but I'm actually fondly reminiscing the time before
when I had a few straggly plants (before making modifications towards a
fully 'high-tech' planted aquarium) and I had an outbreak of brush beard
algae!
Thanks again,
regards
Damian.


Kathy wrote:



Bad news Damien,

You don't have green water. You have blue green algae. The mostly
removed
filaments are finding new places to land and grow. Tommorrow you will
find
new slime somewhere in the tank. Remove that, I used an airline tube as
a
siphon, and you will see filaments that came loose during the siphoning
floating about again. If you don't get a handle on it, the whole tank
gets
covered with the nasty stuff.

Green water makes the tank look hazy. Sometimes you don't know you have
it
as it isn't green looking. Put the water in a bucket and you can tell if

there is a green tint. I don't mind a tint but cloudiness gets me
looking
for the problem. Green water can come on quickly or gradually. Look for
a
haze that is stronger at night.

I killed the plague of BGA with antibiotics. Hydrogen perioxide and
blackouts are other ways to deal with it. THEN I got green water. It had

been there, pictures of my tank show a haze. Maybe the antibiotic
knocked
out just enough of my filter bacteria to cause a bit of ammonia? Such a
case
I couldn't see an inch into the tank. Cool thing, the green spot algae
that
started up during the last part of the BGA infestation disappeared
during
the green water. Once it started clearing up it was fun watching the
tank
furnishings reappear.

I never saw BGA or green water until I had CO2. There was plenty of
light
over my 50 gallon tank [160 watts] and I had green fuzzy, green spot and

hair algae. Put on the CO2 [same lighting, same tank], green water and
BGA,
no green fuzzy or hair algae. Still get the green spot but not as bad.
Have
a bad feeling the black edges on older leaves are BBA kept at bay by my
two
SAE.

Hit those archives!

Kathy in southern California