# Eliminating BBA with pure KNO3



## lescarpentier (Feb 2, 2008)

Now that is an interesting observation!
I'll have to try it on my water outlets.


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

Hmm, I have a couple rocks I could try this on. 

Any chance it can work under water, say if I found a way to get a 1/4 tspn down there and dropped in one place with the filters off?

How long are you letting it set?


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## rich815 (May 21, 2008)

Does this work better or cheaper than just doing the same with pure H2O2?


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

Sounds like it would if you're dry dosing KNO3 anyway. Maybe not for someone else.


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## aquanut415 (Jan 21, 2006)

jaidexl said:


> Hmm, I have a couple rocks I could try this on.
> 
> Any chance it can work under water, say if I found a way to get a 1/4 tspn down there and dropped in one place with the filters off?
> 
> How long are you letting it set?


i really have no idea about the application of the powder in solution. it would probably take a whole lot of the stuff, and might make the water unsafe for fish and shrimp till you did a whole lot of water changes. 
my thinking is that it kills the BBA so well cause it is a strong oxidizing agent, and the more direct the contact the more effective the treatment. 

as for how long, id say about 5 minutes. maybe a bit more, maybe a bit less.


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## aquanut415 (Jan 21, 2006)

rich815 said:


> Does this work better or cheaper than just doing the same with pure H2O2?


seems like it kills the BBA a bit better imo. i also think it is easier to apply and keep in place since the powder doesn't drip off like it does when using peroxide.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

aquanut415 said:


> hello all,
> I recently came to the conclusion you can easily kill BBA simply by applying raw KNO3 directly on the BBA. Its a much more cost effective method of eliminating algae on spray bars and wood while doing water changes than using excel. Just let the powder sit on the wood for a few minutes, if it doesn't turn white in a few days, just leave it on a bit longer next time.
> 
> :thumbsup:


Or any dry salt fertilizer, Excel, sodium percarbonate is the most effective contact powder however for algae that does not hurt plants(but like H2O2, can kil,l fish if you add too much).

This is like adding too much salt to any plant, it kills by frying the cells through osmolysis.

Some folks had mentioned adding ADA Phyton Git on algae when doing their water changes, I countered with suggesting adding KH2PO4 directly on the spot and see which worked better.
Seemed the salt worked better to me. 

Sodium percarbonate is awesome for ponds with algae attached.
You just toss it out there and let it settle, the algae comes right off in 1 hour, does no harm to plants, might work well in aquariums, but caution is required and it will raise the KH and also can roast things like too much H2O2.

Same with any salt you add too much though.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

aquanut415 said:


> i really have no idea about the application of the powder in solution. it would probably take a whole lot of the stuff, and might make the water unsafe for fish and shrimp till you did a whole lot of water changes.
> my thinking is that it kills the BBA so well cause it is a strong oxidizing agent, and the more direct the contact the more effective the treatment.
> 
> as for how long, id say about 5 minutes. maybe a bit more, maybe a bit less.


For the sake of experimentation, I'm going to do my next N dose through the pipe I use to feed bottom feeders, straight onto a rock while the filters are off for 5 mins or so. I'll leave the pipe in place and hope most of the dose makes it down there without dissolving. This is a 24" high 65gl. Will let you know next week if it did anything to the few BBA tufts I have.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

If you take a toothbrush to the wood, rock, equipment etc that's infested, then you can get it spread out well in a paste like mix.

Let it sit for 5 min before refilling the tank.
Most any fert salt will work well here.

I might start getting some percarbonate as it's much better than Excel or spot dosing H2O2 but the trade off is higher KH's.

No need to remove the water for that and it works really fast, in about 1-4 hours, the algae sloughs off.

I have no tested it in anything except lakes, barrels and ponds.
It had no effect on several species of aquatic plant vs a control, does kill algae pretty selectively.


Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## Macfan (Mar 30, 2008)

Will BBA be spread if I scrape/brush it off the wood/rocks (without treating it chemically first) while it's still in the tank? Obviously I would try to vacuum it out, but inevitably some will escape. 

Michael


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