Arg! Bga!

[Rorie]

I have got BGA, but i dont know why! Below is the description on the planted tank.co.uk and my responses... I have had it and tried to get rid of it for ages!

Cause
Often caused by very low nitrates. Nope, got high nitrates
It is fairly common to have it growing in the substrate against the front glass from where it can spread. a little, but more noticibally on my rocks and on my java moss and plants
Sometimes it appears with new setups that have had light and ammonia present at some point. Tank has been on the go for 6 months now...still 'new'?
Dirty substrates and filters may also bring it on. Filter gets cleaned every week as i have discus
Poor water circulation is another possible cause.Not sure this is the case either, the java moss is waving about in the current with the BGA on it!!

Removal
A blackout is the best method for this. Clean out as much of the algae as you can and do a 30 to 50% water change. I remove it and do a 50% water change every week
If your nitrates are low then add some potassium nitrate to get levels to 20ppm.
Remove CO2 and add an airstone. I thought CO2 helped keep ammonia away?
Turn off lights and cover the whole tank so no light can enter. Leave it for 3 to 4 days. No peeking and no feeding - fish will be fine without food for this period. What about my plants? Will they be ok too?
After 3 to 4 days remove the covers and do a 30 - 50% water change. Remove airstone and start CO2. You will need to dose nitrates to keep them dropping too low again. Make sure your substrate and filter doesn't become too clogged up with mulm and also make sure you have good water circulation around the whole tank.
Another option is to treat with Maracyn which is an anti-biotic. Seems to work well but may affect the biological filter. In the UK it is illegal to purchase Maracyn without first getting a prescription for it from a vet.
If the BGA is originating from the substrate place some dark tape on the glass to hide the substrate from direct light.


So, please help me! This is doing my head in!

 

[snowflake311]

I have had this nasty stuff a few times and every time it was in a tank that had little to no surface movment. So the tank had low O2. I think low O2 is the main cause from what I have seen.

I had some pop up in my 10 Gal planted tank when I first set it up. When I got it my tank had very little water movement and high temp. The plants were not doing well and I had a few too many fish. All things that can bring 02 levels down. Since then my plants now Pearl. So I know I have plenty of O2 in the tank. I was spot treating with hydrogen peroxide too. Now that my plants are doing well they added more o2. I no longer have to fight this nasty BGA. Oh and my nitrate were close to 0 because I had plants in a high light tank with CO2. They were useing up more Nitrates then my fish were making. So I have started to add a nitrogen and I think that also has helped.

I read low o2 and low Nitrates can help BGA grow. This seemed to be the problem in my tank.

My BGA never got out of controle and I just kept cleaning off stuff spot treated with hydrogen peroxide. Then I am pretty sure I fixed the problem by getting my plants to pearl.

Good luck with it

 

[Rorie]

Hmm, when you up your CO2, how were you monitoring it? With a drop checker? What colour did you bring it to? Currently at the end of a day mine is lime green. I hear some people take it all the way to yellow (as long as it just touches yellow as the CO2 is going off though).

Its doing my head in! My surface water is moving all the time after a lot of playing with my filter outputs. I also ensure that the water in my tank is well circulated! still no luck though!

So what is this stuff you treat it with? Where do i get it and how do i use it? I assume its not going to harm my fish>

 

[snowflake311]

My drop checker is kind on more yellowy green.

hydrogen peroxide the stuff used to clean open cuts on your skin it comes in a brown bottle. It's used more for medical use. You can safely use 2ml in 10gal. That's what I did. I got a med syring from the drug store and would add the hydrogen peroxide right on the bga and into the substrate only 2ml a time. It will bubble and that's how you know it is working. I have read excel will kill it if used as spot treatment. I used some of this but the hydrogen peroxide works best and faster.

If you add more co2 you have add more ferts. That way your plants will grow fast and produce more o2. When your plants start to pearl you will see the bga start to be less.

 

[snowflake311]

If you do spot treat turn off filter and stuff to stop water movment so that way the treatment stays right where it needs to longer. It makes it more effective.

 

[Rorie]

Thanks for that.

How long does the treatment last for after you squirt it on....i.e. how long do i keep my filters off?

Also, if its not gone after the first attempt, how often do you treat it?

Thanks!

 

[snowflake311]

You can treat 2 ml every few hours if you want. It can kill it off pretty fast. Just keep the filter off for a few minutes after you added it to the spot. Not long at all. You turn it off mainly to make sure the treatment gets right to the area and not just lost in the water.

You can treat for as long as it takes but that should not be long. Maybe a week.

I was weird about adding hydrogen peroxide at first but in small amounts it is harmless to plants and fish.

Since BGA is a bacteria anti-biotics Have been a way to kill it off. But I don't like the idea of medicating tanks that don't really need it. hydrogen peroxide occurs in rain and snow so it is a more natural way less harmful IME.