Blue Green Algae

[Jen]

Hey All.

Seems I have a bit of BGA infecting my tank. Reading a few websites I came across 2 solutions... physical removal, and dosing anti-biotics (Erythromycin). Physical removal isn't really doing anything... I scrape the glass and wipe it off the plants, but I can't seem to get it all sucked up in my vacuum, so it will just float around the tank and land on more surfaces to infect. I do plan on doing a re-scape of the tank soon (switching from gravel to sand) and would like to have this cleared up before I do that.

Should I just pull all the plants out to clean them off?

Has anyone tried dosing meds?

Is there a better way to remove it from the tank?


Any help is greatly appreciated.

Jen

 

[coldcazzie]

Myself and Mark have been battling BGA for quite a while. My thoughts on the matter are that meds should probably be a last resort. Physical removal followed by a lengthy blackout seems to keep it in check, but I am unsure on it's effectiveness of completely removing it. On the other hand, other forum members have had success with long blackouts, so maybe I'm just unlucky! Having tried several blackouts which didn't work for me I've now got a filter with a UV steriliser in it. Not convinced on how well this will work, but possibly in conjunction with blackouts it may do it. I've moved house, changed from gravel to sand, and had all my plants in a bucket of water in a dark cupboard for a week in the middle of all this, and yet I'm still fighting it, so I don't really know where that leaves you... sorry I don't have better news.

To do a blackout: After removing all the algae, and sucking it up with the syphon, try filling the tank up and then immediately doing another water change so you can go around again and pick up all the bits you've missed. And don't forget to remove all decor and scrub as clean as you can and clean underneath it. As for plants, cleaning them never seemed to work for me, only leaf removal seemed to work. Once you've got the tank as clean as you possibly can then fill up with new water, and cover with black bin liners taped everywhere, preferrably in a double layer. You want to block out every single shread of light that could possibly get in your tank, so front, sides, any holes at the back of the lid to let in wires or filter bits etc. Leave it like that for 5-7 days, don't even open the lid to feed. The fish will be fine. Some weaker or younger plants may not make it but most should be ok. After that, remove liners and do a large water change to remove any dead bits of algae and any toxins released, then keep an eye on it. If after a couple of days you think it may be returning, then do the whole thing again.