# Still struggling with BGA



## AaronT (Apr 11, 2004)

If all your nutrients are in place as you say they are I would suspect that you are not getting enough CO2 into the water; especially because the types of algaes you say you are seeing if you up the nutrients any are easily cured with ample CO2 levels. 

There is also another remedy for BGA that does not require maricyn. You will need some hydrogenperoxide and a syringe. Fill the syringe with the hydrogenperoxide and spot shoot any BGA in the tank. That should help you get rid of a good bit of it. BGA is also fairly easy to remove manually before you treat for it.


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## malkore (Nov 3, 2003)

So, you've tried KNO3 dosing to no avail. Sounds like the blackout is only a temporary fix too.

Never heard of H2O2 for BGA...just BBA and brush algae...

My two cents: this is the time to pull out the nuclear weapons - maricyn. Give a normal dose on day 1, and then a half dose every day for another 6 days. Then do a 50% water change, and make sure your nitrates are up afterwards.

There's something like 1,000 strains of cyanobacteria. I've only had it twice, in my two 20 gallon tanks, and like yours it was unstoppable until I medicated. Medication should always be the last resort, and I think you've exhausted your other options.

*edit* Ok, you may not find Maricyn in the UK, but surely you can find erythromycin in 250mg tablets I'm sure...that's all maricyn is. (and oddly enough, erythromycin was the first anti-biotic my dermatologist put me on for acne treatment a decade+ ago)


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## GraemeK (Apr 8, 2004)

if you can find somewhere in the UK which i could get it from i'd be greatful! 

i'm really getting tired of it now...its recking my tank :-(

Plantbrain says up my KNO3 and it'll go away well it isnt and if i continue to dose KNO3 i'll be putting in 1 tsp 3 x week to a 30 gallon!!


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## Momotaro (Feb 21, 2003)

How is your water's circulation? getting the water flowing a bit more has helped combat BGA in the past. I am not saying it will be the solution, but it may help.

Mike


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## shalu (Jan 16, 2003)

FYI, another antibiotic oxytetracycline works too. I used one dose 50mg/gallon. All traces of BGA disappeared after a few days.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Maracyn is just overpriced Erythromycin. See if you find anything containing EM, doesn't matter what brand name. Or OTC like Shalu mentioned.


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## GraemeK (Apr 8, 2004)

Cant find Erythromycin in the UK, only on precription.... :-(

I guess if i bought some in the states it would get stopped.

water circulation isnt bad, i have three small powerheads in the tank...


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## donkey (Jul 13, 2004)

Hi there
i had a problem with BGA over the years and i also live in England .i got some from here 
http://www.inhousedrugstore.co.uk/generics/erythromycin.html

and here 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/24-Tab-Maracy...ryZ66795QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

they both work as good as each other .if you get the stuff from ebay it will just come through normal royal mail and you wont have any problems at all mate 
hope this helps


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## donkey (Jul 13, 2004)

one other thing . if you get the stuff from ebay make sure you get Maracyn and NOT Maracyn 2 . this lady from the USA has it on there all the time .but you have to pay her by paypal .as paypal will convert from UK lolly to USA lolly .but i think that link i sent you is for Maracyn and Maracyn 2 .but you can email her and just ask for Maracyn .she was very helpfull with me


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## GraemeK (Apr 8, 2004)

Donkey,

Just bought it on eBay...hopefully it'll come through without being stopped!!! 
I asked the seller to describe it as aquatic reference material...

Since cutting back on plant food the BGA has slowed down but not a great deal...it grows so fast...i swear i brought it in with the new soil based substrate i had..

How many tablets will i need for about 30 gallons?


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## donkey (Jul 13, 2004)

Hi there
i have been getting parcels from America for years now .i buy stuff from ebay and i have friends who send stuff for birthdays and Christmas .i have yet to have any problems with the post . it will come by royal mail and i think mine took about a week to get here .the only time i ever had a problem with a parcel from America was with U.P.S i had to pay the VAT on it when it got here . you are doing nothing wrong by getting your Maracyn from America .its ok to buy antiibiotics as long as its for your own personal use .

when i had BGA i tried everything to get rid of it . better water movement 3 day black out i even stripped the tank down at one stage and nothing worked .Maracyn was the only thing that worked it nuked my BGA in about 3 days .your tank is 30 gallons so put 3 tablets a day in for 5 days and its goodbye to BGA . even if it all looks dead after 3 days make sure you still carry out the full 5 day treatment . they take a long time to dissolve but if you put them in there before you go to bed they will be gone by morning .

after it is all dead just to a 50% water change and suck out as much of the dead BGA algae as you can . there will be a reason why you got it in the first place so you will need to find out the reason for it .for me it was all down to adding to little CO2 .if you need anymore help please get back to me and please let us all know how it works out for you roud: 

Regards Kev....


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## GraemeK (Apr 8, 2004)

I asked for just Maracyn and to forget the Maracyn-two.

Are you sure i do not need Maracyn-two to kill off BGA?

many thanks.

Graeme.


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## donkey (Jul 13, 2004)

yes im sure mate . Maracyn-two is for fin and tail rot . all you need is Maracyn 
roud:


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## GraemeK (Apr 8, 2004)

Hi all,

Well today is supposed to be the last of my Maracyn doses, 5 doses in total. I've been adding three tablets which is enough for 30 gallons and with subtrate, plant matter etc my tank has probably slighlty less than 30 gallon so i know i havent under dosed.

well the BGA on the gravel seems to be disappearing but not entirly but the BGA on my java moss dosesnt seem to be budging much....maybe i should carry on dosing until its all gone??????

When i did a three day black out all traces of BGA went so why arent they with Maracyn ???

thanks!!


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## Aqua Dave (Feb 23, 2004)

I stopped dosing after the 5th day, but waited a couple days before I did a water change and clean up. Did you clean as much out as you could before you started the treatment? That seems to help speed up the decline of what's left. You could try disturbing the java moss to dislodge the BGA. It seems to die quicker if it's not attached to something. You could also scoop out a lot of it with a fish net.

David


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## GraemeK (Apr 8, 2004)

hmmm i didnt remove it from the BGA....

i will tomorrow night...

i added a 6th dose tonight.......i'll remove it from the BGA tomorrow and add a final 7th dose. there are little patches still in the tank which havent gone?

i got the impression this Maracyn was the real deal and the BGA would die quickly...!


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## techbearus (Apr 21, 2004)

You may not necessarily dose it everyday, after an intial dose in my tanks, BGA would start turning much darker by end of next day and then after another day it would just start crumpling into smaller bits and then disappear by the end of fourth day. So I think you may dose it again only after 2-3 days if you see no effect. This way you don't have to worry about overdosing and damaging your tankmates and also save on your medicine you went all the trouble to get.


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