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algae growing

Jason Stanford

Jason Stanford

Member
Joined
21 Aug 2013
Messages
113
think I have the BBA ill try get a picture.
what can I do. I have great flow, and lots of light. so I guess its a co2 problem or nutrients?
the co2 is at max I can currently provide without the fish gasping.
I cant get SAE fish as my piranha would think they were dinner if I added them this late.
my tank is about 450 litres or something.
 
Really, I have no idea, because there are so many variables. BBA doesn't just go away when you fix the problem....assuming you fix the problem, You normally have to evict it from the tank. That means elbow grease to pull it out and/or Excel or other liquid carbon. If your plants react poorly to Excel then you have double trouble.

BBA is king of the "not nice" algae fraternity because it is triggered by poor CO2 uptake....and there can be a zillion different reasons for poor CO2 uptake....even if you are pumping CO2 at a mad hatters pace....

I'm not sticking my elbow in that tank though pal, so forget about it and live with your BBA.....:nailbiting:

Cheers,
 
I have loads of vallis, which excel will kill I think?
ill see what happens lol
 
Vallis has a low tolerance for Excel, that's true. It doesn't mean that any amount will kill them, just that you can't overdose as insanely as you could if they were some typical stem plant for example. Unfortunately, it's often the case where you need to use 2X to 3X overdose to have a rapid effect. Search the forum using Vallis and Excel to find what sort of dosages others have been able to use.

If you are using strong flow, then it can also cause issues. A maximum tangential velocity of 2-3 Knots of water movement is tolerated by plants, typically. If the velocity is far above that value then the effects on CO2 uptake can be problematic. You may want to think about reworking your distribution methods so that it moves the water at a steady and uniform pace.

Cheers,
 
this is getting hard work, tanks becoming a full time job.
may need to restart this planted tank idea lol
 
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