# This is [email protected]#$%^t!!!



## Anthony (Jan 11, 2005)

Ever since I got my pressurized co 2 system I've been keeping co2 levels no lower than 53ppm. At lights out the ph is 6.4 and kh is 4.5 degrees. So if around 53 ppm is the lowest the co2 levels get, how in the hell is bba tufts spreading in my tank. Does temp have anything to do with it. It started on my a. reneikii and now I have some on my driftwood, c. wenditii, hairgrass, and heater. I'm about to tear this [email protected]# tank down. First thread and brown algae, then bba fuzz, then green water, then bga, and now this crap  :angryfire :icon_evil :help:


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## wantplantsnotwork (Nov 28, 2004)

*Welcome to the club!*

Pull up a chair and watch the bba grow!

I do!

Started the excel treatment, if it works it's worth it. If not, well, then, ummm. huh. Destroy and hope it does not come back?


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## shalu (Jan 16, 2003)

how do you measure ph, if with a controller/monitor, how/when did you calibrate it? Do you have a second means to measure ph as a sanity check?


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## Bert H (Dec 15, 2003)

What is your fert regimen? How are your nitrates and phosphates? How old is your tank? Try to clean up/prune off as much as possible. Do a major water change (50-60%), add nitrates to around 10 ppm, phosphates to around 2ppm, keep the CO2 around 30-35ppm and dose micros (Flourish and Iron) when you don't dose the nitrates/phosphates. 

Make sure you're heavily planted. If you don't have any fast growing stem plants add some, at least for a while, until the tank settles down

It may take a little time, but you can win the battle. 

Good luck.


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## Anthony (Jan 11, 2005)

Do you think that leaving the co2 on at night will help. I have tested the kh and ph before the pressurized system kicks on and the co2 goes down to around 13ppm.


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## John P. (Apr 10, 2004)

Be patient.

Make sure you're CO2 level is accurate. Test the pH and kH with a different kit.

Your CO2's too high, really, by the way. 30ppm is plenty to avert the BBA.

Make sure all your nutrients are being met. ODing nutrients is not a problem, just keep the ratios correct.

Change your water weekly, at least 40%.

Remove all veisible algae that you can. Don't be afraid to remove infested leaves, etc., as they'll grow back.

Excel is a good thing to augment your pressurized CO2 with. Buy the 2 Liter at Bigalsonline.com, petsolutions.com, etc.--you'll save a lot of $. Dose the suggested "starter dose" every day for about 10 days, then re-evaluate. 

As stated, make sure yoiu have a ton of plants in there. If you think you have enough, add several more. 

I had almost every algae imaginable ... until I figured this all out.

Aquariums are like exercise. Think about it. Consistency is everything. A few big workouts don't move the needle in the right direction. 30 minutes a day!

Oh, and remeber to be patient. You'll win in the end.


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## Anthony (Jan 11, 2005)

Sorry for my harsh language. I dose EI and have been doing great lately. The BBA started to appear in tufts on the a. reniekii after I got pressurized. The only change in my tank is that co2 levels drop overnight instead of getting higher. The biggest thing that's irritating me about this is that things were great in my tank and I just purchased a 55 watt bright kit to add light to help with high light plants. Now I won't be able to put it on because it would probably make things worse. I might try Algae Fix. I don't want to shell out more money this month on a big bottle of Excel.


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## Bert H (Dec 15, 2003)

I don't know that leaving the co2 on at night will make any difference. I have some tanks which are on 24/7, another on a solenoid and pH or algae aren't issues in either one. As has been suggested, you might want to verify your kh and ph readings with another kit. According to your signature line you already have over 3wpg, why do you want to add more to that? You should be able to grow everything with your 3.25wpg.


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## Buck (Oct 13, 2002)

If bba is growing , your CO2 levels are not where you think they are. And since you seem to have had every known algae in that tank known to man, I would take a good hard look at what your dosing. You have some excess nutrients in there.


OK people, now I need to know what the heck Excel is going to do for his algae ... an Excel treatment ? Never heard of such a thing. :icon_conf


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## SCMurphy (Oct 21, 2003)

Excel kills BBA. You can even 'spot' dose it onto the BBA and almost watch it turn red. If you up the CO2 in a tank with BBA you'll slow down new BBA growth, if you dose Excel you'll kill of the BBA that's there. It's still a good idea to remove the colonized leaves from plants, and scrape the BBA off the glass right before doing a water change. Any of the biomass you can remove from the tank is a plus.

Excel kills staghorn and does a job on some green thread algae too.


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## m.lemay (Jul 28, 2002)

Buck said:


> If bba is growing , your CO2 levels are not where you think they are. And since you seem to have had every known algae in that tank known to man, I would take a good hard look at what your dosing. You have some excess nutrients in there.
> 
> 
> OK people, now I need to know what the heck Excel is going to do for his algae ... an Excel treatment ? Never heard of such a thing. :icon_conf


This is where I will direct you guys for a quick lesson on excell for bba. Excell as a treatment for bba.


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## John P. (Apr 10, 2004)

Re: CO2 at night ... probably coincidence, but my luck came after I plugged my solenoid into my light timer.


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## Anthony (Jan 11, 2005)

I had gotten rid of all my algae problems back in February and it lasted a couple of months until I switched to csm+b and me DIY co2 was giving me troubles. Then the .... hit the fan and it started again. Algae reappeared as green water and bba fuzz and I fixed that. Then bga and a few tufts of bba came and I fix the bga but the bba is spreading. Does Algae Fix work?


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## Anthony (Jan 11, 2005)

Found Excel and am doing the program.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Anthony said:


> Does Algae Fix work?


No.

No algae cure does. 
Excel works because it grows plants, Algae fix does not.
I've never had Excel kill BBA, I double dosed daily for 8 weeks, nothing.


Trim, scrub off what's there.
Remove equipment that has any on it, rocks, wood etc, bleach and rinse and return with dechlor.

Re set pH/KH(turn lights/pumps/heater off for pH measurement for a second)
Do not be complacenet with KH measurements.

Error to 30ppm CO2 keep it there.
It's fine if the CO2 is low when the lights first come on but by 1 hour in, you should have good levels.

A couple of good cleans each week and you should get things back to snuff in 2 weeks or so.

You can spot the BBA with H2O2 as well(cheap). This is good for small issues here and there. 

Amano shrimp seem to keep BBA at bay from getting established, SAE's also eat it, but these are mainly prevention, once it's there, you need to remove it.

Never use algae killers.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## sarahbobarah (May 20, 2005)

I totally agree with plantbrain (Tom). I've seen too many things go wrong with Algae killers in a bottle - old stock, wrong info, false claims, etc. 

Good luck,
Sarah


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