# BBA - Getting ready to nuke tank.



## kcrossley (Feb 22, 2010)

Well I've admittedly been neglecting my tank because of work. Unfortunately, that neglect has triggered a really bad case of BBA. At this point I'm really considering transferring all of my fish, shrimp, and apple snails into a temporary holding tank, removing my plants and filter media and cleaning the tank and fake rock background with something like hydrogen peroxide. 

What do you think? At this point, and from these pictures, is that my best solution?


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## accordztech (Dec 6, 2004)

wow looks like low co2. 

This may not be a recommended method but it worked for me; I would take those individual pieces out and then boil it or rinse it good with a hot water bath and scrub it a bit. Then with it out of the water hit it with h202 and let it simmer. 

Then put it back in the tank, there will still be algae but you will notice some will already turned red and turned white, giving you a jumpstart to get rid of it.

But you have to fiqure out why this happened so it wont come back later.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

hah, hairy glass.
The easiest solution is H2O2, 5ml per 10G. Leave the filters off for 30 minutes when you do this. Attack the base of the BBA with a syringe if you can. You can nuke it with 10+ml/10G but I'd take the fish out. THen do a water change and add the fish back.

You won't noticed any change at first but the BBA should turn red and die off in a few days.

You shouldn't feel bad, I do weekly maintenance and I still get the stuff.


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## Moody636 (Oct 24, 2009)

I know how it can get with being busy at work and not having time for the tank, so I feel your pain. I actually tore down my 10g after this same thing happened and wound up getting a 25g and going with low light.

If you're willing to take everything down and go the hydrogen peroxide route I'd say go for it. At this point fighting it without doing so almost looks impossible. Impossible is nothing, however.


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## TeamTeal (Mar 31, 2010)

is h2o2 safe for shrimps?


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## kcrossley (Feb 22, 2010)

Yeah, I think I'm going to nuke it with H2O2. My plan is to do the following:

1. Transfer fish and other marine animals to temporary 5-gallon, heated holding tank
2. Remove plants, trim off BBA parts, and place in temporary tank
3. Remove and discard existing Eco-complete
4. Remove bio-filter and place in plastic container for use with cleaned tank
5. Clean tank throughly
6. Soak tank, rocks, and wood in H2O2 for 24-48 hours
7. Rinse tank and all decor
8. Add new Eco-complete and re-aquascape
9. Replace bio-filter media

Should I change or add anything? For a 30-gallon tank, how much H2O2 should I use to effectively kill all the algae?

Thanks,
Kelly


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## kcrossley (Feb 22, 2010)

What say ye wise aquarium hobbyists? Is this a good plan?


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## accordztech (Dec 6, 2004)

I dont think that soaking for a full day with h202 is necessary. Usually after about 40 minutes the h2o2 is gone. I try to scrub off most of it after heat soaking it then the rest hit it with h202. I did that to my branches yesterday and 90% of it is white and red now and it only took me an hour at most

Id leave your bio media in tact. 

Id wait for another member but I dont see why its necessary to replace the substrate as well. You really should just clean what you can and leave whats left there so that your tank wont take to long to do a mini cycle, if any. 

The glass you can skim with a old clean credit card, but as for the rear wall background, is it removable? also the drop checker can be cleaned externally to, but be careful to not drop it and be gentle.

If the plants arent coverd then leave it, if there is some bba on it trim it.


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## kcrossley (Feb 22, 2010)

accordztech said:


> The glass you can skim with a old clean credit card, but as for the rear wall background, is it removable?


Unfortunately, no. It's attached to the Biocube back.


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## accordztech (Dec 6, 2004)

is it coverd in bba or gsa?


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## kcrossley (Feb 22, 2010)

I'm pretty sure it's bba.


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

Why are you replacing your substrate?

I'd just leave the h2o2 in for 30 minutes or so. It's done its work by then.


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## kcrossley (Feb 22, 2010)

macclellan said:


> Why are you replacing your substrate?


It' about 8 months old and I think all of the nutrients are gone. Plus, I'm worried about BBA spores.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Spores are everywhere. Just work on the algae.


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## accordztech (Dec 6, 2004)

If you can see It pm the substrate then nuke it or throw that little bit away. But save your money. I don't think the nutriants are gone, you should be OK. I recoverd from black algae and kept the same gravel


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## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

excel will take care of that BBA in only a few days... Double dose the daily recommended and it'll all turn pink and your shrimp and snails will eat it.

EASY! I will get a spike of BBA in my tank once in a while when I slack on fertilizer dosing, but it's always been super easy to fix with excel and h2o2.


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## TeamTeal (Mar 31, 2010)

double dosing excel is safe for shrimps?


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## accordztech (Dec 6, 2004)

mordalphus said:


> excel will take care of that BBA in only a few days... Double dose the daily recommended and it'll all turn pink and your shrimp and snails will eat it.
> 
> EASY! I will get a spike of BBA in my tank once in a while when I slack on fertilizer dosing, but it's always been super easy to fix with excel and h2o2.


 Do you hit the spots directly or do u just dose?


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## kcrossley (Feb 22, 2010)

*WARNING*
Tank nuking is about to commence. All fish and invertebrates must leave the area immediately. Last bus to the temporary holding tank leaves in one hour.

BTW, how long should I let the tank soak in hydrogen peroxide to fully kill the BBA?


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

H2O2 turns to water in less than an hour. An hour soak should do it. I also used the Excel method. It works as well. Excel in a syringe is a good way to target small patches, should it return after the nuke.


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## kcrossley (Feb 22, 2010)

chad320 said:


> H2O2 turns to water in less than an hour. An hour soak should do it. I also used the Excel method. It works as well. Excel in a syringe is a good way to target small patches, should it return after the nuke.


Yeah, I let it get way out of control. I didn't know that H2O2 turned to water. Interesting. How much rinsing of the tank should I do after I've let it soak?

Also, aside from cutting trimming the BBA off of the plants, can I simply soak the plants in a tub of Excel by themselves for a day or so to kill off the remaining BBA? What ratio should I use of Excel to water to do this?


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

No need to rinse the tank. As for the Excel, id just double dose the tank. IDK why people say its bad, ive triple dosed shrimp tanks. Turning off your filters and spot shooting it at the target area certainly helps.


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## Captivate05 (Feb 23, 2010)

kcrossley said:


> Yeah, I let it get way out of control. I didn't know that H2O2 turned to water. Interesting. How much rinsing of the tank should I do after I've let it soak?
> 
> Also, aside from cutting trimming the BBA off of the plants, can I simply soak the plants in a tub of Excel by themselves for a day or so to kill off the remaining BBA? What ratio should I use of Excel to water to do this?


Look at the break down of hydrogen peroxide and compare it with water: H2O2 vs H2O. That extra oxygen leaves fairly quickly :icon_smil

I used Excel (spot treating) on my BBA outbreak (it wasn't nearly as bad as yours, though) and it worked wonders. It turned red pretty much overnight and the snails were slowly working on it. After I introduced my RCS to the tank about a week ago, they've picked it clean.

Make extra sure you've fixed the problem that started the outbreak in the first place. If not, it'll just blast out of control all over again.


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## kcrossley (Feb 22, 2010)

Captivate05 said:


> Make extra sure you've fixed the problem that started the outbreak in the first place. If not, it'll just blast out of control all over again.


Oh, I already know what caused this. Me working too much and neglecting the tank. That won't happen again.


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## kcrossley (Feb 22, 2010)

How long will my biological filter keep in a temporary tank?


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Add some fish food to the tank to feed the filter and it should last indefinately if its running.


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## kcrossley (Feb 22, 2010)

I need to disconnect the filter to throughly clean the tank. I just wanted to know how long the biological filter would last if temporarily placed in a bucket with some tank water and no heater--4 hours, 6 hours, a day?


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## Captivate05 (Feb 23, 2010)

Probably a day or two. Mine lasted just peachy when I moved, and it took me over a day from tear down to set it back up. I even drained my filter and put it in a plastic bag.


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## kcrossley (Feb 22, 2010)

Okay, cleaning the fake rock wall is proving to be much more difficult than I thought. I've tried letting H2O2 sit for a few hours, but I'm having limited success. This BBA is really tough. 

Should I spray the dried rock wall with Excel and let it sit for a few hours or is there a better solution to clean off this stubborn BBA?


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## mattycakesclark (Jun 11, 2010)

kcrossley said:


> Okay, cleaning the fake rock wall is proving to be much more difficult than I thought. I've tried letting H2O2 sit for a few hours, but I'm having limited success. This BBA is really tough.
> 
> Should I spray the dried rock wall with Excel and let it sit for a few hours or is there a better solution to clean off this stubborn BBA?


Spray bottle of Excel sounds good, I did it one some driftwood. I wouldn't even try to scrub it off after, my ramshorns and shrimp cleaned the dead-n-red BBA up in a matter of two days. 
I did the same on my tank, then ran a UV to nuke any spores, although I am sure that was not nearly as useful as I thought.


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## kcrossley (Feb 22, 2010)

mattycakesclark said:


> I did the same on my tank, then ran a UV to nuke any spores, although I am sure that was not nearly as useful as I thought.


Thanks. Yes, I found out that was part of my problem. My UV sterilizer failed leaving the spores to multiply. Those darn UV bulbs only last about six months.


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## kcrossley (Feb 22, 2010)

mattycakesclark said:


> Spray bottle of Excel sounds good, I did it one some driftwood. I wouldn't even try to scrub it off after, my ramshorns and shrimp cleaned the dead-n-red BBA up in a matter of two days.


How long should I leave the Excel on the back wall before I try washing it off? BTW, I wonder if one of those high pressure do-it-yourself car wash hoses would knock the algae off? 

Thoughts?


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

15 minutes on the Excel. The pressure washer will wash it off, but im guessing not completely kill it like Excel.


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## kcrossley (Feb 22, 2010)

chad320 said:


> 15 minutes on the Excel. The pressure washer will wash it off, but im guessing not completely kill it like Excel.


I was actually thinking about killing it with Excel, then pressure washing it off.


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

You certainly can try. It turns red about 24 hours after its death and snails, ottos, and plecos love this stuff when its dead.


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## kcrossley (Feb 22, 2010)

Okay, the sprayed on Excel, followed by pressure washing at the do-it-yourself carwash worked great! Nearly all of the algae is gone. I did get some strange looks though. 

I'm pressure testing the aquarium now to make sure I didn't accidentally blow out any seals with the pressure washing. So far so good, but it is 51 degrees outside and the spigot water is pretty cold. I hope it doesn't crack my Biocube.


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## jreich (Feb 11, 2009)

kcrossley said:


> I'm pressure testing the aquarium now to make sure I didn't accidentally blow out any seals with the pressure washing. So far so good, but it is 51 degrees outside and the spigot water is pretty cold. I hope it doesn't crack my Biocube.


 as long as you dont use hot water on cold glass you should be cool, its fast transitions from cold to hot that break glass, or vice versa.


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## kcrossley (Feb 22, 2010)

jreich said:


> as long as you dont use hot water on cold glass you should be cool, its fast transitions from cold to hot that break glass, or vice versa.


Yes, that's what I thought. Thanks for the tip.


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## kcrossley (Feb 22, 2010)

Okay, the tank looks to be okay. Time to prep everything.


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