# Nuking BGA with Marycin, when should I see results?



## GTR (May 27, 2009)

I can't help with the dosage at all. I've only treated SW tanks in the past and the die-off always happened within 24 hours. I'd remove the carbon, shut down the protein skimmer, treat the system for 48 hours and then do a major water change. All traces of the BGA (both red and green types) would be gone.

SteveU


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## N8thanExpl0sion (Feb 2, 2010)

Let me start with I am no expert at all. So ...
Erythromycin is a medication that is intended to treat Bacteria infections. Why do you think it will help with BGA? BGA is not bateria driven, it is a plant for all intensive purposes and so in my mind I dont see how a medication for treating bacteria is going to help.

BGA is getting feed with nutriants that your plants should be consuming. If your plants are not healthy enough then the Algae will win the battle over the nurtiants. You shoudl focus on making the plants healthy and possibly look at you Phosphate levels. Phosphate is a major source of food for BGA, if it is too high and your plants are too weak then there is no chance of getting rid of BGA.

Again I am no expert and I am sure that there are other things you could do that others will be able to suggest. This is just my two cents


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Day 4 or 5 is usually when you see them start to die off. Don't lose your patience... if you are dosing Maracyn, and what you see is cyanobacteria, it will work.


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## GTR (May 27, 2009)

BGA isn't an algae it's cyanobacteria.


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## N8thanExpl0sion (Feb 2, 2010)

Yup my bad.. Sorry I was thinking of BBA eventhough I was writing BGA.
Sorry for the bad advice


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## zachfishman1 (Feb 5, 2010)

Wasserpest said:


> Day 4 or 5 is usually when you see them start to die off. Don't lose your patience... if you are dosing Maracyn, and what you see is cyanobacteria, it will work.


Good to know. Dosing Maracyn is my last ditch effort. The 3 day blackout killed off 95% of it (fail), and like I said finally dosing KNO3 caused it to grow faster. The nitrogen has brought my plants back to life though.


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

My last experience with half dose regimen (125mg/10g daily for 5 days):

Day 1 - no result
Day 2 - no result
Day 3 - a bit starting to peel away
Day 4 - a bit more peeling, traces of brown
Day 5 - suddenly nearly gone

I think it just takes a little while for it to actually fall apart and decompose once it's killed.


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## zachfishman1 (Feb 5, 2010)

DarkCobra said:


> My last experience with half dose regimen (125mg/10g daily for 5 days):
> 
> Day 1 - no result
> Day 2 - no result
> ...


That's great to hear. I think I'll go for a full dose on day 5 just in case.


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

zachfishman1 said:


> That's great to hear. I think I'll go for a full dose on day 5 just in case.


Just keep an eye on your ammonia/nitrite in case of damage to your biofilter, which you should already be doing. Better safe than sorry.


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## topfrog007 (Dec 30, 2007)

I went on vacation a while ago and came back to tank full of BGA. Half the substrate was covered, it was all over the plants and driftwood, and it was on the glass too! 

I used UltraLife Blue Green Algae remover... I followed dosing instructions on the package, nearly all the BGA was gone by day 2. 

Good luck, let us know the results.


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## hallzoo (Jan 1, 2008)

My BGA hung on for dear life for 3 days, then was magically gone.

I was dosing full strength EM however. If you're not having success with 2/3 dose, I would immediately go full strength for another 5 days.

BGA will keep coming back stronger than before if you don't remove/kill whats there and fix the root cause of the problem.

Also recommend increasing surface movement (no splashing), increasing circulation, check for dead spots and adjust flow, add more KNO3, vacuum gravel, etc. to make sure BGA doesn't come back. Worked for me.


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## zachfishman1 (Feb 5, 2010)

When I took steps against the BGA such as increasing water flow, cleaning substrate, and adding KNO3 it just slowed it a bit. So I'm hoping that I've made enough changes to keep it from coming back - and using the antibiotics to rid the tank of what's lingering around.

UPDATE: There was some more cyano browning yesterday when I got home. Also, many areas which were previously covered are now clear of it (mostly on substrate), though there is still a lot of it around. Did a full dose, anticipating what it will look like later today!


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## Grant (May 11, 2008)

This is so timely for me. I have a case of BGA in my 2.5g nano. I tried the 4 day blackout and thought I had it licked. A week later and it is starting to show up again :icon_frow. 

I guess I will try either the Marycin or UltraLife Blue Green Algae remover. Unfortunately with only a 2.5g, I will probably choose based on which has an easier small dose to figure out. 

Thanks for sharing the details on these treatments.


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## zachfishman1 (Feb 5, 2010)

I would've picked up the blue-green algae remover if any of my local stores had it in stock (I've said if before, chains suck). So Maracyn is all I had available.

As of day 5 (yesterday), almost all of the BGA was eradicated, but there was a noticeable amount remaining (mostly on plants and in low-flow areas). I may continue with a full dose for an extra few days to lick it completely (though I will be doing a decent WC today).


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## Grant (May 11, 2008)

Well my local fish store had a product called Chemiclean (a cyano - bacteria remover). Although advertised as a Red Slime treatment for salt water they said it works great on BGA in freswater as well. 

I tried one dose and after waiting the instructed 48 hours noticed no real difference. As instructed I am on my second dose (after doing 20% water change). Hopefully the second dose kicks in.


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## zachfishman1 (Feb 5, 2010)

Chemi-clean does indeed work great for marine cyano. I've never used it for FW BGA though.

My Maracyn dosing (8 days) has killed off 99.9% of the BGA, and to preserve my biofiltration (starting to see NH3 and NO2) I'm done. Hopefully once the meds are filtered out the remaining BGA doesn't go nuts. With luck the steps I've taken to prevent its Risk-like world domination will prevent it from doing so.


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## Grant (May 11, 2008)

Well I may have got the Chemiclean to get rid of the BGA. What was odd is that even after the second treatment, it was still pretty visible on the leaves of some Val and in the corner on some glass. I was a bit frustrated.

The instructions said after 48 hours to do a 20% water change. I decided to not change anything and just see what happens. To my surprise, it seemed to have done the trick. Now about 4 days after the second treatment (and no water change yet) it appears to be almost gone. Hopefully by this evening I will not see any traces. I will probably wait another day or two and then do a normal water change.


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