# Cyanobacteria, BGA, Blue Green Algae = EVIL!



## Optix

pro-tip:

clean your plants 
treat tank w/ maracyn (for 3-4 days)
BIG water change (>80%-90%)
up your nitrates to keep it from coming back


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## wkndracer

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/general-planted-tank-discussion/140732-bga-antibiotics-advise.html

HTH you


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## kamikazi

Thanks for the link wkndracer

Every time I do a water change I clean as much as I can off. 

I will try shortening my photo-period. See if that makes a difference. If not I will consider the maracyn.


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## 150EH

I think you may be changing your water too often without CO2.


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## kamikazi

150EH said:


> I think you may be changing your water too often without CO2.


So you think I should cut down to what every other week? twice a month? once a month? once every couple months?

I really don't know what the tank and plants can handle. 
Can you explain how the water changes too often could be causing a problem?


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## 150EH

Most articles claim a low tech tank should only do water changes every other month as fresh tap water has higher CO2 than the gassed out tank water so weekly WC's on these type of tanks gets the plants happy and pearling away for 24 to 36 hours and then 5 or 6 day with no CO2 creates a up and down cycle that can cause some problems and one is algae. There are some good articles that can help you keep your tank in tip top shape and this is a good one; http://www.barrreport.com/showthread.php/433-Non-CO2-methods


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## JackFu

As long as your parameters are good, don't change the water in a low tech tank. Like 150EH says, it encourages algae. I wouldn't set a fixed schedule. Just watch your nitrates. 

You didn't mention what substrate you are using. My low tech is soil and play sand. When I remove water cleaning my sand, I replace it with water from one of my gravel tanks, which only have java moss and a few stem plants. If I didn't have that option, I'd probably just return the siphoned water minus the debris.


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## kamikazi

150EH said:


> Most articles claim a low tech tank should only do water changes every other month as fresh tap water has higher CO2 than the gassed out tank water so weekly WC's on these type of tanks gets the plants happy and pearling away for 24 to 36 hours and then 5 or 6 day with no CO2 creates a up and down cycle that can cause some problems and one is algae. There are some good articles that can help you keep your tank in tip top shape and this is a good one; http://www.barrreport.com/showthread.php/433-Non-CO2-methods


Thanks for the info! Here is a question though, I have very soft water and over time the pH goes from neutral down to ?, the lowest I let it get was 6.3ish. If I go a every other month with water changes how do I avoid a big pH upswing or should I not be worried?



JackFu said:


> As long as your parameters are good, don't change the water in a low tech tank. Like 150EH says, it encourages algae. I wouldn't set a fixed schedule. Just watch your nitrates.
> 
> You didn't mention what substrate you are using. My low tech is soil and play sand. When I remove water cleaning my sand, I replace it with water from one of my gravel tanks, which only have java moss and a few stem plants. If I didn't have that option, I'd probably just return the siphoned water minus the debris.


Had no idea I shouldn't do water changes often in a low tech tank....

I have two tank, but are low tech but only the 29 is having the issues with the cyano. 

The 29 is floramax with small pea gravel on top. 
The other tank (40 breeder) is sand area at front, with organic choice potting mix capped with very small gravel at back of the tank.

One question unrelated to the topic, How do I clean the pool sand without sucking it all up?


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## shrimpnmoss

The reduction of WC might work on other algae, but I think one of the causes of cyano is lack of water movement and low O2 levels other words stagnate water. I had a vase biotope/walstad no filter experiment with no WC I got cyano within 2 weeks....stinky too...


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## JackFu

kamikazi said:


> One question unrelated to the topic, How do I clean the pool sand without sucking it all up?


I remove the larger part of my gravel siphon and just use the hose. Pinch it off and position it about a 1/4" off the sand. Release the pressure and the lighter debris will get sucked up. When you're done in that area, pinch it off and reposition it. You'll still get some sand, but not much if you're careful.


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## prp427

Ughh! BGA is the only thing that had me questioning whether or not to quit the hobby. I tried almost everything to get rid of it. The most disheartening part was doing a water change, meticulously sucking out all the smelly sliminess that you possibly can, and the next day its back and spreading before your eyes!! 
Believe me, lower your lighting period and intensity (if possible) and it will slowly disappear. 
Good luck!


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## kamikazi

shrimpnmoss said:


> The reduction of WC might work on other algae, but I think one of the causes of cyano is lack of water movement and low O2 levels other words stagnate water. I had a vase biotope/walstad no filter experiment with no WC I got cyano within 2 weeks....stinky too...


definitely not the cause for me...I have two HOB filters one on each end so there is lots of water movement.


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## kamikazi

prp427 said:


> Ughh! BGA is the only thing that had me questioning whether or not to quit the hobby. I tried almost everything to get rid of it. The most disheartening part was doing a water change, meticulously sucking out all the smelly sliminess that you possibly can, and the next day its back and spreading before your eyes!!
> Believe me, lower your lighting period and intensity (if possible) and it will slowly disappear.
> Good luck!


thanks for the support and advice


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## 150EH

My tap waters pH is 7.4, my tank pH is 7.2 in the morning and 6.4 by afternoon, so that's ok. Water movement like said above is very important, I just had a bad case of green water and bought 2 JBJ circ. pumps and a wave maker and my GW was clear in 2 day without any UV Sterilizer, so I was also from the school of low flow. But if you thinking "I do the same thing as these guys but I always have algae problems" then you have low flow too, my fish love the currents and my plants are so happy with more O2. I don't like the look of powerheads in my tank but you can always pull them out when it's time for a pic or hide em behind something.


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## Buff Daddy

Maracyn (not Maracyn II) for 4 days. If it is cyano, erythromycin is your ONLY recourse. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to get rid of it. Been there, done that...


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## freph

I've heard you can spot kill it with peroxide. I haven't had a problem with it since I got rid of my play sand substrate.....that stuff used to come on like the freaking plague, though.


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## 150EH

No one has mentioned the Excel spot treatment on this one, does it work with this type of algae?????


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## jreich

150EH said:


> No one has mentioned the Excel spot treatment on this one, does it work with this type of algae?????


 yes it does but wont fix the root of the issue


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## Ben.

Hydrogen peroxide spot treatment works as well, but again it won't fix the cause.


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## kamikazi

Ok so last night I reduced the photo periods on my timer. I was at two 6 hr periods now I think I'm at 2 5 hour periods. I also raised the light an inch off the top by resting it on my two HOB filters. I'll try this for a few weeks while continuing to manually remove as much as I can and see if there are results. If not I will reduce the photo period again to two 4 hour periods.


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## Kathyy

Feed the plants too. BGA can fix nitrogen from the air but your plants need nitrate to grow. Unless you are cutting the light down and supporting your plants with enough fertilizers and carbon any H2O2 or antibiotic treatment will only knock the BGA back, not stop it from coming right back. Zero nitrate is not a good thing in a planted tank!


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## kamikazi

Kathyy said:


> Feed the plants too. BGA can fix nitrogen from the air but your plants need nitrate to grow. Unless you are cutting the light down and supporting your plants with enough fertilizers and carbon any H2O2 or antibiotic treatment will only knock the BGA back, not stop it from coming right back. Zero nitrate is not a good thing in a planted tank!


Well there are 15 fish in the tank and they get fed once a day. Wouldn't they provide the nitrates?

I also have been dosing Seachem Flourish once a week.


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## guerdonian

I am having the same issue!!!

newer tank of 3 months, and the BGA has barely been held back the entire time. I added an air stone, power head, reduced photoperiod, upped nitrate dosage, EVERYTHING, and it still slowly appears every week prior to my WC. I am doing a 50% WC every week, is this the cause?? (i am running pressurized co2, heavily planted, med-high light, 36gal) Do i just nuke it with Maracyn?

Does BGA always show up in newer tanks?


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## kamikazi

guerdonian said:


> I am having the same issue!!!
> 
> newer tank of 3 months, and the BGA has barely been held back the entire time. I added an air stone, power head, reduced photoperiod, upped nitrate dosage, EVERYTHING, and it still slowly appears every week prior to my WC. I am doing a 50% WC every week, is this the cause?? (i am running pressurized co2, heavily planted, med-high light, 36gal) Do i just nuke it with Maracyn?
> 
> Does BGA always show up in newer tanks?


My tank is 10 or 11 months old. From what others have said in a heavily planted tank weekly water changes shouldn't be done.


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## Kathyy

You have loads of light, the plants could be using all the nitrogen and phosphorus from the fish poop right up. Put a layer of window screen between the lights and the top of the tank as well as shortening up the lighting period.

Low tech planted tanks aren't supposed have water changes but high tech can have lots of water changes if you like. I do ~50% water changes once a week as I fertilize heavily and my plants seem to need the hardness in fresh water.


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## kamikazi

Kathyy said:


> You have loads of light, the plants could be using all the nitrogen and phosphorus from the fish poop right up. Put a layer of window screen between the lights and the top of the tank as well as shortening up the lighting period.
> 
> Low tech planted tanks aren't supposed have water changes but high tech can have lots of water changes if you like. I do ~50% water changes once a week as I fertilize heavily and my plants seem to need the hardness in fresh water.


I have too much light? I got this light because others with the same size tank have this light for low light, low tech setups. Is lauralee around, I base my setup on her 29 gallon.


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## lauraleellbp

Not all low tech tanks are created equal- even when set up the same way. How often tanks need water changes can differ greatly. I generally do water changes much more frequently when first setting up a tank, and then back off over time as I get more familiar with how the nutrients build up. Right now my own 29gal hasn't seen a water change since... um... February, I think? (which is also the last time I saw the tank, so I can't exactly say how it's doing ATM :icon_redf... I am going by to see it next week though LOL) My other low tech tanks get water changes every other month or so right now. If you have issues with your water parameters shifting off from your tap parameters it may be better to do them more frequently, though, and/or consider buffering the tank with some crushed coral in the filter or something along those lines?

BGA is one that you do have to manually remove and kill off to keep from coming back, as it's so fast-growing. I suspect with very fine substrates (like sand) killing it is extremely hard, as it tends to get down in the sand, which doesn't get much water flow.

There's lots of different options for treating BGA, and it sounds to me like they've mostly been hit in this thread, except for the 3 day blackout option.

I haven't had to deal with BGA in a really long time, but the last time I did have a nasty reoccurring case I finally ended up tearing down the tank, sterilizing the substrate, and starting over- that finally did the trick.


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## kamikazi

After spending like 2 hours removing the stuff with a turkey baster I have decided to cut the lighting period to 8 hours, 4 on 2 off 4 on. 

I'm going to try going a month without a water change, only manually removing bga. About 1 bucket worth of turkey baster water removed just about all of it. 

I'm also going to try to get more plants, I'm wondering if maybe I still need more plants. I need a good foreground plant that will work in my setup. 

I moved the filters around slightly to better circulate the water and I removed a old, flatted hair curler I was using to dampen the flow of water coming out of the aquaeon. 

I can see how flow could make a big difference with cyano as I was able to blow sheets of cyano off the wood, plants, and rocks with bursts from the baster.


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## willbldrco

*Yes, Excel kills Cyanobacteria*



150EH said:


> No one has mentioned the Excel spot treatment on this one, does it work with this type of algae?????


Yes, and here's the proof: I have a 90g tank which has a patch of BGA. I spot-treated a small section of the patch with Excel. Before/after pics were taken last night / this morning. Note how Excel eradicated the Cyanobacteria!  

Will
------------------

View angle side:

























View angle front:


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## Booger

Nuke it, siphon it, and root cause it.

IMO, potential causes from most to least likely:
1) Low CO2
2) Low flow
3) Low ferts
4) Abnormally high build up of organics


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## kamikazi

Booger said:


> Nuke it, siphon it, and root cause it.
> 
> IMO, potential causes from most to least likely:
> 1) Low CO2
> 2) Low flow
> 3) Low ferts
> 4) Abnormally high build up of organics


How can I address low co2 if I want to avoid DIY or injecting CO2?


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## jreich

kamikazi said:


> How can I address low co2 if I want to avoid DIY or injecting CO2?


 excell would be your only option.


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## Hilde

Have that light plus a T8 over 29g. When I dosed daily had no algae problems. Been neglecting it thus starting to get some algae. Dealing with it by taking T8 off and trying to dose excel daily. 

Nature is unpredictable. What works for 1 doesn't always work for others. Also knew 1 whom had 3 10 gallon tanks set in a row. Had 1 long light over all three, set up same and dosing the same. Middle tank had BBA problems.

I am thinking dosing with erythromycin beneficial. Also dose with CSM+B Plantex (1tsp weekly) and Excel (10ml daily for until algae controlled then 5ml). Another alternative to excel is 2.5% glutaraldehyde. A gallon $32 (shipment included) on Ebay. Cheaper in the long run.

Water changes every other month until balanced ph.


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## lauraleellbp

kamikazi said:


> How can I address low co2 if I want to avoid DIY or injecting CO2?


Easiest way is to reduce the CO2 demand by lowering the light level and/or photoperiod.


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## kamikazi

lauraleellbp said:


> Easiest way is to reduce the CO2 demand by lowering the light level and/or photoperiod.


thanks, doing that now, so will see what happens


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## guerdonian

*The battle continues*

Question on the excell spot treatment. I have a group of crypts in the foreground of my tank, also the same area where i am getting all the BGA. If i spot treat, will i end up melting the crypts as well?


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## kamikazi

the reduce lighting period seems to have made a big difference. Its been a week and before bba would have recovered everything by now. There is still some in the tank, I'll clean it and see if it continues to improve. I'm also going to go at least a month before the next gravel vac and see what happens, makes me nervous though. Must have faith in plants!


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## herns

lauraleellbp said:


> Easiest way is to reduce the CO2 demand by lowering the light level and/or photoperiod.


True.

My sister has a 10G Low light and no CO2. she just supplement Metricide once in awhile and the plants are happy and thriving without CO2. No algae.


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## Hilde

kamikazi said:


> Its been a week and before bba would have recovered everything by now. There is still some in the tank, I'll clean it and see if it continues to improve.


Is it in a certain area? If so poor circulation could be 1 of the causes. 
What are your nitrates? Mine were low when I had BBA.


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## kamikazi

Hilde said:


> Is it in a certain area? If so poor circulation could be 1 of the causes.
> What are your nitrates? Mine were low when I had BBA.



not in any particular area. 

I'm not sure about the nitrates, I haven't checked since I created this thread.


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## guerdonian

Well an update on my tank.

Dosed 3 packs of maracyn (30 gallons worth) in my 46 gal, combined with a 3 day blackout. Whamo, gone, not even a spot. Now i just need to keep it away.


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## kamikazi

guerdonian said:


> Well an update on my tank.
> 
> Dosed 3 packs of maracyn (30 gallons worth) in my 46 gal, combined with a 3 day blackout. Whamo, gone, not even a spot. Now i just need to keep it away.


are you concerned about the dosing effecting your beneficial bacteria and causing a crash?


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## ddavila06

i used erythromicin, as per package instructions, nothing bad happened. tank didnt crash and the algea/bacteria went away. of course right before the treatment i cleaned off as much crap as possible by hand and i also added a permanent powerhead.


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## orchidman

wow. thanks for all the helpful info in this thread. i was about to give up! i have a lowtech 10g that has issues with BGA. i dose EI and have diy co2. so i have to change the water every week. so im not sure what to do then.

ill try erythromicin


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## guerdonian

kamikazi said:


> are you concerned about the dosing effecting your beneficial bacteria and causing a crash?


Nope, no crash, I also sucked out as much as possible prior to the nuking. Added an airstone, and lowered the amount of water change from 50% weekly to 25%. Not a spot yet, and its been more than a week.


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## m00se

When I had my cyano outbreak I dosed with maracyn per package instructions. In 7 days it was gone - vanished. 

Apple snails, nerites, BN pleco, cherry barb school, and 10 different species of plants all *healthy*. 

Monitored params and nothing changed - no ammonia, no nitrites. I didn't bother to remove any of the vast amounts of BGA in the tank. It just...shrank, then disappeared. I see all these guesses as to what causes it - bad circulation, low/no/too much co2, too much light, too little light, too little O2, too much O2 - everything but that it's a bacteria, not an algae.

IMHO, maracyn should be the FIRST choice to combat BGA, not the last.


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## kamikazi

m00se said:


> When I had my cyano outbreak I dosed with maracyn per package instructions. In 7 days it was gone - vanished.
> 
> Apple snails, nerites, BN pleco, cherry barb school, and 10 different species of plants all *healthy*.
> 
> Monitored params and nothing changed - no ammonia, no nitrites. I didn't bother to remove any of the vast amounts of BGA in the tank. It just...shrank, then disappeared. I see all these guesses as to what causes it - bad circulation, low/no/too much co2, too much light, too little light, too little O2, too much O2 - everything but that it's a bacteria, not an algae.
> 
> IMHO, maracyn should be the FIRST choice to combat BGA, not the last.



it ever return in the tank later?


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## orchidman

i just got some maracyn. started dosing it today.


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## DetMich

+1 To Maracyn. In 5 days my BGA was completely gone and I highly doubt most people had as much as I did. :biggrin:

Before









After


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## orchidman

i have that much! good to know it is effective!


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## kamikazi

I got macryn today, waiting till later this week to get flourish excel so I can start dosing that. BUT...

My question is do I just do the first macryn dose then let it kill the bga or do I need to continue dosing each day according to the instructions till all the bga is gone?


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## JoraaÑ

According to the instructions..You are dosing antibiotic. so full course is must!


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## m00se

kamikazi said:


> it ever return in the tank later?


Sorry - was out of town ;-)

No, it hasn't returned (5 weeks now)

GL


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## m00se

kamikazi said:


> I got macryn today, waiting till later this week to get flourish excel so I can start dosing that. BUT...
> 
> My question is do I just do the first macryn dose then let it kill the bga or do I need to continue dosing each day according to the instructions till all the bga is gone?



Yes, you must dose per package instructions. Remember that you can create a Godzilla!! nightmare!! drug resistant!! bacteria if you fail to complete an antibiotic regimen. So don't start it if you can't finish it. I had to buy 2 packages to get 5 days worth of treatment for my 30 gallon. I just went ahead and used the last packets on day 6 because I hate throwing things away that I pay good money for, and I didn't think it would hurt any.

I had at least as much as the pictures above in my tank, and when I say it vanished, I mean gone...

:icon_lol:


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## m00se

Oh, and I didn't do any water changes during this time. I wanted the full strength Magilla. I just waited for my regular water change time.


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## drbotts

Just a note, I had someone tell me they used Erythromycin once every 6mo regardless. It is harmless to fish and just keeps negative bacterial blooms down. The proactive approach.


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## kamikazi

m00se said:


> Yes, you must dose per package instructions. Remember that you can create a Godzilla!! nightmare!! drug resistant!! bacteria if you fail to complete an antibiotic regimen. So don't start it if you can't finish it. I had to buy 2 packages to get 5 days worth of treatment for my 30 gallon. I just went ahead and used the last packets on day 6 because I hate throwing things away that I pay good money for, and I didn't think it would hurt any.
> :icon_lol:


Thanks I'll have to go get a second packet of the stuff. They only had two I hope its still there when I go back or else I'll have to get the expensive 24 pack.



drbotts said:


> Just a note, I had someone tell me they used Erythromycin once every 6mo regardless. It is harmless to fish and just keeps negative bacterial blooms down. The proactive approach.


interesting if it ever comes back after i kill I might consider trying this


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## kamikazi

alright I got 16 packets of macryn now so that should be enough to treat my 29 gallon tank.

My question now...the instructions say to dose 1 pack per 10 gallons. Is it talking about actual gallons of water in the aquarium or tank name gallons?

For example my 29 gallon tank doesn't really hold 29 gallons, once you take out space for glass thickness, substrate, rocks, and wood I might only have 25 gallons.
So would I dose for 29 or for 25?


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## orchidman

ive been dosing maracyn for three days now. not really noticing much of a difference


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## kamikazi

kamikazi said:


> My question now...the instructions say to dose 1 pack per 10 gallons. Is it talking about actual gallons of water in the aquarium or tank name gallons?
> 
> For example my 29 gallon tank doesn't really hold 29 gallons, once you take out space for glass thickness, substrate, rocks, and wood I might only have 25 gallons.
> So would I dose for 29 or for 25?



I need to start taking care of the junk when I get home from work today, could someone please answer the question quoted above? Thanks


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## orchidman

i would just treat for 29 gallons. or 30 to make it easier


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## m00se

You are going neurotic on us ;-)

Treat for 30 gallons...and don't lick the packets clean...

Cheers


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## m00se

orchidman said:


> ive been dosing maracyn for three days now. not really noticing much of a difference



orchidman: Don't worry, it takes at least 3 days to begin seeing it work. I suspect by today sometime you will see a definite shrinkage and/or peeling.

Hang in there - if it is indeed cyano, it will respond!


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## orchidman

i actually just noticed its geting a little bit better.


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## kamikazi

m00se said:


> You are going neurotic on us ;-)
> 
> Treat for 30 gallons...and don't lick the packets clean...
> 
> Cheers



its the evil green slime in my tank! its driving me mad! 

Hoping to be getting Excel today. Once I kill the stuff Im hopeful that the combination of my new raised, timed lighting plus EI/excel dosing will put a stop to the junk.


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## BlueJack

Thought this was interesting

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110801094249.htm


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## kamikazi

BlueJack said:


> Thought this was interesting
> 
> http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110801094249.htm


hmm so I can just turn my tank into a production facility for hydrogen. then I can get a hydrogen fueled car and not worry about gasoline.


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## shiloh

I had ridiculous bga problems in my tank. I found that the root cause is an imbalance of light and nitrates. If you have a well planted tank & high light, you need appropriate levels of nitrates to get good growth and prevent bga.


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## kamikazi

shiloh said:


> I had ridiculous bga problems in my tank. I found that the root cause is an imbalance of light and nitrates. If you have a well planted tank & high light, you need appropriate levels of nitrates to get good growth and prevent bga.


how do you know what appropriate levels of nitrate is?

my tank is low to medium light


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## Hilde

kamikazi said:


> how do you know what appropriate levels of nitrate is?


At Rex Grigs site found that Nitrates are to be 10 - 20 ppm. My nitrates were unreadable until I started over feeding the fish. Was purely accidental for had a cichlid that had problems getting food. Then nitrates went above 20.

Most say imbalance of Co2 and lights are the cause of algae. When my nitrates were low I had BBA (black brush algae) problems. When they went above 20 I had string algae which did not harm the plants.


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## kamikazi

maybe I need to up my feeding b/c I get barely if any nitrate reading. im using test strips though. 

I do only feed once a day


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## shiloh

Hilde said:


> Most say imbalance of Co2 and lights are the cause of algae. When my nitrates were low I had BBA (black brush algae) problems. When they went above 20 I had string algae which did not harm the plants.


Well, algae control is really an issue of balance between macronutrients (nitrate), light, and co2. My point was that bga in particular is prevalent in low-nitrate situations.

What fauna are in this tank? If regular feeding doesn't give you readable nitrate levels (EI suggests nitrates in 10-20 range), you might want to look into supplementing with dry ferts (KNO3 for nitrate).

Rex Griggs guide is fairly useful in understanding some of this.


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## kamikazi

shiloh said:


> Well, algae control is really an issue of balance between macronutrients (nitrate), light, and co2. My point was that bga in particular is prevalent in low-nitrate situations.
> 
> What fauna are in this tank? If regular feeding doesn't give you readable nitrate levels (EI suggests nitrates in 10-20 range), you might want to look into supplementing with dry ferts (KNO3 for nitrate).
> 
> Rex Griggs guide is fairly useful in understanding some of this.


I have bga in both my 29 and 40, but have had more issues with it in my 29 than the 40. The 40 isn't completely stocked with fish yet so I would imagine there probably is very low nitrate in that tank.

the 29 has 2 angels, 1 BR, 1 otto, 2 cory cats, 9 pristella tetras and a cardinal tetra. and yes I know really should have more cories, ottos and cardinals.

After I attempt to nuke the cyano with Macryn I am planning on starting EI and Excel dosing, so that would provide the KNO3


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## Hilde

kamikazi said:


> I am planning on starting EI and Excel dosing, so that would provide the KNO3


Cheapest route is to get CSM+B and KNO3 here


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## shiloh

And how many plants in the 29? How well are they growing? That fish load is moderate, I'd say. You should see some nitrates unless your plants are going gangbusters and using them all up instantly.


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## kamikazi

Hilde said:


> Cheapest route is to get CSM+B and KNO3 here


Planning on getting GH Booster, KNO3, KH2PO4 and Plantex CSM+B from there.



shiloh said:


> And how many plants in the 29? How well are they growing? That fish load is moderate, I'd say. You should see some nitrates unless your plants are going gangbusters and using them all up instantly.


You think my fish load is moderate? I was thinking I was overstocked.

You can see the pictures in the 29 gallon journal. The most up to date pictures should be on the last page.


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## amberskye

I keep reading that BGA is partly due to low nitrates. I have BGA in my low light/ no CO2 tank but I always have nitrates of 40PPM as that is what my tapwater contains. It is a tall tank and i dont have airstones or PH. Should I do that? Also, where is the best place to position an airstone? LFS told me directly underneath the water-in hose so that the bubbles go directly into the filtered water coming in. Is that right? My tank is so tall I doubt the bubbles would make it up that far.


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## shiloh

amberskye said:


> I keep reading that BGA is partly due to low nitrates. I have BGA in my low light/ no CO2 tank but I always have nitrates of 40PPM as that is what my tapwater contains. It is a tall tank and i dont have airstones or PH. Should I do that? Also, where is the best place to position an airstone? LFS told me directly underneath the water-in hose so that the bubbles go directly into the filtered water coming in. Is that right? My tank is so tall I doubt the bubbles would make it up that far.


I think that this is one of the best algae-references out there. Check this to read some on bga.

In regards to your tank, airstones can never hurt, especially when there is no co2 involved. Placement is not as important with air pumps since the flow is so high, but ideally you should place it so that the bubbles get distributed to as much of the tank as possible.

Also, I highly doubt that your tap is running 40ppm nitrates, that would be exceedingly high.


----------



## amberskye

actually could you look at this report? Is it saying it could be as high as 50PPM?

*Nitrate 
The high productivity of the Anglian region’s arable farming gives rise to high concentrations of nitrate in rivers and some groundwaters. Nitrate concentrations in our source waters have continued to increase over recent years. Where necessary, we operate and will continue to invest in a combination of nitrate removal plants and blending schemes to reduce these high levels of nitrate to below the 50 milligramme per litre standard. At sites where the concentration of nitrate is reduced by treatment or blending, the concentration of nitrate is continuously monitored.

During the period January 2011 to March 2011, 2 samples were taken for nitrate in the Kings Lynn supply zone, all of which complied with the regulatory standard of 50 milligrammes per litre. The average value for nitrate in this supply zone during this period was 31.3 milligrammes per litre.*


----------



## sewingalot

amberskye said:


> I keep reading that BGA is partly due to low nitrates. I have BGA in my low light/ no CO2 tank but I always have nitrates of 40PPM as that is what my tapwater contains. It is a tall tank and i dont have airstones or PH. Should I do that? Also, where is the best place to position an airstone? LFS told me directly underneath the water-in hose so that the bubbles go directly into the filtered water coming in. Is that right? My tank is so tall I doubt the bubbles would make it up that far.


I think the main reason they say that BGA is due to low nitrates is because of the enzyme Nitrogenase cyanobacteria possess. This means BGA (cyanobacteria) is able to take nitrogen from the air and fixate it to a usable form. Other algae can't do this and this is often why you see BGA in low nitrate areas. So you will see it more prevelant in a nitrate free or deficient tank because it can make it's own food even in places where other forms of plants and algae cannot exist. 

You can have BGA/cyanobacteria in both higher nitrates and lower nitrate environments. That is why sometimes antibiotics is your best method.

If you are trying to create more oxygen in your water, just create surface movement by lowering your water a bit or raising your spray bar. More effective than an air stone and free.


----------



## bsmith

I'm not sure what the differences are between maracyn and straight Erythromycin but I cleared my tank of Cyanobacteria with Erythro. Feel free to read the thread I started originally trying to get to the bottom of GDA. Through the course of the thread I found that cyanobacteria was causing my plants to grow poorly because it was stripping N from the water. When the plants grow poorly this allows algae (GDA) to get a foothold and in my case envelope the tank. 

Now after 5-6 days of Erythro treatment,a good cleaning and a 50% WC my plants are all growing beautifully, the water is clear and the GDA is back to what I would call very minimal for a high tech tank like mine. 

Good luck!


----------



## kamikazi

macryn is basically erythro, active ingredient in macryn is erythro


----------



## loveflying

kamikazi said:


> macryn is basically erythro, active ingredient in macryn is erythro


I just bought maracyn to fight off the nasty stuff and while I was at the store I checked out the Erythromycin too. It said that each packet for the Erythromycin contained 200mg of Erythromycin. The maracyn contains 200mg Erythromycin per packet as well. The only difference was the that the API Erythromycin came with only ten packets at $19.99 at Petsmart, while the maracyn came with 24 packets at $14.99 at Petsmart. Because of the obvious difference in quantity and pricing I went for the maracyn.


----------



## kamikazi

loveflying said:


> I just bought maracyn to fight off the nasty stuff and while I was at the store I checked out the Erythromycin too. It said that each packet for the Erythromycin contained 200mg of Erythromycin. The maracyn contains 200mg Erythromycin per packet as well. The only difference was the that the API Erythromycin came with only ten packets at $19.99 at Petsmart, while the maracyn came with 24 packets at $14.99 at Petsmart. Because of the obvious difference in quantity and pricing I went for the maracyn.


yeh, only down side is its 1 packet per 10 gallons, so each day of treating a 29 gallon tank you are throwing like $1.88 at the tank each day. But hey small price to pay if it kills the junk I guess. Cause if it took over completely and killed all the plants then I'd be out alot more replacing them all.


----------



## Hilde

Looking at the liquid form here it seems cheaper in the long run for treatment is 2 tsp per 10 gallons.


----------



## m00se

Hilde said:


> Looking at the liquid form here it seems cheaper in the long run for treatment is 2 tsp per 10 gallons.


ehhh...except that it isn't erythromycin....

It's not cheap to treat the tank. It's still less than $20 for a 30 gallon tank.


----------



## slobodan

Hi all, I got Erythromicyn from e-bay for ~$30 for 30 500mg tablets..


----------



## kamikazi

Hilde said:


> Looking at the liquid form here it seems cheaper in the long run for treatment is 2 tsp per 10 gallons.


yeh not sure that would work on BGA.


----------



## kamikazi

day one of macryn, getting excel Wed., probably put an order in for the dry ferts tomorrow


----------



## m00se

After my stint with the BGA and being happy that it was gone I turned my focus to the BBA I had in the tank. I was running DIY CO2 at about 1-2 BPS with the associated fluctuations that DIY has inherent. Research told me that this was the probable cause of the BBA. So...

I completely removed every plant from my tank Sunday and sprayed them down with H2O2, hoping to kill off the BBA. Well, it sure killed off the algae, but now my vals are melting, and I see signs of distress on other plants, but no major meltoff (yet). And wouldn't you know it, I see some new BBA popping up on the edges of some leaves. I am at wits end here. I run about 2-3 BPS pressurized CO2 through a cerges reactor. I dose dry ferts per EI method. Flourish Comprehensive for micros. I don't have a drop checker yet, but I go from 7.2 to 6.3 pH during the light period. 

I have plenty of circulation, and 39 watts over 30 gallons. If this BBA comes back I'm going to lose it, really....sigh


----------



## bsmith

If you dont want BBA you just need to get pressurized co2, simple as that. You will never have enough/constant enough co2 levels with DIY.


----------



## m00se

I turn pressure on with solenoid one hour on prior to lights @ 2-3 BPS on a 30 gallon tank.


----------



## bsmith

I see, you said WAS running DIY. Now you have pressurized. My bad. 

Just crank up the BPS till you see the fauna start to stress then turn it back a pinch.


----------



## m00se

Yea I could have been clearer there ;-)

I had DIY CO2 for months on the tank and knew I would have troubles eventually. The BGA was the more immediate concern in the tank but the BBA was definitely annoying. Once the BGA was vanquished, attention was turned to the BBA. This tank's only had the pressurized setup since the middle of July. We're optimistic it will correct itself.

Cheers


----------



## CaliEAB

I've found that adding a UV makes a world of difference by giving you some wiggle room on your parameters against many unwanted guests. Fish stay healthier too. Adds to the operating costs but cheaper than antibiotic prophylaxis as suggested above. Antibiotics are great but chronic dosing is a recipe for making resistant strains. Not to mention, where do you think the medicine goes when you do your water change? Into the sewers and lakes where it remains biologically relevant.


----------



## freph

I always had BGA when I had gravel or play sand for substrate and plastic ornaments....ever since I switched to pool filter sand and a small amount of real plants I've had no issues with it or pretty much any algae. Knock on wood, lol.


----------



## kamikazi

finished the 5 day treatment of macryn on my 29 gallon. It appears to have worked, yay! 

I also got a 2L bottle of Excel and dry ferts should be in any day. 

Time to focus on growing the plants!


----------



## Hadley

Am I the only one who's been able to fix this problem with dosing Excel? TBH, I haven't done a water change in that tank in about a month, the BGA started, I started dosing Excel, the sheets separated from what it was attached to and today I have to clean it off. Going to do a good water change, increase my flow (I noticed it started when I decreased my flow) and then in a week replace my filter. 

Not nearly the nightmare I would have thought it would be after reading this thread.


----------



## kamikazi

Hadley said:


> Am I the only one who's been able to fix this problem with dosing Excel? TBH, I haven't done a water change in that tank in about a month, the BGA started, I started dosing Excel, the sheets separated from what it was attached to and today I have to clean it off. Going to do a good water change, increase my flow (I noticed it started when I decreased my flow) and then in a week replace my filter.
> 
> Not nearly the nightmare I would have thought it would be after reading this thread.


I hope this will be the case for my 40 gallon tank b/c dosing it with macryn will be pricey. I did my first dose of Excel yesterday so we'll see how things progress.

I got it in that tank after transferring plants from my 29 to it. I thought I rinsed all the BGA off, didn't do any kind of dip. Guess I didn't get it and it transferred from the 29 to the 40. At least its not as bad in the 40 as it was in the 29. I wish I had before and after pics of the 29.


----------



## Hadley

kamikazi said:


> I hope this will be the case for my 40 gallon tank b/c dosing it with macryn will be pricey. I did my first dose of Excel yesterday so we'll see how things progress.
> 
> I got it in that tank after transferring plants from my 29 to it. I thought I rinsed all the BGA off, didn't do any kind of dip. Guess I didn't get it and it transferred from the 29 to the 40. At least its not as bad in the 40 as it was in the 29. I wish I had before and after pics of the 29.


The first thing I did was add an amano shrimp who didn't touch the stuff so I decided to just dose Excel. I've been doing double the recommended dose for the size of the tank for four days and all the BGA has lifted away from what it was attached to and is coming off in stringy layers. 

Today I saw my nerite cruising the leaves the BGA was attached to and one is complete free of it, so today I'm going to remove the log (it's just on the log and my anubias that are attached) and clean them all off, put them back in and see how it goes.

I'm hopeful.


----------



## gagaliya

problem solved, bga gone: http://www.aquariumplants.com/ALGAECIDE_Algae_control_for_the_aquarium_p/fe836.htm

only time i recommend putting non-fertz chemical in my tank.


----------



## m00se

eh..no thanks - without knowing what the ingredients are in those capsules, it wouldn't be worth the risk to me. I'll stick with erythromycin, a known substance with 100% effectiveness.


----------



## bsmith

gagaliya said:


> problem solved, bga gone: http://www.aquariumplants.com/ALGAECIDE_Algae_control_for_the_aquarium_p/fe836.htm
> 
> only time i recommend putting non-fertz chemical in my tank.


How many caps do you get for $13.99? It looks to be much cheaper then API Erythro. I think between my 37g and my 60-p (~18g) treating the way I did (almost double dosing for 5-6 days) I probably spent close to $100 in meds... 



m00se said:


> eh..no thanks - without knowing what the ingredients are in those capsules, it wouldn't be worth the risk to me. I'll stick with erythromycin, a known substance with 100% effectiveness.


I am with you on that one. AP.com is a pretty reputable retailer though. If it were eBay and it was some asain co then I wouldn't touch it. I may try to contact them to get an ingredient list because as I said above it would/could be a much more frugal option.


----------



## m00se

yea, ebay has 500 mg caps for about $1 a cap, but the ship time is ~3 weeks.

http://tinyurl.com/3rsqrnd


----------



## DarkCobra

I'm starting to wonder if erythromycin is still manufactured by any major pharmaceutical company.

A few years back, I purchased a bottle of "Fish Mycin", 60x250mg, for $25. Just one of many aquarium/veterinary sources of erythromycin cheaper than Maracyn. Now every alternative is listed as discontinued or out of stock, on every retail website I've checked.

I also found the following:

"_Abbott discontinued several oral erythromycin presentations by mid-December 2010. The rest of the oral erythromycin products were previously sold to Arbor Pharmaceuticals in late-November, 2010. Consolidated Midland and Actavis discontinued all erythromycin preparations._"


----------



## bsmith

I would think that for people anyway, there would bs much better anti biotics out there.


----------



## kamikazi

I really interested in these capsule gagaliya posted. I need to kill BGA in my 40 gallon tank and Macryn although it worked for my 29 is too expensive for my 40.

BSmith please post what you find out about the ingredients list.


----------



## DarkCobra

bsmith said:


> I would think that for people anyway, there would bs much better anti biotics out there.


True. Does the same apply for BGA treatment though?

Oh, and as for the AP capsules, they're only a reseller. And it appears they neglected to copy-and-paste the active ingredient, not to mention how many capsules you get. Just go to the source instead:

http://plantguild.com/bluegreenalgaecide.html

Erythromycin, 20 capsules.


----------



## bsmith

DarkCobra said:


> True. Does the same apply for BGA treatment though?
> 
> Oh, and as for the AP capsules, they're only a reseller. And it appears they neglected to copy-and-paste the active ingredient, not to mention how many capsules you get. Just go to the source instead:
> 
> http://plantguild.com/bluegreenalgaecide.html
> 
> Erythromycin, 20 capsules.


Nice find DC! I know the pic is the same but if I remember correctly the AP stuff says to dose one capsule for 50g and to only do another dose in 5 days if you still have algae after the first treatment. The Plantguild stuff says one capsule per 10g. 

Im not sure they are the same, just the same pill pic?


----------



## kamikazi

something is wrong with the plantguild website, I tried adding to cart to see what the total price with shipping would be and I get sent to THISwebpage 

I can get an 8 count for 7.99 or a 24 pack for 21.99 of Mardel Maracyn from Petsmart

Aquarium plants its 19.99 with shipping


----------



## darkoon

you can lower your water level during treatment to cut your cost.


----------



## kamikazi

darkoon said:


> you can lower your water level during treatment to cut your cost.


hadn't thought of that, only problem I can see with that is the BGA goes up the wall of the tank to the current water level.

I can clean it off manually, then drain and treat what remains but to be sure any remnants on the wall are killed I would really need to treat the entire tank at full capacity.


----------



## DarkCobra

Buried within AP's description, it's referred to specifically as "PlantGuild Blue-Green Algaecide", which is how I found the PlantGuild site.

I don't know why the dosage instructions are different.

But I don't trust AP anyway. I've had previous issue with misleading descriptions on their webpage. Even setting past experience aside, if AP can't bother to post the active ingredient and capsule count, I'd prefer to do business with PlantGuild instead. 

EDIT: Which may be difficult considering PlantGuild's shopping cart doesn't work... sigh.


----------



## bsmith

DarkCobra said:


> Buried within AP's description, it's referred to specifically as "PlantGuild Blue-Green Algaecide", which is how I found the PlantGuild site.
> 
> I don't know why the dosage instructions are different.
> 
> But I don't trust AP anyway. I've had previous issue with misleading descriptions on their webpage. Even setting past experience aside, if AP can't bother to post the active ingredient and capsule count, I'd prefer to do business with PlantGuild instead.
> 
> EDIT: Which may be difficult considering PlantGuild's shopping cart doesn't work... sigh.


Nice work! :biggrin:


----------



## kamikazi

I sent an email to AP and they responded saying that only 5 capsules come in the container.

I wonder how many people they have ripped off b/c people think they are getting 20 like plantguild sales. 5 capsules for 20 bucks, I'm better off going to petsmart and getting the mardell maracyn. 

I might trying contacting plant guild and ask about the shopping cart issue.


----------



## kamikazi

well here is why the shopping cart is messed up i guess
http://plantguild.com/plantguild_suspended/welcome.html


----------



## Hadley

Have you guys tried Excel? It worked for my BGA and isn't overly expensive. Just took 4 days.


----------



## kamikazi

I started dosing excel in both my tanks last week, haven't noticed any change in my 40. 

You said you doubled the dose?


----------



## bsmith

Excel would have to be spot dosed or overdosed in copious amounts to kill BGA. Were talking about bacteria here not plants life/algae.


----------



## DarkCobra

kamikazi said:


> well here is why the shopping cart is messed up i guess
> http://plantguild.com/plantguild_suspended/welcome.html


That explains it.  Hate to see illness strike any member of the planted tank family.



Hadley said:


> Have you guys tried Excel? It worked for my BGA and isn't overly expensive. Just took 4 days.


I did try that when BGA first appeared in my 46G. I'd used readily-available Maracyn in other, smaller tanks up to this point; but with a tank this large, it was going to be expensive. So I used 2x Excel, squirting it directly on any visible BGA for greater effect.

Eventually the BGA went away and did not visibly return in that tank. But over months, I figured out it must still be there, in trace amounts. Because every time I transferred plants from that tank to other, low-tech tanks, it was soon followed by a BGA outbreak in those tanks.

That's when I purchased the bottle of "Fish Mycin". Having a large surplus of erythromycin, I decided to just treat all my tanks simultaneously, whether I suspected them of having BGA or not. Haven't seen BGA in years now.


----------



## gagaliya

kamikazi said:


> I sent an email to AP and they responded saying that only 5 capsules come in the container.
> 
> I wonder how many people they have ripped off b/c people think they are getting 20 like plantguild sales. 5 capsules for 20 bucks, I'm better off going to petsmart and getting the mardell maracyn.
> 
> I might trying contacting plant guild and ask about the shopping cart issue.


it's 5 capsules but i only needed 1 dose, not daily dose like the other brands. I followed the instruction on aquariumplants website, did 1 dose and waited 5 days. And bga was gone, so i didnt repeat. Also 1 capsules is enough for 50 gallons where as those aquarium pharmaceuticals packets only dose 10 gallon each. 

I emailed aquariumplants, they confirmed it's erythromycin. 

As to which is most cost effective, i have no idea but the aquariumplants worked perfectly for me. I would paid anything to get those nasty green slime out of my tank.


----------



## kamikazi

gagaliya said:


> I would paid anything to get those nasty green slime out of my tank.


definitely hear ya on that!


----------



## ua hua

Today I went to my LFS to get some Maracyn and they didn't have any so I asked if they could order some and he told me that they can no longer get the package with the individual packets because they were no longer making it. He told me he could get a big box of the powder but it was $250. He said the big box was more for vets or zoos. Since I have no need for that much I went to Earl May nursery center just to check if they had some and they had 1 box of the API erithromycin and told the guy there what the LFS had told me and he said they can no longer get the Maracyn from Mardel or erithromycin from API either. So what I would like to know is are these companies going to stop marketing these products. If they are I may have to stock up just in case. And just to point this out, I have used just a couple of the packets in my 90 gal before and it completely got rid of it for over a year until recently it came back. I don't believe that it is necessary to dose 1 packet per 10 gal. for 5 consecutive days as per the instructions. I believe the instructions are more for using the product as a medication so I think maybe that is why AP.com says to use just 1 packet of the product that they sell.


----------



## DarkCobra

API never manufactured erythromycin. They just purchased it from a pharmaceutical company and repackaged it as Maracyn.

If what you're saying it true, then it sounds like even API can't get erythromycin anymore. That's very bad news indeed!

I am well-stocked, and keeping it in the fridge to extend its life. But eventually we're going to have to look into alternative antibiotics to treat BGA.


----------



## ua hua

DarkCobra said:


> API never manufactured erythromycin. They just purchased it from a pharmaceutical company and repackaged it as Maracyn.
> 
> If what you're saying it true, then it sounds like even API can't get erythromycin anymore. That's very bad news indeed!
> 
> I am well-stocked, and keeping it in the fridge to extend its life. But eventually we're going to have to look into alternative antibiotics to treat BGA.


 
Maracyn is the name that Mardel uses. API labels their erythromycin as E.M. Erythromycin. I have never seen a API product that was labeled Maracyn. I don't think that any of these companies actually manufactured the erythromycin themseleves. I believe that they all get it from a pharmaceutical company and package for resale. Either way it sounds like it may be hard to get in the very near future. Maybe it is time to stock up unless someone finds and alternative treatment for BGA.


----------



## DarkCobra

Oops, thanks for the correction on the company names.


----------



## bsmith

ua hua said:


> Today I went to my LFS to get some Maracyn and they didn't have any so I asked if they could order some and he told me that they can no longer get the package with the individual packets because they were no longer making it. He told me he could get a big box of the powder but it was $250. He said the big box was more for vets or zoos. Since I have no need for that much I went to Earl May nursery center just to check if they had some and they had 1 box of the API erithromycin and told the guy there what the LFS had told me and he said they can no longer get the Maracyn from Mardel or erithromycin from API either. So what I would like to know is are these companies going to stop marketing these products. If they are I may have to stock up just in case. And just to point this out, I have used just a couple of the packets in my 90 gal before and it completely got rid of it for over a year until recently it came back. I don't believe that it is necessary to dose 1 packet per 10 gal. for 5 consecutive days as per the instructions. I believe the instructions are more for using the product as a medication so I think maybe that is why AP.com says to use just 1 packet of the product that they sell.


How much Erythro at what strength can you get for $250? If it's going to be hard to get I would be happy to get in on a group buy or something and would also be happy to resell it to people. 

I dont really need any right now as the two tanks I had that were effected are nice and clear.


----------



## ua hua

bsmith said:


> How much Erythro at what strength can you get for $250? If it's going to be hard to get I would be happy to get in on a group buy or something and would also be happy to resell it to people.
> 
> I dont really need any right now as the two tanks I had that were effected are nice and clear.


 
I didn't ask how much was in the box and what strength it was because I wouldn't use that much in my lifetime. I would think that the strength would be the same as the stuff you get in the packets you would just have to measure it out proportionately. I will stop back in next week and get some more info because I'm curious as to if these companies are really going to stop offering this product for sale to the public. API does sell a 850 gram package for $99.99 on Dr. Foster and Smiths site. I was wondering if anyone else has heard anything about these companies no longer offering or producing this product.


----------



## bsmith

If there was enough in the $250 deal to make it able to provide it to people cheap enough I think it would be worth it. For instance if you have a 50g and use the API stuff (15 packets 1 packet/10g) and treat for 6 days that's $30 which I think is ridiculous.


----------



## ua hua

I never found it necessary to treat the 1 packet/10gal for 6 consecutive days as the package recommends. As I stated above I believe the instructions are more for using the product as an antibiotic as it's intended for, which is why you would want to treat for the full 6 days to get rid of any bacterial infections. I had good results when I used 2-3 packets for my 90gal only 1 time. The BGA was wiped out for a year before it made an appearance again in the last month. I don't know what exactly causes this cyanobacteria to show up but I'm not completely convinced that low nitrates are the only factor that causes this to appear. My routine with regards to dosing and maintenence are the same as they always have been but this stuff seems to show up when the temp gets warmer and I have ambient light coming from my front windows. And who knows what the different water parameters that are coming from my tap from month to month. I don't have the time nor do I care to check my water parameters all the time. But just saying that low nitrates are a cause is a hard pill to swallow especially when my dosing routine stays the same. I think that some correlate low nitrate readings as the cause when in fact it may be more the effect of the BGA than the cause since BGA eats up all the nitrates.


----------



## bsmith

ua hua said:


> I never found it necessary to treat the 1 packet/10gal for 6 consecutive days as the package recommends. As I stated above I believe the instructions are more for using the product as an antibiotic as it's intended for, which is why you would want to treat for the full 6 days to get rid of any bacterial infections. I had good results when I used 2-3 packets for my 90gal only 1 time. The BGA was wiped out for a year before it made an appearance again in the last month. I don't know what exactly causes this cyanobacteria to show up but I'm not completely convinced that low nitrates are the only factor that causes this to appear. My routine with regards to dosing and maintenence are the same as they always have been but this stuff seems to show up when the temp gets warmer and I have ambient light coming from my front windows. And who knows what the different water parameters that are coming from my tap from month to month. I don't have the time nor do I care to check my water parameters all the time. But just saying that low nitrates are a cause is a hard pill to swallow especially when my dosing routine stays the same. I think that some correlate low nitrate readings as the cause when in fact it may be more the effect of the BGA than the cause since BGA eats up all the nitrates.


I would 100% say that low nitrates is an effect and not the cause of cyanobacteria. Since its a N fixing animal it gobbles up all of it that can be had. That was why my tank was doing so crappy when I had all this going on. the Cyano was taking all the N and my plants did not have enough, this in turn allowed the GDA to go crazy in my tank.


----------



## DarkCobra

bsmith said:


> If it's going to be hard to get I would be happy to get in on a group buy or something and would also be happy to resell it to people.


I have a surplus of a few medications at this point, and inquired here about the possibility of reselling at cost, or sometimes RAOKing, small portions via SnS. I was told that it was not legal for me, as an individual, to repackage and ship medications that would require a prescription for human use, even if they're intended for aquarium use.

Don't know if that's true or not but I decided to avoid it. Friends and local aquatic clubs are another matter.


----------



## gagaliya

just in case someone actually likes bga! now you can take them home and cuddle with it! 

http://www.warehouse23.com/item.html?id=GM09001


----------



## kamikazi

ua hua said:


> Today I went to my LFS to get some Maracyn and they didn't have any so I asked if they could order some and he told me that they can no longer get the package with the individual packets because they were no longer making it. He told me he could get a big box of the powder but it was $250. He said the big box was more for vets or zoos. Since I have no need for that much I went to Earl May nursery center just to check if they had some and they had 1 box of the API erithromycin and told the guy there what the LFS had told me and he said they can no longer get the Maracyn from Mardel or erithromycin from API either. So what I would like to know is are these companies going to stop marketing these products. If they are I may have to stock up just in case. And just to point this out, I have used just a couple of the packets in my 90 gal before and it completely got rid of it for over a year until recently it came back. I don't believe that it is necessary to dose 1 packet per 10 gal. for 5 consecutive days as per the instructions. I believe the instructions are more for using the product as a medication so I think maybe that is why AP.com says to use just 1 packet of the product that they sell.


Maracyn by Mardel is available at Pets Mart. It's still being manufactured.


----------



## ua hua

I know that stores still have it available but I was told by the guy who owns my LFS that Mardel was not offering the packages of Maracyn anymore. I don't know how much truth is in that but I was told by 2 different places that they couldn't order it anymore.


----------



## kamikazi

ua hua said:


> I know that stores still have it available but I was told by the guy who owns my LFS that Mardel was not offering the packages of Maracyn anymore. I don't know how much truth is in that but I was told by 2 different places that they couldn't order it anymore.


i see what you are saying...

I'll ask about that next time I stop in there.


----------



## jhwku

I just picked up mardel maracyn yesterday from my lfs. They had both maracyn and erythromycin in powder form. Lets see this ugly stuff go away finally


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## DarkCobra

I cut to the chase and called Sergeant's, owner of the Mardel line. The representative I spoke to says the erythromycin based Maracyn packets are still being manufactured. She specifically mentioned PetCo and PetSmart as carrying the product, though individual stores may vary.

So it appears erythromycin isn't going away entirely, though the loss of a few manufacturers seems to have eliminated many alternate sources. If PlantGuild comes back (and I remember), I'll call them and see what they have to say; but I won't pester them while they're dealing with whatever personal crisis has caused them to suspend normal operations.


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## kamikazi

DarkCobra said:


> I cut to the chase and called Sergeant's, owner of the Mardel line. The representative I spoke to says the erythromycin based Maracyn packets are still being manufactured. She specifically mentioned PetCo and PetSmart as carrying the product, though individual stores may vary.
> 
> So it appears erythromycin isn't going away entirely, though the loss of a few manufacturers seems to have eliminated many alternate sources. If PlantGuild comes back (and I remember), I'll call them and see what they have to say; but I won't pester them while they're dealing with whatever personal crisis has caused them to suspend normal operations.


Thanks for making the call cobra


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## amberskye

thanks all. I didnt use the erythromycin or maracyn in the end. Just turned off the lights and did a black out for 5 days. All gone  AND the nitrogen cycle never got disturbed, didnt lose a fish or a plant. Im definately against using chemicals now....no need


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## kamikazi

amberskye said:


> thanks all. I didnt use the erythromycin or maracyn in the end. Just turned off the lights and did a black out for 5 days. All gone  AND the nitrogen cycle never got disturbed, didnt lose a fish or a plant. Im definately against using chemicals now....no need


did you completely black out the tank?

glad to hear that worked for ya. In my case I decided to go with maracyn because people reported in this thread that black outs failed them. The only method I found where 100% of the people that tried it said it worked was Maracyn. 

If I were going to recommend a treatment to someone who is experience BGA for the first time and is nervous about treatment with chemicals I would suggest first trying a blackout and if that fails try double dose of Excel like Hadley did. If that fails go with Maracyn.


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## kamikazi

I updated the original post to include a summary of the information in this thread and the other thread that wkndracer provided.


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## acadialover

*Bga*

wow, this has been quite a thread. I have been searching the internet on this subject as I have now encountered this in several tanks. Two five gallon BEtta tanks with plants and heat and low flow, and a 45 bowfront also.
Trying to decide if the blackout method would work or do the marycn dosing. iI would love to know if one dosing of the marycn works for the BGA ?? Can anyone get back to me on how it worked for them and how they did it ?
Thanks. All my tanks are planted.


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