# black beard algae



## fatbysl (Sep 23, 2004)

im having problems with bba is all over my driftwood in my substrate and right now my tank sucks. I dose nitrates, phosphates, 1.5t mon, wed, fri. and on tues thurs, and sat i dose .5t of iron with a 50% water change on sun. i have automatic c02. I have bought sae since everyone says they do the best but im starting to wonder because they have not even ate any of the bba. So is the only way to get a hold of bba is to pick the stuff off? When you say give the substrate a good vacuuming does that mean stick vaccuum in couple inches? Would like anyones input my tank needs help.

Was wondering if i pulled my driftwood out and soaked in bleach and water solution would that kill bba? If it would how long should i soak it for? Also how long should i soak the driftwood in plain water to get all the bleach out so i can put back into the tank without killing my fishes?


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## sarahbobarah (May 20, 2005)

Short answer is to take out as much as you can by hand, then cover your tank in COMPLETE and TOTAL darkness for 3 days. 

Have you searched through the algae section? There are numerous ways to deal with it.


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## ianiwane (Sep 7, 2004)

I know you said you have automatic co2. But you need to turn it up. BBA is caused by a lack of co2.


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## Laith (Jul 7, 2004)

I don't think blackout works for BBA.

Increase your CO2 levels; they are too low. You will still have to get rid of the existing BBA but it should stop growing/spreading...


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## Bert H (Dec 15, 2003)

If you have a lot of it on your wood, just take out the wood and boil it. But it is a symptom of too low CO2. Just crank it up.


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## fatbysl (Sep 23, 2004)

how much is too much?? whats a reasonable ph more c02 the lower my ph will go. I just dont want to kill my fish.


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## SnyperP (Dec 31, 2004)

If you're sig is up to date, then you use eco-comp. It is nearly impossible to vacuum ecocomplete due to it's varying grain size. You'll end up sucking most of the fine particles up and out of your tank. For your pH level, it really depends on the kH of your tank. Test that and get back to us. Then we can give you an appropriate answer. 

But yes, BBA is generally indicative of low CO2 levels. I don't have much experiene with BBA, but from what i understand increasing the CO2 levels will only halt the growth of BBA. You will need to manually remove it.


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## fatbysl (Sep 23, 2004)

did a kh test and my it was 5.6


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## SnyperP (Dec 31, 2004)

Barring any ph altering substances (ph buffers, peat, etc), 6.8 - 6.6 ph would net you approximately 25-36ppm co2.


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## fatbysl (Sep 23, 2004)

would that be good enough to get rid of bba?


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## ianiwane (Sep 7, 2004)

just do this, turn up the co2 slowly over several hours watch it carefully, if you see any signs of stress in your fish turn it down a little and leave it.


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## sarahbobarah (May 20, 2005)

sorry fatbysl, I misread that as BGA.

For BBA, I just started dosing Flourish Excel along with placing a powerhead next to my CO2 reactor to blow it around the tank more. 

Helped A LOT. No sign of it now.


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## fatbysl (Sep 23, 2004)

I will buy some flourish excel and boil my driftwood. On the driftwood i have some big pieces that wont fit in a pot to boil so what i though of doing was feeling up our sink with hot water.


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