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RE: BBA/Beard algae
>Anyone, please give me the secret to getting rid of this stuff! I have
>tried using phosphate remover, but to no avail. I do not fertilize. I
>change the water every week, about 40 gallons or so. here is a brief over
>view of my tank if it helps.
>125gallon, 240Watts of light (cool whites and AGA lights = 8 tubes @3'each),
>an eheim 75 gallon, 2 fluval 203's, temp around 81 degrees, pH slightly
>acid, less than 10 degrees GH, two yeast set-ups.
>
>As far as fish go: three 1-1.5" discus, marbled gibb (~3"), 18 glolites, 12
>ottocinclus, 1 redtail shark, an algae shrimp that doesn't eat algae but
>eats plants (holding babies right now, oh joy!), and a ghost shrimp.
>
>I cannot get my hands on the hallowed SAE, so pleas any other options?
>
>Hacksent
DIY yeast and only two bottles of them on a 125 gallon tank? No wonder you
have BBA.
Been there, done that. Your KH, not so much the GH, is what you want to test
for. Check that instead.
Buy a gas cylinder and add more CO2. Remove all of it (BBA) you can by
mechanical,chemical(bleaching), and biological(SAE's,shrimp, etc if you can
get them) means. Remove wood and clean well etc.
You have a good fish group,lighting, filters, water changes, try to get your
KH, not so much your GH, in a good range. Check your Ph more often to see
where it's going. Try testing in the morning(when the lights come on) and at
night (when the lights go out).Now what's the difference? Get a good Ph test
kit too. Check a CO2/KH/Ph table(check archives) to find your CO2 levels and
adjust your Ph with the CO2 gas accordingly.
Try plants that don't get BBA easily. Stay away from Anubias, and other slow
growers. Try fast growing stem plants that can be trimmed easily for BBA
removal or grow too fast for BBA to get a foot hold.
Add some fertilizer like Tropica Master Grow at half dose to help the plants
grow. Food alone can do it but TMG or whatever you like, does much better
than food alone. Feed your plant too.
The algae has a hard time growing when the plants are doing great due to
competition etc.
When plants aren't doing well=algae can get a foot hold. Well growing plants
put out chemical inhibitors that retard algae growth. You can add fertilizer
to the to the substrate in solid form too/or in place of the liquid. You'd
be fine due to nice big water changes that you do no matter which method you
choose.