# BBA on anubias



## jr125 (Mar 5, 2015)

When I had a lot of BBA on my Anubias and other slow growing plants, rock and decorative objects, reducing the light intensity and duration helped a lot. It also helped with the green dust-type algae that would accumulate on the glass. This was from a suggestion by Klibs who was running a similar light set up on his much higher tech tank at a much lower level than I was currently. Didn't slow the plants down much, just helped a bunch with the algae.

Don't know what you're running for lights, but that might be a place to start. I've never used hydrogen peroxide as an algae treatment so I can't help with that.

Good luck.


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## Kubla (Jan 5, 2014)

I've spot treated anubius in the tank with hydrogen peroxide with no issues


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## Maryland Guppy (Dec 6, 2014)

Similar issue for me.
I pull the anubias and use excel with a paint brush and toss back in the tank.
Repeat this on day two and most BBA will lightly rub right off.


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## jr125 (Mar 5, 2015)

:|:frown2::crying:


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## ilv2grdn (Jan 9, 2016)

jr125 The light I'm using is a diy, a 16' plain white led tape run back and forth, four times on the inside of a 4' rain gutter. If that makes any sense. lol

Kubla, have you had success with peroxide treatment? I must have done something wrong. Like I said before, I lowered water level, leaving it exposed to air and completely soaked all visible BBA with it and left it exposed for 12 hours. Then refilled the tank. Here it is 3 days later and there has been no change. What did I do wrong?


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## jr125 (Mar 5, 2015)

That's a very unique light fixture you have there. Chalk another one up to yankee ingenuity. Don't have any idea how bright something like that is or how long you are running it but if you are looking to try to prevent the BBA so you don't have to deal with it later the amount of light you are using should be considered. Reducing it did help in my case. A lot.


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## Turningdizzy (Apr 5, 2014)

ilv2grdn said:


> jr125 The light I'm using is a diy, a 16' plain white led tape run back and forth, four times on the inside of a 4' rain gutter. If that makes any sense. lol
> 
> Kubla, have you had success with peroxide treatment? I must have done something wrong. Like I said before, I lowered water level, leaving it exposed to air and completely soaked all visible BBA with it and left it exposed for 12 hours. Then refilled the tank. Here it is 3 days later and there has been no change. What did I do wrong?


Is your peroxide fresh? It makes a world of difference when first opened vs. sitting around for a while.


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## ilv2grdn (Jan 9, 2016)

jr125, All it says about the lights is "Flexible Led Strip Daylight SMD 5630" I have no idea what that means or how much light it gives for the plants but it is good for viewing. The length of the diy unit runs the full length of the tank...strange thing is, the BBA is only in the left 1/4 of the tank on the driftwood right beneath the inflow. I do have to admit however, that I do run the lights for too long. I was hoping I could just get rid of the BBA without cutting the lights because all my plants are doing so well. Won't less light affect the plants?


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## Tinanti (Aug 25, 2005)

Spot treating the problem is like putting a bandaid on a cut that's still bleeding. You should be asking yourself why it appears in the first place. Is your tank dirty? Not cleaning the filter enough?


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## Powerclown (Aug 17, 2014)

BBA on slow growing plants like anubias Is caused by high Nitrate levels combined with low or no co2. 
Cheers


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## jr125 (Mar 5, 2015)

Powerclown said:


> BBA on slow growing plants like anubias Is caused by high Nitrate levels combined with low or no co2.
> Cheers


I don't disagree with this. If someone is looking for a fun way to kill a couple hours on the internet just google "causes of BBA". The theories are endless. Too much co2, not enough co2, fluctuating co2, high organics, high water flow, low water flow, bacterial imbalances, ammonia spikes, high TDS, certain light spectrums and on and on. There is anecdotal evidence for and against about all of them but very little hard science.

Could be that a combination of a couple or several factors are in play. I think it is safe to say that in general practicing consistent tank maintenance, giving desired plants the necessary nutrients, light etc. they require and maintaining consistent water chemistry will go a long way towards limiting and possibly eliminating unwanted algae of any kind. I think it's also safe to say that too much light, either intensity or duration, combined with any of the other possible contributing factors will make the situation worse. 

I also thought that more light meant faster growing healthier plants. Better to compete with the algae right? After a point though it's just more that you need and it can cause more algae. Again, as a general rule, 7-8 hours of light a day is probably in the ball park. If you are running much more than that try cutting it back and see if the plants still do okay. If you get to that point and the plants are doing well but still lots of algae try dimming the light or raising it a bit higher. People mention using window screen to reduce intensity.


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## ilv2grdn (Jan 9, 2016)

Tinanti, Yes I keep my tank very clean and clean filters but as stated before, the hob filter I'm running is not big enough.

jr125, lots of great info! Thanks!. The par is fairly consistent. No major changes. But my water is liquid rock. Guess I should get a KH/GH test kit.

Btw, that diy 5 gal bucket filter didn't work.  So disappointed!!! So I am back to the hob meant for a 50 gal. I had an old hob meant for a 10 gal so I added that as well. Are the two together good enough for the 75? The 50 hob has sponges and filter, the 10 has just filter. Or would sponges be better. It's not big enough for both. 

I also blocked the light over the BBA.


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