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He lives!

Looks like aliens to me.

The OP is talking about a "bad batch" of KNO3. Although I'm not sure what that means.

In response to Jose: 1) in my opinion, algae eaters are nothing to do with BBA in high flow areas. The only algae eaters that eat BBA are Siamese algae eaters. Ottos etc don't touch it. 2) too much light? I never, ever had BBA in the years when I had no Co2 and kept my lights on for 12 hours...

No aliens in Interstellar :p

No-one knows what causes BBA. Anyone who says they do is lying. I don't think it's algae at all, but waste products left behind by 5-dimensional aliens as they pass through our 4-dimensional universe.

http://www.ukaps.org/forum/index.php?threads/What-exactly-causes-BBA%3F.36674/

Sorry to be pedantic, but what do we mean when we say "organics"?

So, 245 posts later- what have we learned?

Just to give you guys some perspective. http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/is-it-just-random-luck.36795/ There's no BBA in this tank.

How did we get to this conclusion... The cause of BBA is excess nutrients?? *bangs head against wall*

Looks like I hit a nerve there. I didn't realise that you have such strong feelings for the man, I won't make any comments about it in future.

Jose, all joking aside, are you actually in love with this man? I'd be interested to hear if anybody has any ideas as to why I get BBA on my spray bars, but nowhere else in the tank.

Just to add my experience. The first year of owning my tank, I had no idea what I was doing. Basic plants (swords and crypts), 14 hours of light every day, no Co2, no ferts, low flow, 20% weekly water changes. No BBA. Now: Loads of plants, 7 hours of light, high Co2, massive flow, 50%...

I don't understand it at all. My dream tank (at Aquatic Design Centre) is set up like this: High light Single glass diffuser (bubbles floating straight up to the surface) Single Eheim outflow at opposite side of tank to the diffuser Low flow, no surface agitation Loads of beautiful healthy...

Are you sure your fish are alive?

Ooohhhh interesting.

Hey- welcome :-) What kind of algae is it? Can you get a photo? What does it look like? your nitrate and phosphate readings indicate that your tank is very low on nutrients. I would recommend you start dosing EI as soon as possible.

On right, so those scientists are wrong again. The Matrix must have them. It looks like I travelled in too deep and now nothing can bring me back. There's no hope for me now

It is well known that diatoms thrive in low- light environments. Clive is the only person I have come across who denies this

Sorry, I am getting my papers mixed up. The paper I am referring to is entitled "SILICON METABOLISM IN DIATOMS: IMPLICATIONS FOR GROWTH", and was published in the journal of Phycology, volume 36, issue 5. Clive, please read that paper. The entire paper is about how increased silicates means...

It's not my data, it's the data published in the journal of Phycology. "Silicon is a major limiting nutrient for diatom growth" That is a verbatim quote from the peer- reviewed paper So are you telling me this peer- reviewed scientific data is faulty? If so, why not write a letter to the...

Silicon is a major limiting nutrient for diatom growth. That is simple fact. I posted this before, Clive told me my "data were faulty". It's up to the OP who he believes..

I will read the article now. One thing is for sure. All diatoms, no matter what species, will die if there is zero available silicates. That is because their cell walls are made up of silica compounds. It's well known that diatoms do better in darkness than they do in light. But just don't let...

"As diatoms have an absolute requirement for silicon (as silicic acid) its supply into the photic zone — largely by silica dissolution and upwelling — controls diatom production (and consequently the biological uptake of atmospheric CO2 by the ocean) over vast oceanic areas" "Silicon is a major...

I don't really see how anyone can argue with that?

Please review my posts in this thread: http://www.ukaps.org/forum/index.php?threads/Whats-this-algae%3F.32517/

Whenever I have diatoms, they spread upwards from the substrate. So they always originate from there.

Ah, so you increased the light and your diatoms disappeared! *grin*

Also, I mentioned the fact that diatoms occur mostly in low- light environments. I was basically told I was stupid and that my experience was invalid. Oh well, doesn't matter really. All I know is that diatoms are brown. Chlorophyll is green. I'll let you work out the rest.

Whatever anyone tells you, diatoms feed on silicates. That is a simple fact. In all seawater on the planet, the more silicates there are, the more diatoms are present. It's only reasonable to apply the same logic to our tanks.

Tim don't worry about it at all. It just turns into oxygen and water when it's in contact with water.

I've used hydrogen peroxide several times as a treatment for BGA with no ill effects to fish or inverts. 1-2 ml per US gallon of 6% H2O2 is how much to dose. Stick to 1 ml per US gallon if you want to be on the safe side. Turn your filters off. Spot dose the peroxide directly onto the algae...

Actually you want Blue Exit, not Algexit. It's specifically for Cyanobacteria. And use hydrogen peroxide to kill it.

On the contrary- I have actually significantly cut back the plants in the last few weeks. The plant mass is about 50% what it used to be!

Right but I think you have missed my point. Two assumptions: 1) the standard EI mix has the correct amount of phosphate 2) if dosing EI, we will always have an EXCESS of nutrients. According to these two assumptions, there is no reason to ever add extra phosphate. You will always have an...

Yesterday I noticed the beginnings of hair algae growth. It is only a very small amount, mainly on the spray bar, and some on java fern and christmas moss. I haven't had hair algae in this tank for over a year. And I have not changed anything in the last few months. Flow, lighting, Co2, ferts...

Are you implying that the standard EI formula does not contain enough phosphate?

I would be interested in the science behind dosing phosphate to combat GDA/ GSA. If we are dosing EI, there should always be phosphate in abundance anyway.

Ah- now I'm with you. That's a good idea.

That's what I thought initially. But then I started dosing macro on Saturday as well and the problem didn't go away. I will message Clive and see what he thinks. Thanks again.

56W of light in 125 Litres. I'm grateful for your help, but light is not the problem. How would that explain it appearing on Friday afternoon/ Saturday morning every single week like clockwork? The only thing that can explain that is a nutrient cycle

My lights have been running for 8 hours now for about 6 weeks and I still get this problem every Saturday. I highly doubt that it's light related since the glass is spotless Monday- Friday.

Clive, That's interesting you say that. Although it's never explicitly mentioned in any of those papers, I got the impression that where there is no silica, diatoms are unable to build a frustule? So if we eliminate silica from our tank then the diatoms will literally starve to death.

It's the worst type of "algae"/ bacteria in my opinion. I've had every type of algae over the years, and BGA was the only one that literally would not die. I eventually did a full tank re- scape (drained the tank and cleaned it thoroughly, filled it up again). The best thing you can use to...

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1529-8817.2000.00019.x/abstract;jsessionid=91965EB8A2F6F98C8CBC8170850819FC.f02t04?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false "Diatom growth depends on silicate availability, in addition to nitrate and phosphate, but northern Atlantic...

I've seen this on this forum a couple of times, and I have to put it right. Diatoms' cell walls are made up of silica. Without available silica, they can't rebuild their cell walls, and they can't multiply. Clive, you're a smart guy, I know these papers won't be beyond you...

Sorry if this has already been mentioned but is the tank in the line of direct sunlight?

Not sure why the plants would grow faster, if EI is being dosed correctly, they should always have an abundance of nutrients, so it should make no difference if they have 1x or 100x. The point is they have more than they could possibly use

The glass is literally spotless from monday- thursday. Not a speck of algae. Then friday afternoon... bam.

It doesn't disappear. I scrape it off every Sunday right before the 50% water change.

Ok, thanks Ian. The thing is, I would think the tank is 'settled' by now. It has been running with this level of stock, this level of ferts, this level of co2, for over a year now. If this problem were going to sort itself out, I think it would have done so by now. I see that some people...

I still have this problem. The lighting is not the cause. It is something to do with the nutrients. From Monday all the way until Friday morning, there is no dust algae. On Friday evening, I have dust algae. This is clearly something to do with the build- up of nutrients over the course of...

I have been using this technique for a long time, it works very well. Hydrogen peroxide is harmless in these small amounts.

Thanks Clive. Maybe I will do something drastic this week and remove all my ceramic media. This will leave me with one blue sponge, some bio balls, and some filter floss in the external filter.

So theoretically, what is the minimum amount of media you can put in an external filter in order to have sufficient bacteria colonies?

The main reason I am keeping them in is in case the internal filter fails and I am relying on the external filter. I wanted to have enough media in there to keep the fish alive, should the internal impeller seize up (as it has done before).

Hmmmm, I might remove my ceramics as well then Clive :-)

Yeah, wow. I've been doing it wrong all this time.

Ceg, I am surprised that you are telling him to stop adding ammonia. Don't you use the fishless cycle method of adding ammonia to cycle tanks? Without ammonia, the Nitrosomonas will die off.

Yeah, stop dosing it. "Bacteria in a bottle" products don't work. Are you doing a proper fishless cycle with aqueous ammonia?

I give up :-)

Unlike green algae, diatoms can survive in conditions with very low light levels, and very low nutrient levels. However, their growth is fuelled by Silica. It is my understanding that silica is the number 1 food source for aquarium diatoms, and that the number 1 cause is new substrate leeching...

Well, I am just giving my advice based on extensive reading about the science of algae and the balance in the tank of light/ Co2/ nutrients. It is my understanding that green algae such as hair algae, spot algae, and dust algae grow through photosynthesis and nutrient uptake, just like...

You can follow that advice if you like, but I'm afraid a blackout will only make diatoms worse. High light is not a cause of diatoms. New substrate leeching silica, and LOW light makes diatoms worse. It is generally accepted that the best way to combat diatoms is to INCREASE the light. But...

I had diatoms for about 8 months. They eventually disappear. Increasing the light should help.

The reason that algae guides "brush over" brown algae is that it's not really algae at all. It's diatoms. Caused by new substrates, excess silica, and LOW light. It's completely unrelated to nutrients. Increasing your light period will help. Diatoms thrive in low light. Apart from that, do...

Personally for me a black out did nothing. I bombarded it with everything I could think of. Turns out this stuff will just keep growing and growing until you physically kill it, with poison (in my case Hydrogen Peroxide). Once it's taken hold, it's pretty much game over.

Maybe we could swap tanks if you don't have enough algae in yours?

Thanks :-) I am not a fan of adding fish just to combat an algae problem. I perfect to identify the root cause of the problem, and eliminate that, rather than just treat the symptoms. I have turned my lighting down to 9 hours. I will gradually further reduce this to 8 hours.

The only way I found of getting rid of Cyanobacteria was by spot dosing it with hydrogen peroxide.

The plants are doing great, they are not dying. I have a huge amount of co2 and ferts which can keep up with the high amount of light. I started with 8 hour photoperiod and increased it gradually. If you have enough co2 and ferts, you can actually go up to a 14 hour photoperiod before the plants...

Tank is 125 litres. Lighting from 2 T5s. Arcadia Plant Pro 25 W tubes. Lights on from 11:30- 22.30 daily.

I have been having this issue for the last few months, and it is the only issue I currently have in my tank with algae. I follow the following EI dosing regime: Monday: Micro Tuesday: Macro Wednesday: Micro Thursday: Macro Friday: Micro Saturday: Macro Sunday: Water change, then Macro...