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Re: Blue green algae question




 >> What is it exactly that blue-green loves?

Stagnant water, in my experience.  Hydrogen peroxide,
at 1/2 oz per 10 gallons of tank water, will remove
most (if not all) of the current infestation, and
improved circulation in that area of the tank should
prevent it from reinfesting.  BGA never seems to be a
problem for me in well lit, well circulated areas.  <<

Okay then, how about this? in 2 recently setup tanks I had BGA outbreaks.
Both tanks were set up at the same time (one 15g, one 20g tall) and their
size allowed me to hang a single shoplight over both, so there's 80w total
light for 35g. Both have good circulation; the 15 has an Eheim Liberty 150
and the 20 has a Whisper 5. Obviously the 20 has good circulation with a
Whisper 5 on it! It was a spare, so I used it. Both tanks were heavily
planted from the start with hygro, pennywort, rotala indica, valisneria,
duckweed and mexican oak leaf. Both tanks cycled in under a week. The 15 has
a pure Profile substrate and a bunch of larger sandstone rocks/pebbles. The
20 has Profile over a peat substrate. I got BGA on the plant leaves,
substrate, glass and, in the 15, on the rocks. Also it was on both filter
outflows! So much for the circulation theory...at least in my tanks. Ditto
for the lights as I have over 2w/g on these tanks.

I cleaned the BGA off both filters, manually removed the plants and cleaned
all, removing the BGA when possible, otherwise removing the infested leaves.
On rocks, I turned them all over and they have not been slimed since. On the
substrate, I just dumped more Profile over the slime and it dies and has not
recurred there. I am currently overfeeding, trying to raise the nitrates.
I'm winning the battle, but it's being won slowly and tediously. The
suggestion regarding hydrogen peroxide is intriguing...any drawbacks to
using it?