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Re: [APD] BGA



If you search my name and BGA and blackoutm you will find many post on many forums and list.
   
  You need NO3 if plan on using CO2 in plant tanks.
  Assuming the test kit is correct, 0ppm NO3 is a dead ringer for BGA.
   
  It's not light, it'll grow better with more is all.
  But here's a cook book method that does get rid of it in long term(solves why you got it in the first place):
   
  If you catch it early, you never have to do it, simply suck it up and irritate it, water change, then add KNO3.

If you got it bad, then the 3 day blackout.

Beforehand, get all of it off you can, clean filters, vac up old substrates if gooey, you have not done it in a long time time etc, 50% or even more if you want water change, then blackout(cover the tank!!!! so that no light gets in at all) for 3 days and add the KNO3(1/4 teaspoon per 20 gal).
Turn CO2 off, aerate or increase circulation.
  I suggest a couple of black trash bags for a cover, cheap and blocks the light well.
  
Remove cover, add light back, do another 50% water change, add KNO3 back and then there after(2x a week for most tanks or 3x for higher light/less fish etc), keep filters clean regularly. Remove extra circulation, add CO2 back, if you have plants at or near the surface, trim them back prior to any of this.

That is pretty much it.
Most failures are from: not doing the full 3 days, not covering the tank so that no light at all gets in(not simply turnin gthe light off, the tank does need covered), not adding the KNO3, during or after.

Some use the Antibiotics in conjunction or with the KNO3 so that it does not come back.

Either method works but the KNO3 and dirt issues where never addressed with the pills, the blackout helped to find the long term cure, thus no need for drugs thereafter.

Some clients don't want to do the blackout, so I had no choice, but I prefer the blackout personally.

If there is live BGA after you remove the cover on the 3rd day, you did something wrong.

Regards, 
Tom Barr
   
  www.BarrReport.com
   
   
  "essage: 9
Date: Mon, 26 Dec 2005 18:42:27 -0500
From: "Sean Flanagan" 
Subject: [APD] BGA outbreak
To: 

I recently decided to make the leap into slightly higher light and CO2.
Since doing so, I've had a steady BGA outbreak and from what I can tell, it
is light based. I'm making this judgment because there are a few plants
that tend to shadow the soil and the BGA doesn't grow in the shadow. 
I just purchased a Powerhead and I'm using a DIY yeast CO2 generator. The
output of the DIY sends C02 into an airstone that sits inside the input tube
on the Powerhead. All of this seems to work well and some of the plants
look nice. Their growth is amazing. Unfortunately, the BGA is covering every flat surface that has light.Further, I have sandy soil, so the slime tends to create sheets that hold insome of the top sand. Cleaning it up is a pain and all I really end up
doing is spreading it around.
My stats are as follows (based on 2 strip test kits and a specific pH kit):
NO3: 0ppm
GH: 150ppm
KH: 120-180ppm
pH: 7.2-7.6, 7.6-7.8, 7.2-7.8 (The first reading is from a liquid
test kit)
Light: Fluorescents, 30W over a 20gallon tank = 1.5 W/gal
I'm pretty sure that I'm missing nutrients, so I've ordered 1lb of Potassium
Phosphate and 1lb of Potassium Nitrate from Greg Watson (thanks Greg!). It
won't be here for a week or so, but I'm looking for some reassurance that
I'm not wasting my time with the nutrients. Any advice, chastisement, or outright abuse will be welcomed :-)
"






ean Flanagan



ScanIAm at nettally_com





------------------------------

Message: 10
Date: Mon, 26 Dec 2005 16:06:50 -0800
From: Vaughn Hopkins 
Subject: Re: [APD] BGA outbreak
To: aquatic plants digest 

Ah, a masochist! Bring out the whips!
Another post today may be good for your problem too. Try this one: 
http://fins.actwin.com/aquatic-plants/month.200512/msg00351.html
I am getting a strong feeling that DIY CO2 will always end up causing 
algae problems, just because it is so difficult to hold a consistent 
concentration of CO2 in the water. I used it for few years and had 
periodic problems with algae, but I also did just about everything else 
wrong too, so I'm not sure what part the CO2 played in my problems. If 
you can afford the one time investment, a pressurized CO2 system is by 
far the easiest way to go and costs no more in the long run. I'm 
getting hopeful that mine will lead me to a nearly algaeless tank.

Vaughn H.

On Monday, December 26, 2005, at 03:42 PM, Sean Flanagan wrote:

> NO2: <20ppm and 0 (2 separate tests)
>
> NO3: 0ppm
>
> GH: 150ppm
>
> KH: 120-180ppm
>
> Hardness: 120ppm (I'm not sure which this measures, KH or GH)
>
> pH: 7.2-7.6, 7.6-7.8, 7.2-7.8 (The first reading is from a 
> liquid
> test kit)
>
> Light: Fluorescents, 30W over a 20gallon tank = 1.5 W/gal
>
>
>
> I'm pretty sure that I'm missing nutrients, so I've ordered 1lb of 
> Potassium
> Phosphate and 1lb of Potassium Nitrate from Greg Watson (thanks 
> Greg!). It
> won't be here for a week or so, but I'm looking for some reassurance 
> that
> I'm not wasting my time with the nutrients.
>
>
>
> Any advice, chastisement, or outright abuse will be welcomed :-)
>



------------------------------

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