Algae, Could There Be Light?

[FrankyFish]

Hi, I have been battling a BBA breakout in the last few weeks. I was sifting through the pages of this forums and found out about my WPG calculations. I am actually running 2*20watts T8 Tubes for my 35 gallons tank. Could it be the culprit as I am using Co2 injection. I am also adding iron from time to time as I was told it really promotes plant growth, and that the plants would be taken care of by the fish wastes.

I was suggested to also plant fast growing plants. I had elodea in the past that seemed to grow like crazy, maybe that could help?


Let me know

Frank

 

[baron von bubba]

Hi, I have been battling a BBA breakout in the last few weeks. I was sifting through the pages of this forums and found out about my WPG calculations. I am actually running 2*20watts T8 Tubes for my 35 gallons tank. Could it be the culprit as I am using Co2 injection. I am also adding iron from time to time as I was told it really promotes plant growth, and that the plants would be taken care of by the fish wastes.

I was suggested to also plant fast growing plants. I had elodea in the past that seemed to grow like crazy, maybe that could help?


Let me know

Frank

the lighting is in the low range and as far as the rough lighting recomendations go, you shouldn't "need" co2 with this!

uneven co2 levels are believed to be a key factor in causing BBA!
do you have the co2 turn on a couple of hours before lights on?
how do you "measure" your co2 levels?

as for adding fast growing stems, its always a good idea i think, altho it wont cure your BBA problem.
ppl go on about how they "out compete" the algae for nutrients, while they dont as such, they do suck up ammonia which even a small peak is believed to be a key factor in many algae outbreaks.

 

[FrankyFish]

I was using the dH and Ph little charts from this site and was around 27 ppm. Should I increase light or just forgo Co2 alltogether? I did go for two weeks vacation and forgot to have my neighbor redo the c02 mix, maybe that would be it? I typically leave co2 on all the time. I light up for around 8-9 hours a day.

Thanks for the informative reply

 

[SuperColey1]

the lighting is in the low range and as far as the rough lighting recomendations go, you shouldn't "need" co2 with this!

I think this rule is soon to be busted but not in its entirety!!!. Whilst it is true that lower light tanks don't 'need' CO2, this can sometimes be the reason that the low light fails!!! when Co2 is readily available plants are able to use their energy elsewhere. they can therefore utilise the lower light much better!!!

BBA as said above is inconsistent/insufficient CO2. The charts are letting you down. Noone uses them these days as they are way off. You need to either use a drop checker with 4dKH solution and bromo blue or up the CO2 until you see the fish gasping and then back it off a bit from there. The former is better to get a decent gauge.

Fast growing stems won't help with BBA. You get it or you don't no matter what the plants are. You need to sort the CO2 out which shouldn't be to hard with your light levels

Another thing is that the fish wastes are not going to supply enough for the plants when you are ading CO2!!!! They struggle to without and CO2 will increase nutrient uptake/plant growth by as much as 10 times or more. You need to add ferts.

I assumed you talked about pressurised as you said you usually leave it on 24/7 but then you talk of neighbours mixing etc. Are you using yeast DIY on a 36G??? Its a bit big for yeast setups really!!! and if you are using it you don't want to leave it on 24/7 'sometimes' you need to leave it on 24/7 permanently. You can't turn it on and off like pressurised or you lose the pressure and the reaction rendering it a pointless addition!!!.

AC

 

[baron von bubba]

I was using the dH and Ph little charts from this site and was around 27 ppm. Should I increase light or just forgo Co2 alltogether? I did go for two weeks vacation and forgot to have my neighbor redo the c02 mix, maybe that would be it? I typically leave co2 on all the time. I light up for around 8-9 hours a day.

Thanks for the informative reply

the Kh/Ph charts you mean?

thing is, that chart is not accurate and shouldnt be used as the sole method of "guessing" co2 levels.
it wont just be the co2 making the tank ph drop, other things in the tank influence the ph levels,
you can test this by taking a glass of tank water and a glass of tap water, leave both out for 24 hours (to degass co2) then measure the ph of both, i'm pretty certain the tank water will read lower ph than the tap water, but both will have the same level of co2 in!!
the Kh test kit also is not an exact thing so more room for error there!

a drop checker is probably the best method to gauge the co2 levels.

 

[FrankyFish]

Allright , I tought that by using the DIY mix with a teaspoon of mix you could get decent Co2 out of this setup, as you know, pressurized is rather investment intensive compared to baker's yeast and sugar. But yes, the co2 is flowing every minute of the day. I will get the drop checker tough, you guys get this online or through your LFS?

 

[baron von bubba]

Allright , I tought that by using the DIY mix with a teaspoon of mix you could get decent Co2 out of this setup, as you know, pressurized is rather investment intensive compared to baker's yeast and sugar. But yes, the co2 is flowing every minute of the day. I will get the drop checker tough, you guys get this online or through your LFS?

you can get cheap ones on ebay, if its the same there anything form the LFS is twice as much money!

look at a fire extinguisher set up, its still gonna cost a bit, but probably half as much as a complete "shop bought" co2 set up.

 

[FrankyFish]

I befriended some people who own a beer brewpub, could I use refillable c02 canister meant for a beer tap ? I like the part where you can buy like 20 pounds of the gas for the whole year.