Bga Problem, Any Tips?

[KCB]

My tank has just started to develop a BGA problem . My nitrates are fine at 40-80ppm so the only thing I can think of that is causing it is lack of flow and/or sporadic fertilisation.
 
Today I removed all the BGA I could manage (which was most of it), did a 50% water change, dosed ferts, added an air stone and blacked out the tank.
 
Now I only want to black out the tank for the majority of the day then I would like to have the lights on for about 5 hours, will that still help prevent BGA? My reason is that I don't want to cause undue stress to the fish if I can help it and I think not being fed and not having a day/night cycle my cause them to become stressed out.
 
Any other tips that will help? I read somewhere that adding a dose of vodka can help kill off the cyanobacteria but I'm not sure of the dangers of this or whether it is recommended.
 
Thanks

 

[DrRob]

Sorry to hear about the BGA, horrible stuff.
 
If you're going to do a blackout, do it properly, otherwise you'll just end up doing it again. Not feeding the fish has the advantage of starving the algae of some organics at the same time as starving it of light and, unless you're heavily overstocked, you'll not have issues for a few days of not feeding.

 

[Lunar Jetman]

You have to blackout for at least 3 days to kill it off. If not it will just come back. A few hours today is not nearly enough.
 
The fish and any plants will be fine as they have reserves or fish will find something in the tank if hungry. Just make sure the air stone is on.
 
Never heard about vodka either

 

[KCB]

Ah ok, thanks guys I'll do a proper blackout then. During this period do I still dose with ferts?

 

[frapadoodle]

No. Don't add ferts. Don't feed the fish.
Don't allow any light in. The plants and fish will be fine for a few days.

 

[Ps3Steveo]

5 days is best.

 

[KCB]

Just updating this topic.
 
It's been about a week since the blackout and I just noticed the BGA has gone today, happy days .

 

[Ps3Steveo]

 

[ian]

It'll be back if you haven't found the root cause. Up your n03 dosing, and ensure you have enough flow at substrate level.

 

[Ps3Steveo]

She knows the cause, its in the first post, sporadic dosing and flow.

 

[ian]

Adding an air stone won't make any difference at substrate level...you need to up the flow at substrate level.

 

[Lunar Jetman]

I know the OP seemed to have got to the bottom of her problem, but I just thought I'd mention where I am with my BGA. I haven't tried a blackout yet as I wanted to see if I could avoid one.
 
I had a fair amount of BGA and taking it out would see it grow back within hours. I've kept up my weekly water changes of about 25% (did this anyway before the problem) added a powerhead to increase flow and increased my ferts. Whilst the BGA hasn't disappeared completely it seems to have slowed down quite a bit. I'm going to stick to at it to see if i can get rid of it without the need for a blackout.
 
Fingers crossed!

 

[RCA]

I have had a problem with this on one particular piece of bog-wood.  I took the wood out of the aquarium and dosed the BGA with Hydrogen Peroxide Solution, every day for about a week.  Apparently you can do it in the aquarium but I thought I would play safe.  It killed it but then as you say it came back.
Alas the bog wood has Java Fern on it, or I would boil the life out of it.
I resorted to an Anti-Algae treatment which initially killed it, but now it is back yet again.  Apparently I am to repeat the treatment!
 
I also have not heard of the vodka treatment, are you sure that was not for the aquarist to prevent them going insane

?
 
It appears from the discussion that you need more flow to help prevent this, is that correct?  I did up the flow with an air pump but then the stupid thing stopped working, much to the relief of my Betta.  That is the issue with flow, flow+Betta=

Betta
 
I do not have BGA in any of my other tanks, only this one.  I recently added Seachem Purigen to the filter, and this seems to have got rid of the "greenish" tinge in the water, but the BGA is a pain.

 

[This Old Spouse]

The only thing vodka is good for besides self-medicating is to euthanize fish. I'd never put it in my tank ...

 

[RCA]

I posted this in the wrong post for BBA, that is the problem with TLA's they can catch us out.  Anyway thought I would share where I am up to with the Blue Green Algae problem...
 

Posted Today, 08:20 AM
I have the same problem with a piece of driftwood covered in Java Fern.  I took it out for about a week, and dosed the BBA BGA with Hydrogen Peroxide daily with a syringe.  On putting it back in the aquarium it started to grow again!  I have also used a syringe to spot treat it in the aquarium during a WC, when the water level is below the BBA BGA. 
 
I then used an anti-algae treatment called "eSHa PROTALAN-707", which has a rather detailed treatment program.  I missed the fact that on Days 4 & 5 you DO NOT DOSE.  It initially killed it but now it is back again!  It does state that in extreme cases you may need to re-dose.  This time I have highlighted the fact not to dose on Days 4 & 5, so hopefully I will get a better more permanent result.
 
I guess like everything it is understanding why we are getting BBA BGA in the first place?  I have done some research and know it is not a true algae, but have yet to pin-point the reason for it, any scientists out there?
 
I also read that more movement in the aquarium can help, as I have a Betta in this tank it is a double whammy as > Watercurrent+Betta=

Betta.  I did have a bubble wall going for awhile, but the pump no longer seems to be powerful enough, after I turned it off for a period when the Betta was sitting on the bottom, sulking.
 
The battle continues ...

 
Of course, I am learning from KCB what maybe the potential causes of BGA, any other thoughts welcome.