# Can ANYTHING be prettier? Blue Green Algae



## ps2er

add nitrate, increase water flow, add Oxygen with an airstone, manually remove as much of it as you can. If all else fails, 3 day black out.


----------



## Rob in Puyallup

Thanks, PS...

Guess that Purigen in the cannister filter might be working too good for the tank. Funny how nitrate can actually be good for a tank, isn't it? LOL!

Now to find out what kind of nitrate to add!!!


----------



## Postal Penguin

Rob in Puyallup said:


> Thanks, PS...
> 
> 
> Now to find out what kind of nitrate to add!!!


I'd recommend dry ferts even if you don't have the highest tech tank. You will save a lot of money going that way. 

Also, I would remove as much as possible then treat any remaining stuff with hydrogen peroxide. You can use 3mL/ gallon safely, just turn off the filters for at least 30 minutes after you treat. It will kill it and if you combine that with the other recommendations it should put you back on track.


----------



## jonnymoss

12 plus hrs of light seems like an awful lot, i go for 6-9 hrs


----------



## rhytemaker

Some people say EM kills your bio filter, but it never effected mine. I never had amonia or nitrite spikes after use. I battled BGA in my old tank and tried everything listed above. Nothing worked but Erythromycin. If you want instant results...go EM.


----------



## Rob in Puyallup

Failed to mention, (directly, at least), that I do have a cannister filter on this tank with Purigen and a phosphate removing resin sold by Fluval (which also removes nitrite and nitrates) as chemical filtration media. 

Would these products make the algal problem worse, ya think?


----------



## hbosman

Yeah, what rhytemaker said. I've had BGA twice in 4 years and both times Erythromycin took care of it. No harm to the filter either. I used half the dosage that is recommended for infections. Continue usage for 5 days even if algae is gone sooner (mine was). They recommend this so you don't develop a strain of bacteria that is resistant to Erythromycin


----------



## hbosman

You need nitrates and phosphates for plants. I would lose the resins.


----------



## Rob in Puyallup

hbosman said:


> You need nitrates and phosphates for plants. I would lose the resins.


That's what I thought, but also thought that they might be contributing to the algal issue...


----------



## Rob in Puyallup

hbosman said:


> Yeah, what rhytemaker said. I've had BGA twice in 4 years and both times Erythromycin took care of it. No harm to the filter either. I used half the dosage that is recommended for infections. Continue usage for 5 days even if algae is gone sooner (mine was). They recommend this so you don't develop a strain of bacteria that is resistant to Erythromycin


I wonder if erythromycin is safe to use with inverts like the shrimp and snail that lives in the tank?


----------



## jmontee

Rob,

EM will work but the root cause will not be fixed. With that amount of light and length of light period you will need to have stable and high CO2 and fert levels. How long have you had this tank going, IMHO the lighting and no fert regime you have going is a recipe for algae disaster!!

It would be important to know what kind of plants you have and what you want to accomplish with your tank? It sounds like you have a half low tech and half high tech tank which will make it dificult to reach the balance that you need for a nice planted tank. Remember that plants need macro(nitrate, phosphate and potassium) and micro(copper, seleniuim, iron etc) nutrients to thrive. A well balanced aquarium will take plant choice, lighting, CO2 and ferts into consideration.

Are you measuring your CO2 level using a drop checker? What are you using to diffuse the CO2 into the water?

I think that, depending on your plants, going with only one of the 65w bulbs and shortening your light period to only the afternoon one will greatly help your situation.


----------



## Robert H

> I've had BGA twice in 4 years and both times Erythromycin took care of it. No harm to the filter either.


Absolutely. This anti biotic works like a nuke in just a few days. Any time i have had it over the years, the anti biotic has gotten rid of it and the bacteria has never returned, cause or no cause.

Once you get rid of it, you can take the needed steps to prevent it from coming back, better water circulation, keep things stable, and keep dissolved organic compounds low. As far as it being attractive... it has a nasty smell to it, and as it grows it reduces the oxygen level in the tank. If it gets really bad, it can practically deplete all the oxygen in the water, your plants will die, and eventually your fish... if you did nothing at all.

www.plantguild.com sells the anti biotic.


----------



## Rob in Puyallup

Hi JM,

This tank is a new one, about a month going, now. This is my first attempt at keeping a planted tank... it is also my first tank WITHOUT an undergravel filter. 

The plants, fish, shrimp and snail all seem good and happy. The plants specifically, bubble like crazy while the lights are on... I have a val that is in the process of taking over the left half of the tank, sending out new rhizomes with new growth daily, literally! There is also a 'wisteria' in the tank that is going bonkers, as well. At the right end of the tank are a couple rather large Amazon swords that have reached the top of the water. There's also an anubias that is growing at a rather steady rate. A 'peacock' fern is going rather slowly, though I'm thinking that's the nature of the plant.

All seemed perfect until the bluegreen algae (bacteria) showed up earlier this week. It initially showed up on the piece of driftwood and the anubias that is planted on it. It is growing most heavily on that anubias as well as on the wisteria. I noticed last night that it has now found it's way to the mongo (?) grass that I forgot to mention in my first paragraph. 

The tank is supplied with co2 via two Nutrafin Natural Plant System Counter/Bubble Diffusers. One of these diffusers is attached to a Nutrafin HOB co2 generator, the other to a diy co2 generator that bubbles at, perhaps, three times the rate as the hob version. I have yet to get a drop checker or anything else to check the co2 levels in the tank, I haven't been able to find anything locally, so will probably have to order one online.

As mentioned before, I do have a cannister filter on this tank filled with mech (sponges), bio (bio rings) and chem (Purigen and a phosphate adsorber) media. The outlet from this filter is about 1 1/2 to 2" under water to reduce surface disturbance. There is also a small HOB filter (came with the tank) that is filled with bio rings only.

What would I like to accomplish with this tank? Well... I want it to be a healthy (for the livestock) and beautiful vacation spot in my livingroom. Perhaps a place for some fish (or shrimp) to breed in the future. I've seen some very nice planted tanks in some of the mom and pop fish stores in my area...

So... for now, I would like to rid this tank of the bluegreen 'algae'. I did buy some ferts last night that I will be adding once that problem is solved.

Thanks again, JM... pplease reply with more suggestions if you have some!

Rob


----------



## Rob in Puyallup

A quick trio of pics of the tank... (Sorry for the quality... used my cell phone. )




























Oh... there's a money wort or something like that in there, too!


----------



## Rob in Puyallup

BTW... if it makes a difference concerning the use of fertilizers, the gravel in this tank is "Eco Complete"... seems it contains nutrients, are added nutrients needed this early in the tank's history?


----------



## jmontee

First off you will have to remove the peacock fern and the mondo grass. Neither of these are aquatic plants. They are sold at the big pet store chains as aquarium plants but they will die slowly when kept submersed.

With that amount of BGA I would definitely go with the EM treatment and then make the necessary changes to the tank. 

All the plants that you have will be fine if you ony use one of the 65w bulbs in your fixture and that is what I would recommend. As I said in my last post I would also only use 8 hours per day of light. 

Big Al's has some cheap co2 drop checkers and I would suggest getting one. Also read up on fert regimens, pick one you like and stick to it. There are several to choose from.


----------



## Craigthor

Also you can get dropcheckers super cheap on ebay. Don't forget to get yourself a 4dkh solution to go with them too.

Craig


----------



## GTR

I had it growing amongst the dwarf sag at the front of the tank and on both patches of Java moss. I was siphoning off those areas several times a week with a 3/8" rigid line and the next day it was back.
Changed the circulation to be more direct on the sag, upped the CO2 and increased N dosing. Took about a week to see it's decline. I doubt circulation had much to do with it since I couldn't direct more to all three places it was taking over. So it was either the CO2, the N, or a combination of both.

I had the same problem in my 500g saltwater system, the green version just like this. That's unusual since most of it seen in SW is a reddish maroon. In that system I treated it with antibiotic because it kept growing over the corals.

SteveU


----------



## mhx

I too just started a 125g planted tank and started getting a bad case of BGA. 

Last night I did my best to VACUM most of it up while doing a 50% water change. Removed about 70% of it I would say. After I filled the tank back up I dosed with Erythromycin. I also increased water flow (down low) not surface water flow with a sponge filter hanging in the front of the tank because it was growing mostly on my grass. I hope to remove that after the BGA problem is resolved.

My big question to you guys who have dosed with Erythromycin.. 

After you dosed with Erythromycin how long did you wait to do a water change? The box says 24hrs... Do that or wait longer? Suggestions?


Now its just a matter of getting this co2 level RIGHT.
TAP ph 8.0, after 3days still 8.0 so no buffers in my tap water.

I have adg aqua soil & two large driftwood buffers my tank ph.

Right now my PH in tank is 7.0.... KH = 8... So 24 PPM co2 using the online calc.. Is that right? Or should I use the KH Reading from the tank and the PH reading from my tap water to calc co2 ppm?


----------



## jmontee

mhx,

The CO2 calculations seldomly work in the reaL world dut to the fact that in your tank there are other things that can interact and change the pH.

I would suggest getting a dropchecker and using 4dkH solution in it. There are ways to make it on the internet. I believe that this is the only real way to know how much CO2 is in your water.


----------

