# BBA and Staghorn question/help



## jameslibtech (Sep 20, 2011)

I have had my tank setup a few months now and I noticed a lot of BBA and Staghorn algae forming on the driftwood so I recently (last week) took the wood out and I am noticing the algae over a lot more of the tank. I noticed it mostly higher up on my rotala and I am wondering if I have too much light. I recently added a LED fixture in addition to the t5s because the lights are pretty far from the water(about 10"). The plants look very healthy and pearl(a lot) every day. 

Tank Specs:
80 gallon
Eco-complete mixed with fluorite
4 bulb retrofit t5(two 6k, roseate, 10k) and a 5k dual strip LED (http://www.lampcraft.com/freshwatersunstrip.aspx)

filters/co2
marineland c360 with aqua medic co2 reactor
sicce whale 500
co2 turns on and off with the light about 8 hours a day

Parameters:
PH 7
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 10ppm
KH 6 (102ppm)
GH 12 (214.8ppm)
Phosphates little to none

Dosing: This far I have only been dosing flourish comp and Iron. Also here in Los Angeles the water is very hard so when I have been doing 15 gallon water changes every 5-7 days I have been using 10 gallons RO and 5 tap.

Please let me know if there is anything else I can add to help solve the problem. I have been reading through the forum and I am thinking of doing the 1 2 punch, but I would like opinions.

Here are a few pics:
Before I took the wood out








After I took the wood out(how it looks now)








S. Repens








Rotala 








Temple








On a positive note my Blyxa has been doing very well 










My questions being, is it actually staghorn and bba and what should I do? I have been slowly increasing my co2, with no noticeable difference. Thanks in advance.


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## Zorfox (Jun 24, 2012)

There are a few things I would change. I would turn on the CO2 an hour before the lights come on. You don't want to have an increasing CO2 level during a photoperiod. This can and probably has led to your BBA problem and to some extent the staghorn. You may also need to increase the CO2 level. Ideally you want it as high as fauna can tolerate.

The staghorn usually appears from ammonia (even levels too low for you to measure). So pay attention to clean filters and removal of decaying organic material. As you just noticed the staghorn will increase after rearranging things (removing the driftwood). This can cause a small ammonia spike so water changes after stirring things up is a good idea.

I would embark on a new dosing routine. I prefer EI but the choice is yours. Flourish comprehensive is far from comprehensive. It is a trace nutrient mix. You have left out the macro nutrients, NPK. Focus on growing healthy plants and the algae naturally disappears. Two big problems you have now as far as plant health is low nutrients and fluctuating CO2 levels. The lighting has nothing to do with the bba and staghorn. Too much light and you will notice other algae first. I'm surprised you don't have other algae problems with nitrates and phosphates of 0!


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## danielt (Dec 19, 2012)

Zorfox said:


> Too much light and you will notice other algae first


I'd say he noticed the right ones already


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## jameslibtech (Sep 20, 2011)

@Zorfox
Thank you for your input, I will get that timer asap and get the co2 on before the lights are. I have been looking into EI, so I guess now is a good time to follow through with that.


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## danielt (Dec 19, 2012)

First of all get the food going. It's the easiest. You pour more 

Second, get the lights sorted. Don't know how much those LEDs are putting out. Has the algae started to appear after the LEDs came into the circuit?

Also. T5 what? 24W, 39W, 54W, 80W? How much are you putting into the system? Is there a siesta period?

I would introduce a siesta period to cut down on the lights. Also, how much CO2? You have a drop checker?

Any surface agitation? Surface scum?

I would also try to lower the water hardness. Something around kH 4 dkH and gH to 6-7 dgH.

If you still have a neutral pH, after dosing CO2, you either not dosing enough CO2 or your tap pH is high.

Mine is around 9 after I pass it through the RO unit. Check the water you use for changes but I still think pH should be around 6.8 if you're putting in enough CO2 or close.

Don't leave the old stem in when you prune stem plants. Take out the old stem and replant only the tops. I found this to be best, though a chore.


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## jameslibtech (Sep 20, 2011)

danielt said:


> First of all get the food going. It's the easiest. You pour more
> 
> Second, get the lights sorted. Don't know how much those LEDs are putting out. Has the algae started to appear after the LEDs came into the circuit?
> 
> ...


I have upped the feeding to try and get my nitrates to 20.

The T5's are 54 watt bulbs they run for 8 hours. The LED's are supposed to have an output of 104 par at 24". They are mounted about 25"-26" off the substrate. No siesta, I was going to do it, but I read a lot of conflicting things and held off, still not opposed to it. 

I had a drop checker from Red Sea that was reading green, but it wasn't staying mounted. I'll buy a better one and put it in.

Surface agitation is one of the returns. I plumbed the c360 through the returns as this used to be setup with a sump. and I have a little slick on the surface, barely noticeable.

My KH has been coming down since I started using about 75% RO for my water changes, about 1 point a week. it was up at 9 before I started. However my GH is still way up there at about 12.

The PH before I started using RO was 7.9-8.2

I appreciate the advice.


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## danielt (Dec 19, 2012)

Depending on what you use to fertilize, gH might be coming down slower.

I was referring to plant feed, not fish food. Just want to make things clear 

I had 54W T5HO lamps over my 80 gallon planted. I still thought it was too much. You can search my topics, it's the one with the 300L jungle.

I had a light schedule of 5-3-5 since I wanted to see the tank in the morning before going off to work and in the evening.

You should continue to bring down gH. kH try to make it nil. Don't fear the pH shock, didn't happen to any of my fishes. They mostly died from CO2 poisoning or overdosage of a similar product to Excel.

Start your CO2 1 hour early and stop it one hour before the lights. Don't stop it during the siesta period if you decide to introduce one. Depending on how much gas you accumulate in the reactor, if you have one, you might want to increase/decrease the period when the gas turns on/off. Try to maintain a pH of 6.8 during the day. Increase CO2 until fish start to show signs of intoxication, bring it down a bit then. If the pH starts to go down past 6.8 increase surface agitation. Once you got to the point where adjustments are no longer needed leave like that and look for signs of improvement. Focus you view on the plants, not the algae. This process is intended for the plants to get well, not to kill algae. It also meant for a low kH. Less buffering allows you to find the sweet spot easier 

Also, you should be doing this in a week-end when you have an entire day off. Will also require you to increase fertilizer dosage if CO2 dosage is increased.

At the end of this process which might take you some time, it's not something you set and forget, you will end up with either a thriving tank or a complete disaster. I don't take any responsibility 

Keep a log so you remember what you did and when. I didn't kept one and it took me some time to figure out what's wrong.


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## jameslibtech (Sep 20, 2011)

I ended up ordering EI from GLA and drop checker and they came in last week. The day before I received the EI and drop checker I did the "One two punch" at a somewhat diluted amount. I wanted to get an upper hand on the algae before starting the dosing. It worked out very well and a few days after the treatment all of the stag horn and BBA was dead/dying/gone. I have only been dosing the EI for about a week and I feel like the plants are already responding well to it, especially the Riccia and Wisteria.


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