Easy Carbo, Stag Horn And Bba!

[fishmad135]

I have a 140litre planted tank and whilst away at university it acquired what looks like Black beard algae and stag horn algae! 
when i got home for christmas I started by systematically removing any leave with algae on and scrubbing my red moor wood however it has come back! I've had this tank up and running for over 8 years now and never had algae like this before! 

 
I've done some googling and have heard people doing Easy Carbo in their tanks in order to kill the algae and get plant growth back on track. I was therefore wondering if people have used this liquid CO2 in their aquarium and if so did it kill algae whilst being safe for fish? Any additional info would be great! 

 
For your interest, my tank Ammonia is 0ppm, Nitrites are also 0ppm and Nitrates are 40ppm. The plants in my tank are amazon sword, hygrophila pinnatifida, bacopa carolinians, vallisneria spiralis, christmas tree moss and a rathe large anubias. 
 
Best wishes,
Imogen 
 

 

[Akasha72]

Hi Imogen, firstly loving your signature - I have laetacara curviceps myself and he's my favourite fish. I love him to bits and I actually cried when his mate died last year.
 
Okay on to your questions. I'm hoping I might be able to help you. I too have fought the BBA battle and I've actually beaten it but it won't take much for it come back. I discovered it's cause after a visit to Maidenhead Aquatics. I was telling the staff member I was planning on giving up because my tank was just an entire blanket of black hairy algae. He suggested I got my phosphates checked and so I did. I found it was off the end of the scale. When I got home from the lfs that had tested it I went online and bought my own po4 test kit. I re-tested my tank and my tap water and was horrified to find it was dangerously high from the tap. 
 
After much chatting on forums I found out that running a po4 remover would be the best option and it took a while but I got it down to a safe level eventually. The BBA was still there though and so I started researching for anything that would eat it - snails, shrimps, fish waterever. I then came across a fish that would eat it - it's called the Siamese Algae Eater and it loves to grave on BBA. 
The problem though is that the SAE is difficult to track down. They are often mis-labelled in fish store as Flying Foxes and so researching the differences is paramount. The SAE also gets very big. The three I got are now as big as my BN pleco. The good news is they are lazy fish and so for now my 240 litre tank is sufficing although they could do with a 5 footer really.
 
So, it is possible that your water company have started adding extra phosphates to your water and if they are adding the same amount that mine are that will be where the problem is. Firstly though you need to get it tested for po4. Anything above 0.8 is very bad. It needs to be as low as possible.
 
Once we know the po4 level we'll know what we are dealing with
 
Hope that helps you

 

[Far_King]

Crossocheilus siamensis is the latin name for the true SAE.

 
Mine here: https/flic.kr/p/CoKzBE

 

[fishmad135]

Hi Akasha!
 
Thanks for your response response - i just noticed your tag says 'warning mad cory woman', I love this, as I too am mad about cory cats, I have way to many!! I agree with you about the curviceps, they are real characters! Sadly the last of my laetacara curviceps died last month after several years of having him! 
 
Thats very interesting about the Po4! What kit did you buy to test it as I may purchase one myself! And what is the Po4 remover? 
 
Thanks again!

Thanks for the info about the Crossocheilus siamensis, I bought chinese in the past after being told that they were siamese.. not a happy bunny!!!! If i had more room in my tank I'd get some! I'm guessing they like to shoal?

 

[Far_King]

Yes they do.  Half a dozen is the ideal number.  They'll help deal with algae but won't eradicate the root cause obviously.
 
They do get rather large.  Those in my picture are about 5".

 

[Akasha72]

my SAE's are a good 6 inches long now and fat aswell. I'd read that they got big but I wasn't fully prepared for how big. They do okay in my 4ft (I have 3) but as I said in my OP they really need another foot. They do bicker (mostly over food) but they are a shoaling species and so your tank isn't really big enough for them.
 
As to the test kit I have the JBL one http/www.amazon.co.uk/JBL-2540800-Phosphate-Sensitive-Test/dp/B001MW95MO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452525045&sr=8-1&keywords=jbl+phosphate+test I find it easy to use. Test both the tank and the tap water because if you are like me and it's reading high from your tap then you've got little chance of eradicating it.
 
I use the NTLabs remover http/www.amazon.co.uk/NT-Labs-Marine-Phosphate-Remover/dp/B00560PKYU/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452525168&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=NTLabs+phosphate+remover it's an aluminum based one and seems to work better than the iron based ones.
 
It might be worth having a read here http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/440296-struggling-with-high-phosphates-again/  where I've been discussing my problems with high phosphates. I've recently been reading high on Nitrates but in my efforts to get the Nitrates down I've created another phosphate problem

 

[gmc1]

My bba cleared up after using easy life easy carbo everyday.

 

[Akasha72]

My bba cleared up after using easy life easy carbo everyday.

 
Interesting gmc ... it can be difficult to get rid of so I'm happy to read someone had some success
 
I use easycarbo myself every single day but it's the SAE's that have got rid of my BBA. I still have leaves turning black just not black and hairy

 

[gmc1]

It was you who put me on the carbo

 

[Akasha72]

was it? ... ahh well I have me uses .... unless it's expecting me to remember anything of course lol

 

[gmc1]

Haha

 

[Akasha72]

to reply to the mad cory woman comment ... yep it's true I lurve cories! If I had space I'd have so many more. I currently have 6 elderly peppered,5 elderly bronzes, 6 panda's, 5 melini and 3 smudge-spot.
 
Once my peppered and bronzes die of old age I want to replace them with black cories for sure and have a look for some more rarities. Aswell as being a mad cory woman I'm also a mad rare fish lover .... hence curviceps. Around my area they are like hens teeth. I also have a lovely pair of smokey blushing angelfish ... again a bit like hens teeth! Hongsloi apistos are on my wish list but where I'm gonna find them I just don't know!

 

[fishmad135]

Wow, I'm to be talking to people with experience of using easycarbo!

  I got mine delivered today and dosed 2ml.. too scared to overdose and all that.. 
How much do you guys use and how often?! Do you think it has a positive effect on your plant growth? Im hoping it will help my combat algae issues a little but really I want my tank jungle back! Never leave you aquarium with parents who just aren't interested in fish or aquatic plants.. Once i finish uni my babies (tanks) will be restored to their former beauty! I do appreciate their help though, don't get me wrong!! 

 

[Akasha72]

dose easycarbo daily if you can. Work out how much from the bottle instructions - 1ml per 50 litres per day so with a maximum of 2ml per 50 litres per day so for your tank you could comfortably add 3ml per day. Do you add plant ferts? I use easylife profito (zero phosphate and zero nitrate) aswell and I took the weekly dose for that for my tank and divided it by 7 and I add that at the same time as my easycarbo.
 
I set an alarm on my phone now to remind me to add my co2 and fert each evening at the same time. My plants are going crazy ... I just wish they'd stop turning black! 

 

[gmc1]

I just add 5ml to my 300litre everyday.thats the only thing that gets added to my tank.