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Re: BGA




> I already beat you to it Tom! I know we have had this discussion before, but
> I will say it again. In the past 3 or 4 years, I have had BGA 3 or 4 times,
> (never in the same tank, I have over 20 tanks), and each time I treated it
> with Maracyn, (which is not a snake oil "chemical", its an anti biotic,
> plain and simple)

I've never referred to it as snake oil. My position is that it's not
*needed*. It works to kill the BGA, but doesn't do _anything_ more than
that. It doesn't kill or get rid of _other_ algae.

> I followed the instructions archived on the KRIB from a
> few years ago from the heavies of that time. I treated the tank every day
> after first doing a 50% water change and removing as much of the BGA as
> possible. Within a week it was totally gone and in each case IT NEVER
> RETURNED IN 3 YEARS. And yes, I did examin possible contributing factors and
> corrected them. Improved filtration, cut back feeding of the fish, and so
> forth. But in each instance it was during a new tank set up, or in one
> instance a tank I severly neglected.

It's always works for me. I'm not doing something special, just a good
cleaning, lights off for a few days(4), adding KNO3 etc, not neglecting the
tank etc. Same old thing.

My point is this:

 If not that algae, something else would have come along(like GW). Regular
good trims and manual removal combined with a good water changes can go a
long way. It also works on most all algae. I haven't use antibiotics for
many years.
I also don't have any issues with algae. So there are two paths to get rid
of it. But.........to keep it away is another and separate issue and is why
I choose this approach rather than the take a pill approach.

 I tried anti's on BGA. It works etc. But it comes back. It (meds) doesn't
"cure" a tank forever as much as you'd like to think this. Send a sample and
within 10 seconds under a scope, I'll find BGA filaments unless you just
treated the tank. With 20 tanks practicing sterile bacterial technique is
going to be impossible. I don't even try.

So what would be the cost of treating 20 tanks using anti's? Or a 100 gallon
for 5 days? A small tank or might be reasonable but not many or large tanks.

Addressing the other issues seems to be a much better long term goal.
Well, I have not had it(visible signs) for 6+ years. Some tanks even longer.
No med's needed. It's there though, just can't see it without a microscope.
 
> I do not understand some peoples adversion to using anti biotics. Its safe,
> easy and completely effective. In at least one instance it didn't even take
> a week, it was gone in 2 days. It depends on how long you let it go before
> treating. Trying your method however, had quite the opposite affect for me.

I will not try to tease apart why it did not work for you. I've done it
enough times to know what I suggests does in fact work very well. I've
watched others do it and I've done it and other folks have done it and told
me later.

I'm more concerned with algae in *general* rather than bugging about one
specific algae species. This general approach works and keeps tanks free of
algae. GW is the toughest to get rid using this approach but possible.

> Lights out either only slowed it down or it came back a few days later.

What time frames did you use and did you completely cover the tank with a
thick blanket so that _no_ light at all got in? This is an important point.

>I battled it for over a month with no progress until I used the Maracyn and it
> was gone forever in a few days. The plants suffered greatly during that
> whole month I didnt use Maracyn. It choked out all my Didiplis and a couple
> of other plants. It killed all my Glosso in a week. I could have saved
> myself a lot of trouble just by using the Maracyn right from the start,
> (which of course I have done every time since then)

I've seen folks with tanks full of BGA as bad as gets. A week later his tank
is fine. Not sure what you did or didn't do. I do know it can be beaten
effectively doing either way. But "afterwards" is a big key here also.
What I propose sounds like work but most folks need to do this same bunch of
work anyway when they use the antibiotic method also.

Antibiotics only kills one type of algae. Lights off is easy and it does
work and it has to be the simplest, cheapest method there is. It also works
on most all species of algae, which antibiotics do not. Manual removal will
make any algae problem easier to beat. So will growing the plants well.

Adding a pill will not do these things and creates an impression that the
algae simply needs a quick chemical cure to kill it off and then everything
is peachy again. Maybe some get lucky and that's the case for them. Many do
not get lucky. I tend to fall into the unlucky category most times.

Folks can use this method to both grow plants and get rid of a number of
algae types. "Pills" do and can work but most times, I get these same folks
back saying they now have some other type of algae..........and so it
goes.......until they figure out addressing the plant's needs + maintenance
will solve most all their algae woes.

> I
> battled it for over a month with no progress until I used the Maracyn and it
> was gone forever in a few days. The plants suffered greatly during that
> whole month I didnt use Maracyn. It choked out all my Didiplis and a couple
> of other plants. It killed all my Glosso in a week. I could have saved
> myself a lot of trouble just by using the Maracyn right from the start,
> (which of course I have done every time since then)

Well, it's trouble for me to add the anti biotics and pay for them when I
know I don't need it. I'm not Harry Houdini. It is work, not magic. Fixing a
tank after neglect is common theme. We all do it at some point.

 Some folks take a pill, some do the work, some do both. Both will kill BGA
algae. If your happy with that, bully for you.
I'll take the multiple attack approach that anyone can do for free and works
on more than one species of algae. It's also a simple approach that works
for most all cases of whatever algae type. It grows plants well and is far
simpler than trying kill off algae with copper, antibiotics, or "miracle
algae cures" etc. It's cheap, works, addresses the long term issue and
prevents reoccurrences.



Regards,
Tom Barr



> 
> Robert Paul Hudson