# BBA Help



## Blue Ridge Reef (Feb 10, 2008)

There are long and epic threads on this algae if you do a search. I find it rarely gets a foothold in tanks with vigorous plant growth such as hi-tech tanks with stems. Excel and peroxide are usually effective. I see you have shrimp and shrimp and Excel aren't usually a good combination. Remove any manually that can be removed. Clean filter media and such to reduce dissolved organics seem to go a long way. But there is no type of algae I'd less rather see in my own tanks. BBA can be a beast.


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

I am running double the co2 in my 40 gallon. I have high light as well. With two lights on your tank you might need to raise the co2 level. The other thing to raise/change is your ferts. You are currently running part of seachem line. Flourish has very little nitrogen and basically the majority of your nitrogen are currently coming from your algae eaters and substrate which may or may not be able to handle the load. Have you tested for nitrate amounts?


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## burr740 (Feb 19, 2014)

I see nothing wrong. The bba if you notice is on dead or dying leaves. Normal. Decaying plant matter feeds it, and will bring it on from nothing. Just pull that stuff out and keep up with what sounds like a terrific maintenance routine. All that cleaning is why it looks as good as it does. Dont worry about a spot of bba here and there. Everyone has that from time to time

Two months is still a new tank, a few algae phases in the beginning is normal. No need to start chasing phantoms by adjusting ferts or light or anything else. Just keep doing what you're doing and see how it goes. 

imo


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## DaveKS (Apr 2, 2019)

Phosphate readings? Fluorish also has almost no phosphate, you’ll need to keep it at least 3ppm. 

Are you only dosing once a week?


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

Substrate is 2 month old ADA aquasoil. Plenty of N and P in soil. It's well established that you don't need do add these things (not that you can't, but most setups won't need it), for the first 6 months or so. The only thing you might be short on is K and micros which isn't in the soil. This is what ADA adds in the beginning if your going full ADA.

The algae IMO is more likely the result of too much light in a new tank. I personally would reduce one of them to 2 hrs to shorten the peak.


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## hurts (Dec 22, 2018)

Thannks all , i know there are many threads talking about BBA but honestly, there are no 1+1 formula to follow that why I've posted my setup to have some help .

yes I do have too much light but if I only used one BAR light it will not enough due to the depth of the tank size .

i think as other stated the issue of unbalanced fertz . i may need to increase the flourish dose twice a week instead of once a week or maybe I have to add macro fertz ?!

I have this one its mixed macro fertz :

https://www.petoxy.com/shop/aquariu...es/ista-water-plant-premium-fertilizer-250ml/

Features
Contains macro nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) and other elements to boost the growth of aquatic plants.
New formula combines DTPA Ferrous iron, EDTA trace elements (Mn, Zn, Cu, etc.) and the essential nutrients for water plants, all in one bottle.
Effectively cure symptoms like chlorosis, browning, weak steams and roots, dying leaves and pale veins.
How to use
Use cap as measure scale, inner cap is 5ml and outer cap is 10ml. Recommended weekly water change: 30-50%. For weekly use, use 10ml for every 60L of water.


any suggesting ?


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

hurts said:


> yes I do have too much light but if I only used one BAR light it will not enough due to the depth of the tank size .


I think you misunderstood my post. You run both lights, but one for only 2 hrs or so. That gives high-light plants the light they need but curtails algae. Fert tweaking in the first few months is not going to prevent algae. Just do normal flourish dosing.


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## hurts (Dec 22, 2018)

Asteroid said:


> I think you misunderstood my post. You run both lights, but one for only 2 hrs or so. That gives high-light plants the light they need but curtails algae. Fert tweaking in the first few months is not going to prevent algae. Just do normal flourish dosing.


Aaah got your point, so one light on for 6 hours and the other light on for 2-3 hours , correct ?


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

hurts said:


> Aaah got your point, so one light on for 6 hours and the other light on for 2-3 hours , correct ?


Correct, that has always worked well for me. I've grown out plenty of ADA AS-based tanks that way. That combined with keeping things uber clean, like large water changes, removing any unhealthy leaves and light vacuuming on a regular basis. You can also put purigen and/or carbon in the filter to increase the removal of organics. 

All these things combine to give you the most wiggle room with algae.


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## hurts (Dec 22, 2018)

Hi Again ,

Just a Quick Update, BBA Still Taking Over the Tank and also I've noticed its covering the healthy leaves as well.
it's not quick growing but it's still there, I've ordered Flourish Excel I've seen people are using it to kill the BBA .
I've cut and remove all the infected leaves and cleaning as much possible and reduced light to 6 hours and the other light bar to 3 hours.

I've done another test today :

GH=4
KH=3
PH=7.2
TDS=98
Temp=26c
NO2=0
NO3=0
Ammonia=0
Co2 BPS=2

I'm confused why NO3 is zero ! i saw some threads saying the below :

0 Nitrates is possible in a heavily planted tank. Plants uptake them. Plants also uptake ammonia and nitrites and that is beneficial. And no 0 NO3 dose not hurt your good bacteria. Nitrates is a byproduct. Its an indication that your bb is there.


is that right ?


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

BBA is a tricky thing but you have to understand the BBA you see today is the result of conditions that existed before. Preventing BBA is easier than getting rid of it. Once you have it, it's like a plant and enjoys the same things, like light and co2. But the good news is that plants can out compete it once they really get going. 

Your say you reduced light to 6 hrs, so was it longer at startup? Also with amazonia to be preventive did you change 50% of the water every day to reduce ammonia/ammonium? If not than then algae is very likely. Can still get it with doing these things, but less likely. 

OK so you need to optimize light and co2. The amazonia takes care of most fert situations at this point. Other than needing micros and K. 

Are the plants growing well. Do you see any pearling. That would be an indication of accelerated growth. If not, your co2 is probably too low. You definitely need good co2 with good light. Double check your co2 with measuring ph both degassed and during the middle of your light cycle. So leave some tankwater out overnight and measure the PH then compared to the PH during the middle of your light cycle. Generally you want a 1.0 PH drop. This usually indicates 30 or so ppm. 

Overall light mgmt is key for any setup. It drives plant growth...and algae.


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## hurts (Dec 22, 2018)

Hi @asterold ,

thank you for the well-described details and the way you explain the issue.

see below replies :





Your say you reduced light to 6 hrs, so was it longer at startup?* it was 7 Hours / Day*

Also with amazonia to be preventive did you change 50% of the water every day to reduce ammonia/ammonium? If not than then algae is very likely. Can still get it with doing these things, but less likely. / *no at startup I didn't perform 50% water changes on a daily basis.*

OK so you need to optimize light and co2. The amazonia takes care of most fert situations at this point. Other than needing micros and K.

Are the plants growing well. Do you see any pearling. *Yes its growing well and crazy always trimming, but I have noticed recently some few leaves start being transparent*


aside from above :

I'm running the light 6 hours / Day.

the co2 starts before light on 2 hours and off before light off 1 hour.

I don't have good surface agitation and gas exchange because I'm using lily pipe glass and its difficult to make the balance of agitation and controlling the co2 to keep in the water.

what I did, I have air pump with timer, it will auto on after the light off 1 hour and I keep it on for only 6 hours ( Night Time ) I found this method help to gas off the co2 as I see the co2 drop checker goes back to blue color while the co2 off.

yes I guess the major issue I have balancing the ( Co2 and Light with Fertz )

in flourish direction, they said that you can use it twice or once a week.

there is no clear formula on how to balance all above except keep looking at the plants' growth.

forget about reducing light, assume I have double light and very high light, now your recommendation to increase the co2 from 2 bps to 3 bps? and what about the micro fertz do i have to increase it from 1 every week to twice a week?

apologies for making the thread so long but I'm in the hobby for a year now I'm trying to understand this balance thing.

i have another 2 low tech tanks and no issue all looking great, when it comes to high-tech problems starts.


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## hurts (Dec 22, 2018)

i found this post from ( Greaser84) talking about NO3

Quote:
Originally Posted by chris_ranger View Post
*If i always test for nitrates and come up 0 or close to it should I dose nitrogen? I dose everything but nitrogen.*

I would dose nitrogen in your case, it sounds like your plants are absorbing nitrates faster then your fish can make them. The goal is to never run out and hovering around 0ppm could be a problem down the road. I suggest you calibrate your test to see what your really at, because those test can be off. https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...ht=calibration

so maybe also this an issue? I have tested today and found the no3 is zero ! I'm not adding fish because I have hundred of shrimps and like 7 snails so I don't want fish to eat them


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## hurts (Dec 22, 2018)

i found this ISTA Water Plant Fertilizer NPK .

now I'm using Flourish and Trace and iron weekly.

so if this one have all the essential can I stop above and start using this one?





























also I have Mineral GH+


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

How are you testing no3. The amazonia should still be a source of nitrogen for some time. You can always add some no3, but I can't see how your getting zero here. 

Starting the tank off with 7 hrs full blast and not doing the water changes daily for the 1st week or so is to me what got this ball rolling. Do the ph drop test with degassed and gassed water. Although it can be faulty according to a co2 calculator you have almost no co2 in the water. I don't want you to gas you fish, so if you increase co2 you'll need to watch the setup and make sure the fish are distressed. If the co2 is very low and your running good light with all those nutrients that would definitely be a problem. 

In high-tech you need good co2, good light, ferts and good maintenance for it all to work. The less plants the more the weight to the maintenance. Also using purigen or carbon in the filter is a big plus since it rids the tank of organics that cause the algae in the first place. So I would consider adding carbon to the filter. Don't listen to the critics that say you don't need it or it hurts plants by absorbing ferts. ADA even recommends that most of your filter media is carbon at starutp.


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## DaveKS (Apr 2, 2019)

What kind of ramp up/down times do you have on lights and what’s peak intensity set to?


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## hurts (Dec 22, 2018)

Asteroid said:


> How are you testing no3. The amazonia should still be a source of nitrogen for some time. You can always add some no3, but I can't see how your getting zero here.
> 
> Starting the tank off with 7 hrs full blast and not doing the water changes daily for the 1st week or so is to me what got this ball rolling. Do the ph drop test with degassed and gassed water. Although it can be faulty according to a co2 calculator you have almost no co2 in the water. I don't want you to gas you fish, so if you increase co2 you'll need to watch the setup and make sure the fish are distressed. If the co2 is very low and your running good light with all those nutrients that would definitely be a problem.
> 
> In high-tech you need good co2, good light, ferts and good maintenance for it all to work. The less plants the more the weight to the maintenance. Also using purigen or carbon in the filter is a big plus since it rids the tank of organics that cause the algae in the first place. So I would consider adding carbon to the filter. Don't listen to the critics that say you don't need it or it hurts plants by absorbing ferts. ADA even recommends that most of your filter media is carbon at starutp.


I'm using API Master Test Kit , its showing Yellow Color which indicate Zero .

okay I will try to increase the Co2 and try testing the ph drop by one as u mentioned .

will update u , thanks

Bump:


DaveKS said:


> What kind of ramp up/down times do you have on lights and what’s peak intensity set to?



I'm setting both light at MAX , and its 36" type , see below specs


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## Tejas Kadam (Jun 19, 2018)

I usually get BBA when i fluctuate co2 and dead matter like dead plants in my tank

Bump: I keep my co2 stable and remove all the dead leaves and matter 2-3 water massive water changes and restore my balanced tank


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## hurts (Dec 22, 2018)

Tejas Kadam said:


> I usually get BBA when i fluctuate co2 and dead matter like dead plants in my tank
> 
> Bump: I keep my co2 stable and remove all the dead leaves and matter 2-3 water massive water changes and restore my balanced tank


you are also right, high organics level in the tank will cause BBA to explode.

Bump: i've done a test for PH Yesterday.












so the CO2 enough or I have to increase it ?


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