I Need Help - Bga

[houndour]

OK - I admit my tank has been lacking my love and attention over the last 6 months, but I can't stand it anymore...it's not going to regain my love and attention if I can't get rid of this bga for good. I don't even care about any other algae anymore - bba, staghorn - bring it on!!

I'm not exactly motivated right now but I want to be ready for the weekend when I'm motivated to pull this tank apart.

So what do I need to do??

I'm willing to chuck the sand, wood, plants, fish net

But obviously not the tank, filter, heater, CO2 equipment...I assume bleach will kill anything bga on these??? Should I throw the filter material??

My next issue is I must have something wrong with my tank to keep getting bga. I've successfully got rid of it using antibiotics. But if it keeps coming back then there must be a reason?

Do you think sand contributes? Maybe I should go for gravel next time?

Do I need a stronger filter? I think my water flow might be an issue. I have a fluval 104 external at the moment. Maybe the next one up would be better? I can always turn the flow down if it's too strong?

I don't think there's much wrong with my light - I have a 36 Watt bulb at the moment over 20 gallons. But I'm only growing anubias and java moss.

You might think the slow growing plants might be a problem, but I had bga even with a tank full of plants.

The main thing is what do I do with the fish? I have 5 us gallon and a 10 us gallon spare that are not set up. I guess I could squeeze my fish into these 2 for a bit. I have 9 cardinals, 1 cory, 1 guppy and 3 botia striata. If I'm starting afresh then the tank would need time to cycle again? But surely my cardinals won't do well?

Also if I reintroduce my fish into the tank will they carry bga?

Sorry - being totally paranoid!!

Would love to hear ideas so that I can start afresh and not get this stuff ever again.

 

[The-Wolf]

BGA is actually a bacteria and not an algea
a good anti bacterial medication should clear it up.
I have also added a copper coin to the filter and that has killed BGA.

 

[houndour]

yes i know aka cyanobacteria.

I've tried antibiotics on multiple occassions.

I need advice on how to gut the tank, keep my fish alive and ensure I clean everything so that it never comes back.

 

[alanchown]

yes i know aka cyanobacteria.

I've tried antibiotics on multiple occassions.

I need advice on how to gut the tank, keep my fish alive and ensure I clean everything so that it never comes back.

What antibiotics have you been using? E-mycin kills it stone dead. If it keeps coming back maybe something more fundamental needs looking at.

Alan

 

[houndour]

for the life of me i cant remember the name...is it maracyn? or myracyn? I got it from George.

Trust me - the antibiotics worked a treat - but a few months later the bga creeps back. I think I do have a more fundamental problem which I'm really trying to figure out. My main thought is water circulation and the sand. But I dont want to buy a more powerful filter unless I'm going to make the effort first and completely clean the tank.

 

[Themuleous]

I wouldnt add a copper coin if you've got shrimp in the tank could end up killing them

 

[Squirrelbuddies]

I feel your pain! I had BGA in my 55 gallon tank and it took me months to get rid of it. I don't think it's necessarily your sand as I had BGA with gravel. But I do believe it starts in the substrate no matter what you have for substrate.

Basically, this is what I did to get rid of it:

Removed all of the rocks, wood and plants.
Siphoned out ALL of the gravel and 50% of the water.
Scraped all signs of algae and siphoned it out.
Added fresh sand.
Added new plants.
Topped off the tank with fresh water.

Before I did this I tried replacing the substrate but keeping the rocks and wood. I scrubbed them under scalding hot water and returned them to the tank. The BGA still came back. The only way I could get rid of it was to get rid of everything. I've had the rocks sitting outside in the sun for the past three months and I'm still hesitant to put them back in the tank!

I also keep the "sand line" below the black trim line in the front of the tank. By doing this I don't get any algae between the sand and the glass in the front which is where I tend to see it first. (Even though I have the shades closed, I still get a little sunlight on the front of the tank.)

I don't think my bout with BGA had to do with poor circulation as I have two filters (one external and one HOB) on opposite ends of the tank. I believe my issue had to do with not keeping the bottom clean. I now vac once a week.

Hope this helps--

 

[ChrisP]

What are your NO3 levels?

 

[houndour]

Right now I don't know my NO3 levels. Like I say I've lost all motivation. I do my weekly water changes and feed my fish and that's it.

I've just done a water change a couple of hours a go but I can test the water now.

However I've had this bga problem since august 2005! Look at my post history and you can see from there I've been battling it for a while now. Looking at my diary my nitrates were around 15 - 20ppm mark. I used to dose EI. But gave up in January.

 

[ChrisP]

I have th eproblem myself and have beenbattling it for probably about the same amount of time you have.

I am only just starting to win the war now that I have planted more heavily and dosed Trace and KNO3 3x a week.

As you probably know low NO3 levels are a big cause of BGA, my tap water contains none or very little so I need to dose it to keep the levels up.

Most will say you need to keep them above 10ppm, personally I like to keep them way above that and I am finding this is working for me as the BGA is now starting to turn white and die off!

What I would do if I were you is to test your tap water and the tank for levels of NO3 and report back.

You may find your tapwater contains a good amount yet by the end of the week your tank is using it up and bottoming it out causing the BGA.

If you want to kill it just get as much out the tank as you can then do the whole blackout routine.

 

[Themuleous]

I don't think my bout with BGA had to do with poor circulation as I have two filters (one external and one HOB) on opposite ends of the tank. I believe my issue had to do with not keeping the bottom clean. I now vac once a week.

Hope this helps--

I would agree, the only one of my three tanks that has BGA is my EI nano! And its the only one that doesn't get a good gravel clean every week or so.