# getting rid of black brush algae



## GulfCoastAquarian

I feel for you, man, because I fought the same fight for YEARS. Brush algae is just too resilient. Blackouts won't kill it because it can survive in complete darkness for WEEKS. It's nearly impossible to starve it because it can also survive in sterile water for weeks at a time.
If anyone has actually defeated Brush algae without SAE's, I will bow down!


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## FISA

I too had a tough time with BBA.....some say it infests tanks with high carbonate hardness.....

in the end....I gave up and left it alone.....as as my plants grew like gangbusters.....they mysteriously dissappeared...I still have a few here and there growing on rocks....but at least its under control right now...


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## Momotaro

Keep the CO2 at at least 30ppm if you can go higher without stressing the fish, do it.

Also, you have given no information of your phosphate levels.

Mike


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## mr hyde

Mike 
The phosphate levels were kept between .5 and 1 for quite a few months. Just here lately in the last few weeks I've stopped dosing phosphates completely and the level has been .1 in a desperate attempt to starve it out.


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## Wö£fëñxXx

You're dosing schedule is a bit on the wacked side bro..
I am really pressed for time this morning, but look over this, this is how I dose my 46...very effective
http://www.triplexclan.com/Aqua/reg.jpg
You will not starve algae by limiting plant uptake..period.


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## m.lemay

Listen to wolfy. He knows his EI dosing. I adapted one of his dosing schedules for my 75 gal High light tank and the plants are responding very well. Make sure your co2 is up to at least 30ppm with his schedule and you'll see great results.

Marcel


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## Kris

when doing diy CO2, how do you test for CO2 ppm? i look at the bubbles as they come out and by the "eye-ball" method, there seems to be 1 bubble per minute...how do i know what that translates into??
thanks


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## Buck

If you have BBA then I highly doubt you have 30ppm of CO2.


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## Kris

thanks craig!
you are the man with all the answers!
roud:


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## Wö£fëñxXx

Haha, I wish I had all the answer's.. But thanks!


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## mr hyde

I've kept the co2 at 30 ppm or a bit higher for the last 3 months. I use the co2/kh chart and keep my ph at the right level to achieve the 30ppm. I also have a lamotte co2 test kit I occasionally use to double check my levels. Having high co2 levels was one of the things I had read about early on when I had this problem so I've kept a close eye on that one. My plants all do well, usually the water looks like a glass of 7up with everything pearling and growing well. Nitrates between 5 and 10ppm, phosphates between .5 and 1ppm. My nitrate kit is a lamotte, I use a red sea phosphate kit and have double checked my phosphate kit with another red sea kit to verify results. As far as I can tell everything is in order and this stuff should be clearing up but it just goes on growing on about everything. I trim the bba coated leaves every week and vacuum the fallen algae from the gravel. There is no trouble with any other type of algae, even my glass stays pretty much algae free.


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## plantbrain

mr hyde said:


> I've kept the co2 at 30 ppm or a bit higher for the last 3 months. I use the co2/kh chart and keep my ph at the right level to achieve the 30ppm. I also have a lamotte co2 test kit I occasionally use to double check my levels. Having high co2 levels was one of the things I had read about early on when I had this problem so I've kept a close eye on that one. My plants all do well, usually the water looks like a glass of 7up with everything pearling and growing well. Nitrates between 5 and 10ppm, phosphates between .5 and 1ppm. My nitrate kit is a lamotte, I use a red sea phosphate kit and have double checked my phosphate kit with another red sea kit to verify results. As far as I can tell everything is in order and this stuff should be clearing up but it just goes on growing on about everything. I trim the bba coated leaves every week and vacuum the fallen algae from the gravel. There is no trouble with any other type of algae, even my glass stays pretty much algae free.


So is it still growing or not?
You need to remove what's there.
The high levels of CO2 wills top the growth, it will not remove it.
You can prune it off easily and then replant.

But you claim it's not and it's still growing, unlike test kits, *algae never lies*, add more CO2 than you are. Ignore your test for a little while, slowly add more. If you have a little surface movement, that's ideal. Turn CO2 off at night, that will prevent high levels from building up and allow a chance to off gas at night. 

Add more KNO3/KH2PO4/CO2 and traces.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## mr hyde

Thanks Tom
I'll try upping the co2. Your saying that bba can't reproduce when there are high co2 levels? I'm sure now that it can't be starved of phosphates. I'm sure you knew that already but i was out of ideas at the time. I'll continue to dose everything like always with a little more on traces.
Hyde


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## 150EH

The CO2 does help slow down the growth (very good) but does not stop it completely. I went through a month long campaigne of sitting in front of the tank every morning and afternoon and removing it by hand. I trimmed and trashed plants that were infested and removed individual pieces of flourite with tongs (my tanks 30" tall and I can't reach the bottom). Now every once and a while a piece of it will show up and I just pull it out, so I guess your never rid of it. The up side is, if there's ever a Aquarium tong competition I will definitely be in the running for first place, good luck.


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## Red_Razor

I have been having a break-out of brush algae lately also and came across this article. I think it is probably left as a last "nuclear option".

Fighting Algae with Hydrogen Peroxide


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## rob g

Red_Razor said:


> I have been having a break-out of brush algae lately also and came across this article. I think it is probably left as a last "nuclear option".
> 
> Fighting Algae with Hydrogen Peroxide


H202 will have an effect on BBA, however, if the conditions that were present when it was growing remain, it will be back within a matter of weeks.


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## plantbrain

150EH said:


> The CO2 does help slow down the growth (very good) but does not stop it completely. I went through a month long campaigne of sitting in front of the tank every morning and afternoon and removing it by hand. I trimmed and trashed plants that were infested and removed individual pieces of flourite with tongs (my tanks 30" tall and I can't reach the bottom). Now every once and a while a piece of it will show up and I just pull it out, so I guess your never rid of it. The up side is, if there's ever a Aquarium tong competition I will definitely be in the running for first place, good luck.


Well somehow for over a decade it's not infested any tank I've worked on after I made this change.iven the number of tanks, the number of folks I've helped and the time, luck ain't it.

It's also something I can go back and repeat.
Algae is there for a reason, if it's still a problem, you still have a CO2 issue, that's not what you want to hear, but the algae does not lie, your test kit might......

So until ytou address that, you'll keep having it come back again and again.
Or perhaps I have been really really really lucky for a really long time........


Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## Clownknife

I have upped and upped my C02 and I am still haveing problems. What I am wondering is if my reactor is not big enough? 

I have a reactor 200 with pressurized C02. My tank is a 200g. The reactor is supposed to be rated for this size tank. I am wondering if it is?


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## Marc

Clownknife said:


> I have upped and upped my C02 and I am still haveing problems. What I am wondering is if my reactor is not big enough?
> 
> I have a reactor 200 with pressurized C02. My tank is a 200g. The reactor is supposed to be rated for this size tank. I am wondering if it is?


Check your co2 level- that should tell you how effecient it is for your size tank.


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## EricSilver

I have "nuked" algae with persoxide and will confirm that is does work. However, if you do it *correctly*, you will also lose some weaker plants, fish, and a lot of snails.


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## mr hyde

I upped the co2 up between 35 and 40ppm now and have been checking it regularly with the lamotte test kit. The kit seems to be reliable. I did a major pruning and cleanup of the bba. Also bleached a couple bolbitis plants that were heavily infested. I think it's possible my co2 has been dipping down pretty low lately. I noticed that my ph probe isn't holding it's accuracy for a month at a time like it used to which would screw up my ph-kh/co2 calculations. I'll test the co2 every other day with the lamotte kit and make sure it stays up and hopfully this bba will finally stop growing so fast and I can get it under control. I'm so burned out on pruning and cleaning up bba it isn't even funny. :icon_frow


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## Wö£fëñxXx

Disconnect the controller, plug solenoide into light timer, up the C02, add more KN03/KH2P04/Trace.


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## cprroy73

Florida Flagfish will wipe it out, but not solve the problem. But you will not know you have a problem.


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## Kris

that's a great way to look at it. 
isn't that how it would work out in the "real world" anyway?


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## Buck

You will kill yourself with test kits, my CO2 , "if done by the test kits" tells me I am between 48 and 60ppm of CO2 (closer to 60 :icon_roll ) which by all standards is a deadly range for fish and my fish dont surface for O2 and could care less. So is that an accurate reading ? Dont know , dont care... the fish colors are beautiful, appetite is perfect.
I believe I read Tom saying earlier... forget the kits and up the CO2, I would take that info to the bank. I have been doing it for years and unless I see a photo , I have forgotten what BBA even looks like.


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## cprroy73

Good one Kris


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## Betowess

Isn't it true you can control (and virtually eliminate) BBA at 30ppm or more if its kept that high? But it can always come back. So its really a control, rather than a cure. At least that was how I interpreted some advice from Rex regarding defeating BBA. Also, with such high O2 as a result of plant pearling, you don't have to worry about O2 for your fish, even if the CO2 levels gets in the supposedly "dangerous" 40 to 60 ppm occasionally. My fish never seem to have a problem. Now, if I can just get rid of the blasted film algae on my glass. :icon_frow


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## rwong2k

i removed all mine by hand and pruning off the plants and ever since my stem plants have adapted I haven't seen much of it, I did introduce some flagfish and they were nibbling at it also, I just have a little bit on my filter intube that's about it =)


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## mr hyde

upped the co2 to 40-45ppm last couple of weeks and has minimal if any effect on bba. Have mechanically removed as much as possible every day. Added 4 siamese algae eaters yesterday, added a dozen or so stem plants, have kept dosing, nitrates 5-10ppm, phosphates .5-1.0ppm. I'll give this another month and then if nothing is any better I'll bleach the whole tank.


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## 150EH

plantbrain said:


> Well somehow for over a decade it's not infested any tank I've worked on after I made this change.iven the number of tanks, the number of folks I've helped and the time, luck ain't it.
> 
> It's also something I can go back and repeat.
> Algae is there for a reason, if it's still a problem, you still have a CO2 issue, that's not what you want to hear, but the algae does not lie, your test kit might......
> 
> So until ytou address that, you'll keep having it come back again and again.
> Or perhaps I have been really really really lucky for a really long time........
> 
> 
> Regards,
> Tom Barr


I don't have any BBA on my plants at all, every once in a while I see a tuft growing on a single piece of Florite. I keep my CO2 at 26-28 ppm which is not as high as mr hyde is going to try, but my tanks ok by my standards. If cranking up the CO2 gets rid of it and turning down the CO2 brings it back then it's never really gone is it? In one million tanks there are a million different variables times the number of different fish, plants, substate, and etc., either have had some luck or have been doing this long enough that you don't get your variables as far out of wack as the rest of us, or are you saying that you have found the holy grail and that one size fits all.


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## Abrium

I want someone to give me a definitive confirmation to the following statement:

"Sufficient Co2 will hinder the growth of BBA."

If this is true isn't the path to success with this algae ensuring a constant flow of 30 to 45 ppm Co2? I mean add in some SAEs to boot but this seems too simple for this algae to cause the discussion/hatred that it does...

Someone confirm or deny please

cheers,
Abe


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## mordalphus

I have a consistent amount of co2 at 30ppm, and my BBA flourishes on one plant that's directly in the filter flow. I think it's more complex than constant co2.


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## OverStocked

Abrium said:


> I want someone to give me a definitive confirmation to the following statement:
> 
> "Sufficient Co2 will hinder the growth of BBA."
> 
> If this is true isn't the path to success with this algae ensuring a constant flow of 30 to 45 ppm Co2? I mean add in some SAEs to boot but this seems too simple for this algae to cause the discussion/hatred that it does...
> 
> Someone confirm or deny please
> 
> cheers,
> Abe


If other things are out of balance, you could have all the co2 in the world and you'd get bba.

My tank runs over 40 ppm of co2. Close to 50, I'd guess(if I add fish to the tank without long acclimation-weeks they die in less than an hour....). I still get bba in this tank. 

also, this thread might be one of the best grave robbings I've ever seen.


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## houseofcards

This thread has been resurrected from 1995, LOL. I guess it's true that BBA is one tough son of a ....



mordalphus said:


> I have a consistent amount of co2 at 30ppm, and my BBA flourishes on one plant that's directly in the filter flow. I think it's more complex than constant co2.


Definitely more complex. The co2 is a stock answer that relies on a certain amount of plant mass to have an effect on BBA. Why would co2 in itself fight BBA?


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## OverStocked

houseofcards said:


> This thread has been resurrected from 1995, LOL. I guess it's true that BBA is one tough son of a ....
> 
> 
> 
> Definitely more complex. The co2 is a stock answer that relies on a certain amount of plant mass to have an effect on BBA. Why would co2 in itself fight BBA?


2005 /= 1995..... 

And the answer to what causes algae is simple: Too much light, too little co2, and too little nutrients. 

Identifying WHICH of those three is your problem can be tricky.... but when in doubt blame too much light. Or not enough co2. Or not enough nutrients. 

Crap.


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## Abrium

Alright, allow me to explain and... thank you for the hijacking comment . I mean they weren't using it anymore and I didn't see the need to start another one when I could dust this perfect thread off right here.

I have a problem with bba but it is a problem that persists. I will only allow the tank to get so bad before I tear it down, bleach it, and replant everything. I have heard the same, what I consider truth, story over and over regarding each type of algae. Bottom line, there is something out of whack be it lighting, ferts, or Co2. Let me give my tank bio and we'll see if the experts can give me a hand.

Lighting:
My lighting is a true story of live and learn. I had 60 watts of T8 6500 over my 125g tank and I couldn't grow anything. It is a 125 long and given the depth of my substrate I got about 19" of water that my lighting has to penetrate. Tired of having plants wither away I bought a light fixture that I knew would grow plant life -- a 6 x 80W T5HO light fixture... thats right baby 480 watts of luminescent heaven. Now on top of buying the equivelant of a rectangular search light I also put it approximately 4" above my tank. So in short... I grew plants alright and everything else too. There wasn't a type of algae that I didn't have so I took some steps:

Following this thread I thought I would put Hoppy's theory into practice mostly because I don't have a PAR meter and I trust the work that this man does and here is the result:

First off here is a shot of only 4 of the lights on, 2 x 6500 and 2 x 10000 and this is what we can get. See the glare and the obvious over intensification of the lighting due to both light strength AND placement of the fixture. Notice my home made screens on display above the tank.









I know someone wants to comment on how sparsely the tank is planted but I assure you there is a plant at least every 2 sq. inches. After my last bleaching because of bba I had to mow a lot of leaves off of my stem plants to trigger new growth and that is what you're looking at right here.

Now, this is after I turned another light off. So I'm running on 2 x 6500 and 1 10K bulb AND I have the screens in place:









Ferts:

I have yet to find a location locally that sells the raw material that I need to dose dry ferts, lord knows that I would love to. I guess I could buy them online but unfortunately I am my worst enemy here because I don't want to take the time to learn a schedule that works for the tank. However, I do fertilize my tank daily with a blend purchased here. I do dose religiously and I do a 50% change at the end of each week which besides providing the reset I believe my fish & inverts really enjoy the large infusion of fresh water. I dose according to their directions but I will admit that as the plants get larger my dosage gets larger because I suspect the amount dosed should mirror what the surface area of each plant can absorb... I could be wrong on this.

Plants:

I have my fast growing stems, floaters, heavy root, and so on and so forth. Most improtantly is that the tank is PLANTED. Not semi or moderately but heavily. I will admit that the photos don't show to what degree the tank is planted so I snapped a couple more shots:

My struggling carpet









My giant vals are sprouting daughters and growing, excuse the Crinum thaianums I just picked those up today









My ball of java moss that I call shrimp manor is actually moss completely covering some mopani, the side is hygro and mermaid









Sprouting nana, I think









The point is that she is well planted and the plants are absorbing what I am giving them, the light is turned down, Co2 is high so what else could I possibly change in order stop bba from growing? Do I need to wait until the majority of my plants are larger and therefore can produce a larger uptake of nutrients and ultimately knocking bba down?

Lemme know,
Abe


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## houseofcards

Well, firstly you have a very thinly planted tank of mostly slow growers. (BTW is that Java Fern planted in the substrate, cause that's a no, no.)

You have way too much light for that type of setup even with only 4 bulbs. 

The high light, slow growth and thin planting will most defintely cause problems. Again this tank is a good example of even if you throw 100ppm of co2 your still probably gonna have problems. It simply doesn't have the plant mass, growth factor to support the other variables.


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## Abrium

ok so I have pretty much no more substrate that I can disturb to plant anything. All of the plants are small. I'm aware that the mass isn't there because everything is small I can't accelerate the growth of small plants to make them large to add to the mass. 

If I'm "thinly planted" what am I suppose to do when there are plants everywhere, create another layer of substrate to start planting in? I'm sorry to sound sarcastic but you pretty much are saying that I don't have the plants needed to produce the needed effect. I have about 90 vals, amoung other plants, in the tank ranging from giant to cork screw to regular and each produce a runner and about an inch of growth a day. I have floating lettuce that is unstoppable as far as duplication. The rotala is creeping along the substrate and up just fine. 

Maybe you need to be more specific because you make it sound like I'm doomed unless I stuff the tank full of egeria densa and wisteria.... If I'm truely lacking fast growers give me some ideas on what I can throw in there to fill the minimal amount of gaps I have. Also, there needs to be a distinguishing factor between thinly planted and mowed down. I have the same plants in the tank that I have in the tank in my signature. The only difference is that I had to remove a lot of the leaves.

So, what are some good fast growing plants?

Cheers,
Abe


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## Abrium

I'm kind of calling you out cards. You want to criticize what I have and what I have worked for that is fine. However, the mentality of this forum has always been one that has presented not only a problem but a way to fight through the issues that the OP is having. 

If I'm "thinly planted" and "lack the plant mass" then what can I do? Show me the path to success please. I don't post on this forum to waste the time typing.

Be constructive instead of having an attitude that is damning without presentation of a solution.

Cheers, 
Abe


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## OverStocked

Abrium said:


> I'm kind of calling you out cards. You want to criticize what I have and what I have worked for that is fine. However, the mentality of this forum has always been one that has presented not only a problem but a way to fight through the issues that the OP is having.
> 
> If I'm "thinly planted" and "lack the plant mass" then what can I do? Show me the path to success please. I don't post on this forum to waste the time typing.
> 
> Be constructive instead of having an attitude that is damning without presentation of a solution.
> 
> Cheers,
> Abe


I think you took something too personally. When I read that post I do not see any attitude or attack. Saying you had too much light presented a solution. Reduce your light even more.


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## Abrium

Re-reading I think you're right. My apologies cards. That mood was driven by day-to-day work related stress. I think I fell prey to the forum version of road rage. I have already lowered the light even more by unplugging another bulb which means there are some areas of my tank that are receiving almost no light what-so-ever. 

This is not a genuine emergency or major concern at this stage. Having said that I would like to prevent bba if and when I reach that crossroads and I don't think that lowering the lighting is going to be the kick that finally kills the would-be opponent. 

To follow cards post more literally:


> very thinly planted tank of mostly slow growers


I want to put some more fast growers in there. Lets make that happen and attack this situation on multiple fronts.


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## houseofcards

Wow that was weird. I'm not sure how you got that from my post, but no problem. I've had bad days too. 

I guess when a thread is resurrected from 2005 that was started by a someone named Mr. Hyde strange things happen, LOL.

Overstocked - thanks!


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## Abrium

So what can I throw in the tank that grows super fast and doesn't look too bad?


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## herns

Abrium said:


> So, what are some good fast growing plants?
> 
> Cheers,
> Abe


Some of my favorite fast growers are Rotalas and Ludwigias species.


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## Couesfanatic

Stems. Plant stems. Water Sprite, Wisteria, Cabomba, fast growing stems. I see java ferns, anubius and crypts in there. I know there are a lot more plant species in there but those are very slow growers. What is your substrate?


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## fahim6801

im really new in this planted aquarium world, i am facing the same problem too (BBA) for around 2 month now, is it possible that by introducing some Otocinclus vestitus or siamese algae eater can help me get rid of BBA, or any other algae eater tht can help me cleaning this BBA....


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## Sethjohnson30

fahim6801 said:


> im really new in this planted aquarium world, i am facing the same problem too (BBA) for around 2 month now, is it possible that by introducing some Otocinclus vestitus or siamese algae eater can help me get rid of BBA, or any other algae eater tht can help me cleaning this BBA....


I just read this whole thread + a few others to refresh my memory so I could get rid of a small bba outbreak. If you read this thread you posted in you will find the answers. Here's a quick list of things mentioned of inportance in this thread:

Low co2, you want at least 30 ppm in most situations
High light(without co2 and ferns to support it 
Proper dosing methods(ei was mentioned here, it's nice and simple,works for most people). 
I have also noticed a link between sachem flourish iron and bba 
Fluctuating co2 levels is also suspect along with low nitrates(I disagree,my nitrates are kept at 15 ppm and I have algae)

You can get rid of it by spot dosing excel or h202(hydrogen peroxide)

Thanks everyone that posted in this thread. I have came to the conclusion that bba showed up in my medium light non co2 tank because I got lazy with dosing excel. This was kind of one those moments where I went "DUH!" and smacked myselfin the forehead. 

For some reason I continued reading. This thread is a very good read.


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## etgregoire

Wow this is an epic thread, I found it on google... and as it turns out it was posted on just today.

Seth - What was the connection between Seachem Iron and BBA that you found? 

I have a slight amont of BBA everywhere and it's driving me crazy. It doesn't grow in thick tufts or patches like most photos I see, but very slowly small amounts on the edges of leaves. I prune a lot of affected leaves. I have also been spot dosing excel. I have pulled plants out and soaked in H2O2 and even soaked the sword leaf tips in cups of h2o2 when the water was low during water change. 

I'm thinking of upping my fert dosing... I have might lights cut back to 6 hrs, and I don't know my exact amt of co2 but i know its pretty high....

Sighhh

Just curious about your Iron / BBA statement! Thanks


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## Sethjohnson30

Every time I dose flourish iron(or comprehensive) I end up with bba butif I dose csm+b I do not get bba. 

Lastnight I looked through a lot of threads. As I always do when I have a question. It became apparent to me that people dosing flourish iron seamed to have a lot worse problems with bba. 
I read a lot last night, like 50 threads. 
I haven't done any true experiments to prove my findings, but I'm satisfied.


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## Sethjohnson30

How's your flow? If you don't have even distribution of nutrients and co2 some times algae will grow heavier in slower moving water because the nutrients and co2 are not able to get to that area


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## Sethjohnson30

I think this thread should be a sticky.can we do that mods?


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## OVT

I wish I could find Cause -> Effect in this thread (or any other). The search continues....


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## etgregoire

I did have high flow in my tank so I took out my power had circulating water. It seems to be growing less rapidly now but I also have a better co2 reg that gives more consistent output. So I'm not sure which that was. I might try adding it back


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## crossbred900

My 75 gallon oscar tank was infested with bba a few months ago when I decided to try a couple plants in his tank. Now the plants are gone and I can't get rid of the algae. I read that overdosing Flourish Excel can get rid of it, but how much can I dose without hurting my large oscar? The initial dose I used last night was for 90 gallons. Now it says add 1 cap a day. How much more than that should I use?


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## plantedtankfan

Will sdding some SAE help with the bbs problem?


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## puopg

plantedtankfan said:


> Will sdding some SAE help with the bbs problem?


help yes. Solve, maybe. Spot dose excel and Stable CO2


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## TetraFan

I had a problem with BBA only once. I traded my CAE in for two SAE and I have never had it since...


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## Hilde

FISA said:


> I too had a tough time with BBA.....some say it infests tanks with high carbonate hardness.....


I have low carbonate hardness. Still struggling with it. When I started the tank, 29G, 4years ago tap water was soft with ph 8.6. Read that this meant the tap water was treated with phosphates. Dosed more with KNO3 and had a 3hr siesta period. 

Now tap water ph is soft with ph 7.6. BBA is attaching my ferns. Still struggling with it. Next step is to take ferns out and dip them in diluted seachem excel. 

I have always been told low Co2 is the culprit. Mr Hyde has good Co2 which proves my theory that is an imbalance of some sort.


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## Hilde

Sethjohnson30 said:


> Every time I dose flourish iron(or comprehensive) I end up with bba butif I dose csm+b I do not get bba.


Perhaps it is because it is Ferrous Gluconate. Ferrous sulfate seem to help my plants better.


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## EricSilver

I won the battle with BBA after I accidentally killed my fish with a too-strong H2O2 treatment. In my case, there was a direct correlation between fish waste and BBA. 

My 40G breeder was heavily planted, with adequate filtration, pressurized CO2 and two UV sterilizers. Water was always crystal clear. During and after cycling I dealt with diatoms; some green algae on rocks and the edges of some plants; and minor green dust on the glass due to direct sunlight exposure. Adding 15 amano shrimp helped control that. Later I added fish: A dwarf puffer to control the snail population; 6 rummy nose tetras; 5 cardinals; and 5 gold tetras. About three months later, BBA and blue-green algae appeared, and the green dust became heavier.

I used peroxide and Flourish Excel to combat it, but it always returned within a week. About 7 weeks ago I increased the peroxide dosage, which unfortunately killed all the fish except the puffer; and killed 10 of the 15 shrimp. The plants fared no better: All melted except the Hydrocotyle 'Japan” (which is tough as nails); about 30% of the glossostigma survived; the hygrophilia corymbosa was unaffected; and Staurogyne Repens seemed to actually grow stronger. 

I let the tank sit untouched for a month to recover. During that time, the green dust/green water returned -- but the BBA did not. *Not a single hair returned.* 

I did a 50% water change, vacuuming mulm and detritus from below the substrate. In the next week, green dust appeared again but at about half its previous growth level. Another water change a week after that, again vacuuming sediment from under the substrate, and subsequent green dust was at about 10% of its previous level. Repeated the water change/vacuuming yesterday and fully expect the reduction to continue.

The attached pic was taken a short time before the BBA outbreaks (starting on the leaves of the hygrophilia corymbosa). I will post some “after” pics after I finish minor re-scaping and pruning damaged/dead plants. 

*Note:* Since the peroxide catastrophe two months ago I have added nothing to the tank except Flourish. The shrimp are living on algae and I assume the puffer is finding survivor snails since he is fat and happy. With no additional fish producing waste (and me not adding fish food), I am hoping I can maintain this balanced state indefinitely. 

So, even with good filtration, two UV sterilizers, over-abundant plants and a (seemingly) moderate fish load, the algae won. To defeat algae, the secret appears to be to significantly reduce the animal bio-load.


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## Planted-tnk-guy

I run my c02 as high as i can without killing my most sensitive fish. Many pelco and fish from fast running water will be affected at high co2 first since they need higher oxygen levels when i see a ribber lip pelco on his back panting for air i turnmy bubbler on for 1 min and turn my c02 back just a notch and wait an hour. My drop checker is always bright yellow since you cannot measure c02 at home realistically. Once my c02 is good i turn it off one hour after lights out and three hours before lights on so the level is at a constant during daylight hours. All my animals crayfish, shrimp badis, snails and plants are happy and free of bba. I only do this when i am going to be home all day so i have a good 12 hrs to tinker with the c02 to get it right. You dont need to worry to much it takes a long time for a fish to die from C02 so as long as you watch and be prepared to pump air in if needed your fish will be ok. And if you have expensive plants such as anubis, moss, java, i do a zip lock bag terrarium no water only enough humidity to keep the plant alive and slowly reduce the humidity over the next few weeks so the plant can dry out between waterings . I open the bag daily to let in more cO2 and wash as much bba off as you can and even a dilute amount of hydrogen peroxide on a qtip works in the back 10 min then rinse off works best on hard leaves.


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## hitmanx

Considering the zombie nature of this thread, I thought I'd add to it instead of make a new one...

Over the last 7 months of my heavily planted tank, the only time small amount of BBA have showed is when I have let the open top water evaporate to much , and therefore had to add alot of water for top off... I am following the Tom Barr non co2 method so top off only, which is currently RO water...

So from my experience thus far, it seems to be a fluctuating co2 problem... every time I add more water the stable co2 levels fluctuate, and if I add to much at one time the balance is tipped...

Until I added a powerhead my main algae was staghorn and oedogonium fuzz on leaf edges, but the increased floe and more amano shrimp cleared that up:biggrin:

Of course I had a recent large BBA attack on my driftwood which coincided with replacing my cfl bulb after 6 months... As of yesterday half of it is gone, all munched away by my single red ramshorn snail... at least I witnessed him eating it and the next day it was gone... Either that or my 12 amano shrimp decided it tasted good...

BBA is a helluva thing...


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## Jimmyblues

*BBA Infestation*



mr hyde said:


> My tank's been infested with bba for the last 6 months. I've been reading the advice on the board off and
> 
> 
> 
> You don't mention if you turn your injected CO2 off at night. From what I have read, BBA
> develops in aquariums that have constant PH swings due to erratic CO2 levels.
> 
> This is especially true with DIY CO2 systems.
> 
> I have been using DIY CO2 with great success in growing plants, however, BBA has also grown all over my substrate due to the fluctuations in CO2 levels.
> 
> Of all of the algae I have dealt with BBA is the most difficult to eradicate, because it grows in tufts all over your tank and quickly takes over your substrate. It's not quite as bad as
> a cyanobacteria outbreak, where you can literally see the cyano growing and creeping across the bottom of your aquarium right before your very eyes.
> 
> However, its bad enough. I got so fed up with trying to battle it that I removed the substrate in two of my tanks that had this problem, and now have substrate free tanks.
> 
> They take a bit of getting used to. However, the rimless aquariums in particular look very nice without substrate.
> 
> And it is much easier to keep the bottom of the tank clean since you only need to vacuum it once a week.
> 
> I keep the plants in these tanks in terracotta pots, and remove them once a week to soak their roots in a few inches of tap water infused with a capful of liquid fertilizer.
> 
> So not having substrate in these tanks isn't a problem for me.
> 
> 
> I would suggest removing the substrate from your aquarium (after finding another place for your fish to stay for about 24 hours. Then I would break down your tank and scrub your
> filter, tank, heater and anything else you have had in this aquarium to get rid of the black brush.
> 
> I would also suggest investing in a UV sterilizer since they do an excellent job of reducing the number of algae spores in the water column so that algae won't take over your aquarium.
> 
> 
> 
> *Hint: for removing those last tiny pieces of substrate from the bottom of an aquarium that you have chosen to keep substrate free, use some silly putty. You can create a flat piece of this clay and then press it onto the particles which then stick to the putty for easy removal. This is the best way to remove those lingering particles that you can't get with a
> siphon or fish net.


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## Hilde

Jimmyblues said:


> mr hyde said:
> 
> 
> 
> My tank's been infested with bba for the last 6 months. I've been reading the advice on the board off and
> 
> From what I have read, BBA develops in aquariums that have constant PH swings due to erratic CO2 levels.
> 
> *Hint: for removing those last tiny pieces of substrate from the bottom of an aquarium use some silly putty.
> 
> 
> 
> Constant PH swings is not the only cause of BBA. When I started my tank BBA killed all of my plants. Dosing KNO3 and adding a 3hr siesta period got BBA under control. Algae means there is an imbalance. If your minerals, especially nitrates, are high do water changes every other day.
> 
> Bump:
> 
> 
> hitmanx said:
> 
> 
> 
> Considering the zombie nature of this thread, I thought I'd add to it instead of make a new one...
> 
> I am following the Tom Barr non co2 method so top off only, which is currently RO water...
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> What are you water parameters before and after topping off? I think doing water changes weekly with treated tap water may be more beneficial.
Click to expand...


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