# Lighting Upgrade, Started EI - Bad BBA/Brown Diatoms within a week!



## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

1) Yes. I would've only run 2 bulbs to start out with.
2) Keep dosing EI where it is now. We'll tinker with that later on.
3) No.
4) How is your water circulation? Where is the drop checker with respect to where the CO2 is diffused?


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## ColeMan (Mar 9, 2008)

up your CO2 levels more.....Watch your shrimp for signs of stress. BBA is nearly always related to CO2 problems.

Your oto's should help take care of the diatoms, which are really quite frequent in newly established tanks and should go away as the system matures. 

Just curious - are you seeing any relationship between where it grows and the level of flow?


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

Coleman...Yes, the BBA is growing in the highest flow areas.

Epic, I have the drop checker as far away from the co2 as possible. CO2 on back left side bottom, drop checker on top front of the right side. Running only two bulbs for a few weeks is probablly a good idea, I should have thought of that.


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## dp12man (Mar 18, 2009)

I had the same problems as you are having. Recently.

These are my changes.
I am using 2 55w light kits from ahsupply. About 2wpg. From 4 55w kits.

Increased CO2. Running on a DIY yeast setup. Added an extra 2l bottle. So I am using two 2l bottles.

And added alot more circulation.

The other major thing is I trimmed all of the leaves with the growth on it. I mean everything. It looks so empty compared to the way it was. But there is so much new growth and things seem to be growing faster and greener.

Its been a week and have not seen any new growth. So I assume its working, 
I am dosing the same way except for 60-80 eventhough I have a 55.


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

Man I really hate this stuff. Why couldnt I just leave well enough alone? I cut back to two bulbs and am still cranking the CO2, in fact have been increasing slightly every day and up to 3 bps and I still see the BBA growing. I am wondering if more co2 escapes from my tank than normal because of the larger surface area?


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## nazspeed (Dec 19, 2008)

my brown algea disapeard with my cherries didnt have a reall bad case but once i got them in there it was over in a couple of hours get more shrimp not amanos but cherry red shrimp!!!! My Amanos would touch that stuff and i was scrubbing evey week until the wonder shrimps came to town heck i dont even scrape any algea of my tank anymore no need to....


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## brohawk (May 19, 2008)

3 bps isn't much in a 40 gal, especially using an in-tank diffuser. Drop checker is lime green/almost yellow?


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

Just to update, I have upped the C02 to 4-5 bps and have been dosing 8 caps of excel a day for about a week and a half. All the algae turned purple/red and has stopped spreading. The brown diatoms have subsided as well and things appear to be finding their ballance again.


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## inkslinger (Dec 28, 2003)

I had a bad cast of BBA I use H202 spot treatment . Shut every thing off for and hour or so even your lights and spot treat the BBA.


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## illumnae (Dec 27, 2007)

Is there any "safe" way to upgrade a low tech tank to higher lights + Co2 + ferts without an algae breakout?


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## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

illumnae said:


> Is there any "safe" way to upgrade a low tech tank to higher lights + Co2 + ferts without an algae breakout?


Yes, you would have to tread very lightly though. Increase light and photoperiod gradually(30 minutes per week) but no mor than 8 hours total, 
Increase the c02 gradually. Increase plant density, perhaps add some floaters. All that time, you can dose 2X Excel as extra insurance against any algae blooms, and also stock the tank with algae eating shrimp, nerite snails, otocates, etc., I believe if the transition from low light to high light is done gradually and by ensuring appropriate c02 and other precautions, it can be done. If things are "gradually" done to stimulate healthy plant growth during the transition and plants begin growing rapidly and are healthy, algae(with the possible exception of Green Dust Algae), should not rear its ugly head.


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

excel was the key for me. i think with a higher dose from the start of upgraded lights etc would have prevented the breakout at all. rght now my tank has never looked better. growth is ridiculious and the algae is gone.


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## niccomau (Nov 3, 2005)

I'm didn't increase my light that much... just to 2 watts per gallon. But within a week (b/c I didn't do it the slow way) the algae started really producing. I've started growing a little BBA one of my rocks along with the brown algae I've had since I started the tank. I'm going to pull the rock, try the peroxide and excel spot treatment, then double dose the tank with excel and slowly up the hours the new lights are on. Thanks for the great info guys, you've been so helpful!!! I've got some nerites coming so hopefully no more scrubbing brown algae for me! Wish me luck


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

I was dosing 8 excel caps a day into my 40 gallon, didnt harm fish, cherry shrimp or amanos. Once the algae all died (about 2 weeks), down to 2 caps a day and everything is great. My signature has a video of right before the upgrade, and below is a link to how it looks now.
http://briansplantedtank.shutterfly.com/
Amazing the difference.


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