Can't Get Rid Of Bba Algae!

[LicianDragon]

I have a 20 gallon tank that has been set up for about 2 and half months now. This is not my first tank but I am getting rampant BBA algae problems. I don't mind it so much on the glass( I only wipe down the front pane so my neon goby has something to eat) but it's starting to grow on my live plants and I don't want it killing them.
Ammonia and nitrite are 0
Nitrate is around 3-5ppm

I currently have two lights on the tank, one is a 19 watt floral grow bulb, the other is a 15 watt full spectrum(it's the bulb the fixture came with). I was keeping the lights on about 12 hours a day but have cut that back to 5. I'm also doing water changes with the lights off now but it doesn't seem to be helping, in fact I think it's getting worse.
Is there anything else I can do? I'm on a really tight budget right now so I don't want to buy anything.
Here are some pictures if it helps.

 

[KuronoEnyo]

I found adding in some API Co2 Booster nuked it from my anubias in my aquarium, I just added in a little well as much that's prescribed for a tank my size and within a week it was gone.

 

[Aquamaniac]

http/www.theplante...co.uk/algae.htm

They show many types of algae there,what causes them and how to solve them.
I may be wrong but the picture does not look BBA. Looks more like staghorn.
BBA grows and forms a very dense black brush, like if the plant is growing beard. Its really hard to remove.
Are you using co2? Co2 variations are normally the problem, Another one could be not enough water circulation around the tank.
By the way 12 hours of light is too much. I keep it around 8 hours.
Adding easycarbo helps alot against algae and the fish Siamese algae eater is the only one that eats these algae.

 

[Ps3Steveo]

That's the only thing I'd suggest for quick removal as it kills it, I'm guessing it was caused by water changes with lights on? If so, it will take an age to clear or die and may even keep growing as once caused and rectified the cause it doesn't always stop it growing once established. PM me you address and if you like I'll send you a small amount of aqua carbon in a small bottle to save you buying a full one for a tiny dose, if you pay postage that is lol. You'd need to get fish out and drop water as far as possible,then mix the carbon with water 1:20 ratio,put in spray bottle and spray over the algae sparingly,leave for about 5 mins, refill the tank and it will turn red and die. P.S its Staghorn you have not BBA, caused by the same thing tho.

 

[Aquamaniac]

That's the only thing I'd suggest for quick removal as it kills it, I'm guessing it was caused by water changes with lights on? If so, it will take an age to clear or die and may even keep growing as once caused and rectified the cause it doesn't always stop it growing once established. PM me you address and if you like I'll send you a small amount of aqua carbon in a small bottle to save you buying a full one for a tiny dose, if you pay postage that is lol. You'd need to get fish out and drop water as far as possible,then mix the carbon with water 1:20 ratio,put in spray bottle and spray over the algae sparingly,leave for about 5 mins, refill the tank and it will turn red and die. P.S its Staghorn you have not BBA, caused by the same thing tho.

Thanks PS3steveo i was almost 100% it was staghorn and not BBA.
I had Staghorn on my green hills setup and managed to get rid of it,i looked at all the things that could cause it.
So i did a couple of big water changes, cleaned my filters,made sure i had a stable amount of co2. Kept my light at 6 hours daily.
It did not kill it, but did stop it from growing. To get rid of it i added easycarbo on a daily basis and put 3 Siamese algae eaters in the tank. It was clear about a week.

 

[LicianDragon]

http/www.theplante...co.uk/algae.htm

They show many types of algae there,what causes them and how to solve them.
I may be wrong but the picture does not look BBA. Looks more like staghorn.
BBA grows and forms a very dense black brush, like if the plant is growing beard. Its really hard to remove.
Are you using co2? Co2 variations are normally the problem, Another one could be not enough water circulation around the tank.
By the way 12 hours of light is too much. I keep it around 8 hours.
Adding easycarbo helps alot against algae and the fish Siamese algae eater is the only one that eats these algae.

Thanks I think you're right! I don't have any issues with circulation so I'm going to assume it's from low CO2. I don't use CO2 injections but I'll keep going with the what I'm doing currently and give it some more time.!
And thanks PS3Steveo for the offer but I'm going to decline for now. The prospect of draining the tank and moving all the fish is a little daunting for me at the moment!

Thanks everyone for all your help!

 

[snazy]

Not sure how many plants you have, but you can at least take them out and spray with the carbon solution Ps3steveo recommended and then put them back in or even keep them in another lit container.

I know you say you have enough circulation, but does it mean enough flow in the tank? It's hard to imagine that algae holding on to sand if the tank was getting enough of it.

 

[SO19Firearms]

If you don't inject CO2 and you're having CO2 issues you have too much light for your tank. fluctuating CO2 could be a decline over the photoperiod which recovers somewhat after lights out

I know you say you have enough circulation, but does it mean enough flow in the tank?

This is valid also. - Eddies, dead spots etc

 

[LicianDragon]

If you don't inject CO2 and you're having CO2 issues you have too much light for your tank. fluctuating CO2 could be a decline over the photoperiod which recovers somewhat after lights out

Just going on what I've read for planted tanks, my tank has medium lighting of 2 watts per gallon. Not sure if this actually means anything or not though. My issue might have been that up until 2 weeks ago, I had the lights on 12 hours a day. Plus I was doing water changes with the lights on too.
As far as flow goes in the tank, I'm currently using the Aqueon filter this tank came with, should I get a filter rated for a bigger tank? I was reading somewhere that, that might help.

 

[SO19Firearms]

I just read you've already dropped to 5hrs which is a good start. You might just want to get rid of the algae you have and see if anything returns

 

[LicianDragon]

Just out of curiosity, what are your guy's thoughts on Algae Stop?

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Algae stop just takes out nutrients the plants need.