BBA, now for a curve ball

[Thomas Barr <tcbiii at earthlink_net>]

> Tom Barr said:
> 
>> But I'll tell you, DIY and CO2 are your biggest issue at the
>> moment. BBA is very common in tanks with DIY and low CO2.
> 
> I have to agree with Tom. When I followed his advice and got myself off
> of DIY yeast CO2, my BBA started to go away immediately. There are only
> tiny traces left of it in my tank now, and the little bits I find are
> easy to take off because they are not healthy. I would never consider
> running a planted tank now without a CO2 canister.
> 
> Ed Dumas

I would not go that far. I think everyone here stands to learn a great deal
about planted tank NOT using any CO2.

While most, the lion's share, etc come to these list are pro CO2, there is a
certain distinction that perhaps should be made here concerning CO2 vs non
CO2 set ups and methods.

Few folks do both. But I'd like to encourage folks to do so, even if it's a
little 5 gallon Killi tank(Nice fish for the tank anyway!).

One tank, the CO2 enriched tank works on a basic principle, the CO2, K, NO3,
etc is NOT limited.

The non CO2 takes a bit longer to stabilize, but IS limited, nothing is add
except some fish/food.
There is no need for other dosing, water changes etc.

DW has made a case and so have others that allelopathy is the reason. I'm
not so sure. I think the notion of no water changes and thus "limiting"
makes her case better.

Limiting algae in aquariums is done, but not with CO2(this breaks the
limiting philosophy IMO).

Plants en mass can out compete the algae if they have many of the elements
espoused by past methods. They remove the nutrients as fast as they are
produced in a non CO2 planted tank.

 There's little to begin with in the water column since it only comes from
fish food. Add a few algae eaters and the plants really have a leg up. You
get more mileage from an algae eater in a  non CO2 tank, algae grows slower
also.
Screw up that balance, you'll get algae. A few floaters are helpful to sop
up any excesses that might occur since they are only limited by the

Both methods rely heavily on dense planting from the very start of a tank.

I have not done as many non CO2 tanks as I'd like to have done but I have
two now in my home and I'm leaving them alone. Neither have algae, but both
have deep substrates and richer organic material(mulm and peat) than other
CO2 tanks but I'd imagine both would work fine in either method.

I have Sags, Hairgrass, Cypress and Eustralis growing so far in these non
CO2 tanks. I haver not done a water change in 2 months, nor have I had to do
ANY algae removal, glass wiping etc.

Regards, 
Tom Barr