# killing BBA on tank objects



## pittiepride (Feb 13, 2007)

I'm not sure about your equipment, but I boil my driftwood to clear up the bba.

Off the top of my head I am thinking a 10:1 bleach solution with a good dechlor after would work, but I"m not positive on that one.

I would not use bleach on anything porous like the driftwood.

kara


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## Jeff5614 (Dec 29, 2005)

Excel applied directly to the object will kill it also.


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## Rod Hay (Feb 11, 2006)

I bleach driftwood from time to time, and have not had any problem. I even bleach driftwood w/ ferns and anubias attatched too.

Just driftwood: 10:1 water:bleach @ half hour.
Driftwood w/ plants: 19:1 water:bleach **use a timer - no more than 2 min.
(Don't walk away and start doing other things when bleaching w/ plants. )

*The most important point is a very thorough rinse afterwards! Followed w/ a soak in double strenght Prime for 10-20 min before going back into the tank.*

I do the same for tank equipment like filter parts.


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## eyebeatbadgers (Aug 6, 2007)

Or instead of just killing what you have you could fix your water parameters and it won't grow back at all.

I'd recommend doing a bleach dip if possible, as well as thorough manual removal. Afterwards, you need to fertilize the water column, add trace nutrients, and supplemental CO2. This will allow your plants to out-compete the algae. I use the EI method of fertilization myself, and do not have BBA problems at all.


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## mott (Nov 23, 2006)

eyebeatbadgers said:


> Or instead of just killing what you have you could fix your water parameters and it won't grow back at all.


Wow, I would love to know the secret with this one.
My club has serious discussions on how to eradicate BBA and not have it come back ever, as far as I know no one has a definite answer.
I don't think you can make a statement like "use EI and you won't get BBA"

I use the EI method and get some BBA. I don't have it growing crazy but it's still there on parts of my DW and filter output.


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## BiscuitSlayer (Apr 1, 2005)

mott said:


> I use the EI method and get some BBA. I don't have it growing crazy but it's still there on parts of my DW and filter output.


I don't think that fertilizing and BBA have anything to do with each other. I personally think that CO2 injection and lighting have more to do with BBA than anything. 

I have had numerous BBA outbreaks since I have started keeping fish. The worst outbreaks happened when I had fish only tanks. The second worse outbreaks I had were before I had pressurized CO2. The last BBA outbreak I had was right before I installed my pressurized system. I followed the excel treatment to get rid of the BBA and I boosted my CO2 injection, and for the first time the BBA was atleast under control and slowly receding. I still have some very minute tufts of BBA from that outbreak, but it has not spread or grown at all. I just have been too lazy to go and finish it off with a manual means of removal.

I don't subscribe to the plants outcompeting algae theory. I don't think that they compete for anything. I think algae is an opportunistic organisim that takes advantage of imbalances such as too much light or too little of a nutrient or CO2.

One of biggest things that I think has helped me is to be consistant with what I do. I have an 8 hour photoperiod, I dose EI religiously, I inject CO2 at a consistant rate, and I do regular tank maintenance to keep things clean. All of these things combined have helped me gain the upper hand on algae.


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Another treatment, which I happened to watch first hand this weekend for the first time, is treating BBA with H202. Worked very very well!

Mixture ratio for spot treating that was used is 2 to 3 ml per gallon of distilled water. The demonstration reccomended not more than 300ml of this solution at a time. This is applied via syringe directly to the affected areas while filters are off for about 1/2 hour.

This is not a cure all, but it did work! Numerous treatments may be required though from my understanding.

When dipping anubias in bleach solution, be sure to rub the leaves with your fingers in the dechlor water, to assure that you get the "slime" off! I would never reccomend bleaching the rhizome, however, someone above has stated that they have completly submerged them while on DW and didn't seem to have a problem.


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## kreativ (Oct 29, 2007)

shouldn't this be moved to the algae section??


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## tazcrash69 (Sep 27, 2005)

eyebeatbadgers said:


> Or instead of just killing what you have you could fix your water parameters and it won't grow back at all.


IME, fixing your parameters won't kill existing BBA, but it will stop it from spreading. So if you get your parameters in line (for me it's always tied into low CO2), and then spot dose, you should be OK. 



gmccreedy said:


> Another treatment, which I happened to watch first hand this weekend for the first time, is treating BBA with H202. Worked very very well!
> 
> Mixture ratio for spot treating that was used is 2 to 3 ml per gallon of distilled water. The demonstration recommended not more than 300ml of this solution at a time. This is applied via syringe directly to the affected areas while filters are off for about 1/2 hour.


OK, I'm the lucky fella who has BBA, and was able to show this off :icon_roll . 
This was on a 125 gallon tank. So apply H2O2 appropriately 300ml can be way too much (see below).
Another thing to do is lower the lights (prevents the H2O2 from breaking down) in addition to turning off the filter (keeps the H2O2 from spreading).

Afterwards, someone pointed me to the following quote: 


> Add 25 ml of 3% hydrogen peroxide to 100 liters of aquarium water (Krause, 1985). In no case can the dosage be given a second time. Overdosage with oxygen would corrode the gills and skin of the fish, resulting in their death. If the fish do not breathe easier within several minutes following dosage, then the lack of oxygen has another cause ( for example, gill parasites)."


So according to that I was overdosing (using about 3 ml of 3% H2O2 per gallon of water). However, while I haven't seen evidence of fish deaths after this dosing routine, I don't know what it's done long term to them.

Also when I do this It's usually for about a week dosing every other day.


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Not sure you were walter. When i get to work, let me do the math for sure, but correct me if I am wrong, you were creating the solution with 1 gallon of distilled water from what i remember, then only dosing 300 ml. So although your solution was very strong, 3 ml/ gal, you were only dosing just under 30 ml of H202 from my rough math in the 300 ml dosed. So you were just barely ODing from that guideline.


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## tazcrash69 (Sep 27, 2005)

gmccreedy said:


> Not sure you were walter. When i get to work, let me do the math for sure, but correct me if I am wrong, you were creating the solution with 1 gallon of distilled water from what i remember, then only dosing 300 ml. So although your solution was very strong, 3 ml/ gal, you were only dosing just under 30 ml of H202 from my rough math in the 300 ml dosed. So you were just barely ODing from that guideline.


Sorry, but I made no solutions, That was straight 3% in those bottles. 
I try not to get anything in the peroxide for fear of it breaking down prematurely.

Did it come across as a solution?


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

lol. Yea, I must have mixed up conversations then. Wow, then you are ODing it appears...he he.

But it is safe to say, you have been doing it (for how long now?) and it appears no ill side affects have occured.


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## JHipkin (Dec 18, 2004)

A member at sfbaaps suggested that I dip the effected objects in a 3% H2O2 (Hydrogen Peroxide) solution. Obviously this requires the removal of the objects from the tank. He said he has done this several times with no negative impact on his tanks. 

I plan to dip my CO2 reactor today. Oddly my CO2 reactor is where the BBA likes to congregate. I also plan to install a venturi feedback loop to try and increase the efficiency of the reactor.

Keeping it from coming back is all about CO2 levels.


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## coyotethug (Oct 6, 2007)

Siamese Algae Eaters!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I had an outbreak that took over two very large pieces of wood. 5 SAEs later and not a spec in the 125.


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## BiscuitSlayer (Apr 1, 2005)

coyotethug said:


> Siamese Algae Eaters!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> I had an outbreak that took over two very large pieces of wood. 5 SAEs later and not a spec in the 125.


They wouldn't work too well in a 10 or 29 gallon though.


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## tazcrash69 (Sep 27, 2005)

coyotethug said:


> Siamese Algae Eaters!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> I had an outbreak that took over two very large pieces of wood. 5 SAEs later and not a spec in the 125.


YMMV they ate my moss first, then they started eating flake. :frown:


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## Madfish (Sep 9, 2007)

I have two of them and they dont even touch the stuff. All they do is eat the fish food that I give my other fish. But I also do the H2O2 treatment once every couple of weeks just on where I can see it and it seems to keep it under control. I have no idea what causes it but that is the only thing that I have problems with every now and then. One day someone will come up with something that will fix all of our problems but untill that day comes we all just have to try our best at keeping it at bay.


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## radioman (Oct 29, 2007)

I did a H202 treatement I will keep you guys posted. The BBA already looks a little dull.


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## jerrytheplater (Apr 11, 2007)

tazcrash69 said:


> IME, fixing your parameters won't kill existing BBA, but it will stop it from spreading. So if you get your parameters in line (for me it's always tied into low CO2), and then spot dose, you should be OK.
> 
> 
> OK, I'm the lucky fella who has BBA, and was able to show this off :icon_roll .
> ...


Walter

I know this is a very old thread, but I am going to try the H2O2 in my Tanganyikan tank and I would like to know if you can remember what happened to your fish in the long term with roughly a 3X dose of H2O2 compared to the Handbook of Fish Diseases dosage of 25 ml 3% H2O2 per 100 liters tank water.


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## jerrytheplater (Apr 11, 2007)

Here's an interesting note I found about using H2O2 to keep overcrowded fish fry alive. At the end I did some calculations for our fish tank use. Source: http://www.great-lakes.org/Wkly_news/07-07-03.html#Oxygen 

Oxygen for minnows

Use Hydrogen-peroxide

Laboratory tests conducted by fish culturists in recent years have demonstrated that common household hydrogen-peroxide can be used safely to provide oxygen for small fish. Hydrogen-peroxide releases oxygen by decomposition when it is added to water.

In one test, 25 fry (2 cm long) were put into each of two one-quart bottles of water. Then, during a three-day period, 12 drops of hydrogen-peroxide were added to one bottle, and none to the other. The result: 100 % of the treated fry survived and 100 % of the untreated fry perished.

In another test, 50 fry were kept in a one-quart bottle and two 
drops of hydrogen-peroxide were added to the water every four hours. In three days, 86 % of the fry were still alive and well.

Researchers tested this idea in the hopes of using it to provide small hatchery fish with oxygen during transportation periods. Anglers who use live minnows for bait might also want to experiment with the idea. To be safe, start off by adding only very small amounts of hydrogen-peroxide to a minnow bucket. And remember that it takes about 600 drops of the size used by the researchers to make one fluid ounce. Also, keep in mind that water temperature is very important to minnow survival. Keep the water in a minnow bucket fresh and cool. 

(Courtesy: Southtowns Walleye Association of WNY)



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

600 drops per fluid ounce, or 600 drops per 29.6 ml. This equates to 0.049 ml per drop. They used 12 drops 3% H2O2 per quart (946 ml) of water over three days. (0.049 ml H2O2 per drop) x (12 drops) = 0.588 ml 3% H2O2 per 946 ml water, or 0.62 ml H2O2 per liter. Or 62 ml 3% H2O2 per 100 liters over three days or 21 ml per 100 liters per day. That is very close to the amount from the Handbook of Fish Diseases.

The other test used 2 drops per quart every 4 hours to keep 50 2 cm fry alive. 0.098 ml ~ 0.1 ml H2O2 per liter water every 4 hours. That is equal to 10 ml 3% H2O2 per 100 liters every four hours.


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## snafuspyramid (May 27, 2010)

I've found the most effective method to be Excel or gluteraldehyde. Put the driftwood in a bucket with tank water, and put in a LOT of Excel. The water should stink of the stuff. Then leave it to brew for at least an hour. Works every time.

Not leaving the water long enough, or not using enough, will allow the algae to survive.

If successful it'll turn a reddish colour after a few days, and be gone within a week.

I've killed heaps of the stuff this way


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## jerrytheplater (Apr 11, 2007)

snafuspyramid said:


> I've found the most effective method to be Excel or gluteraldehyde. Put the driftwood in a bucket with tank water, and put in a LOT of Excel. The water should stink of the stuff. Then leave it to brew for at least an hour. Works every time.
> 
> Not leaving the water long enough, or not using enough, will allow the algae to survive.
> 
> ...


Hey Mate

I have BBA in a Tanganyikan aquarium where I am growing Vallisneria and algae. I can't use Excel or I'll kill my Vals. I did try spot treating with H2O2 a few days ago and it has killed the good algae as well as damaged the BBA. I am hoping the good stuff will grow back.

Here is a short video of the tank taken the end of August 2010. You can see the algae on the rocks. In the upper sections of the tank, the Tanganicodus irsacae Moba have eaten the algae down to the bare rock. For some reason they concentrate in this area. I currently have a bit of Blue Green algae growing in this tank which I am trying to control by upping my dry fertilizer dosing slightly. I am also doing almost daily small water changes of about 5 gallons as I siphon off the collection of algae fragments/fish waste/mulm that gets trapped in the Vallisneria in the front of the tank. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4S8R_rKWStQ


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Love the algae rocks. How did you get them to grow like that? I've used H202 successfully on BBA, BGA and hair algae. I've found on BBA, it goes away more slowly that other types of algae but eventually disappears. Of course, I used a really low dose of 1/2 mL per gallon to err on the side of caution.


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## willknowitall (Oct 3, 2010)

bleach is horrible toxic stuff 
i wouldnt but it near my aquarium stuff or get it on my hands or clothes
for that mater
if you need to kill any algae on wood or equipment use peroxide


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## jerrytheplater (Apr 11, 2007)

sewingalot said:


> Love the algae rocks. How did you get them to grow like that? I've used H202 successfully on BBA, BGA and hair algae. I've found on BBA, it goes away more slowly that other types of algae but eventually disappears. Of course, I used a really low dose of 1/2 mL per gallon to err on the side of caution.


I set this tank up for my Tanganyikan fish and was hoping to get a good growth of algae. After a first case of brown diatoms, I got 4-5" long Spirogyra growing on the front glass and rocks. At that time I had some Otocinclus to eat the brown algae and one of them got stuck in the Spirogyra and I accidentally killed it trying to remove it from the algae. I have made this in to a tank journal on my local plant club forum. I suppose there is one here too, so I think I should post it up there so you can see the step by step. It will be called 65 Gallon Planted Tanganyikan Tank or something like that.

I am forgetting now if I used fertilizers or not. I am thinking I did not and just used the two 55 watt PC from Aquarium Hobbyist Supply 12 hours per day.

The rocks do contain Iron in them. I live in an area that had iron mining and smelting in Revolutionary times up to post Civil War. I had a water sample analyzed by a friend that owns a state certified water testing lab. He got about 0.15 ppm iron in the tank water without me dosing at that time.

Re BBA and H2O2: I now have dead spots on the algae where I treated the BBA. Both the BBA and the green carpet algae have died out. Now I am hoping the green carpet fills in. I only used one dose. I'll have to get back in there and get the rest. I used a 40 ml squeeze bottle with a very fine needle tip. I am able to give a pin point dose.


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