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Persistent BGA

G

gmartins

Member
Joined
31 Jan 2011
Messages
308
Location
Azores
Hey,

I've been upping my nitrate levels (via KNO3) to get rid of BBA but it keeps on growing back. It has completely disappeared from the substrate but it's growing on plants. It's been like this since tank immersion 3 weeks ago (it started as DSM).

Tank specs:
12 l (~10l with hardscape)
Light: 11W for 6.30h
Filter: Eheim hang on liberty 100
CO2: pressurized (on 2.5 h before lights on and off 2 h before lights off)
Drop-checker is lime green at lights on (with 4kh water).
Temp: 17-18 ºC (no heater)
Dosing 2x EI with dry salts (KNO3 + KH2PO4) and Elos Fase 1 (for micro)
1g of MgSO4.7H20 + 1g of CaCl2.2H20 added weekly (my water is super soft).

I've been manually removing as much as possible everyother day and performing a 50%WC afterwards. Dose immediatelly afterwards.

Plants:
HC
Eleocharis parvula
H. micranthemoides

Plants seem to be growing ok. Not so fast but light is also low. I got no other algae issues.

My tanks gets 10-15 min of direct sunlight in one corner (it coincides when lights are on) but this actually seems to be the most healthy location.

Am I doint anything wrong? Should I sitck to the schedule and wait longer. Or is a blackout really necessary. I'd like to avoid that. Since that corner of the tank that gets a bit of sunlight is the most healthy one, does this mean I should up my lighting so plants can outcompete BBA overgrowth?

thanks,

GM
 
Hi guys,

My mistake! I really meant BGA (cyanobacteria). I'm changing the title.

The rest still applies.

GM
 
Oh, OK, thanks for the clarification. These days I have started to question the integrity of the KNO3. So you might want to look at the thread I recently submitted and ensure that in fact you do have KNO3. Even if it turns out to be one of the other products then just make the adjustments. It might turn out to be none of them at all though.

In any case, the only other possibility would be poor flow from you HOB, but then you'd be seeing other types of algae so check your KNO3 and report back.

Cheers,
 
hmm,

It may be possible. I am currently using one I bougth in a drugstore. It should be the real deal. But then again, when comparing it to the one I recently bought at the Planted Tanks, the former is much more white. The later also has a more cheesy smell. So I don't know. I will make a new macro solution with the latter and see what happens.

Can I mix KNO3 and KH2PO4 and dose together (2-3 x EI) for this purpose or should I actually just increase the levels of KNO3 and use regular EI levels for KH2PO4?

Also, how long should I expect to start to see some results?

cheers,

GM
 
Well, I've never bought a drugstore brand, but I wonder exactly what product it is being sold as. Is it being sold as stump remover or as 100% KNO3? What does it say on the list of ingredients?

If you have 100% KNO3 and you are dosing EI then there really ought not to be issues, but really it just isn't that big of a deal to simply multiply everything by 2. You can choose whatever method or combination is easiest.

If you have BGA covering the plants then you should perform a 3 day blackout while dosing the new levels. That's the quickest way to solve this problem, otherwise it might take 3 weeks.

Cheers,
 
I do not have the bag anymore. But it was sold as KNO3. But I am really suspicious now.

I'll dump this one and use the other one from now on.

I'd really like to avoid the blackout. Will just dose 2x EI, manually remove as much as possible and see what happens. In a week time, if no progress is visible, I'll give it in and do the blackout. :D

just to make sure, If I must endure a blackout, CO2 should be off during this period right?

Many thanks Clive. your post on KNO3 came really handy and with perfect timing!!!

GM
 
After a week with really high NO3 levels (and I am certain it is KNO3 now), I haven't noted any difference to BGA. It is still spreading, albeit slowly. I will thus try the blackout route this time :(

3-4 days right?

On a side-note: I fertilized my 10l tank with a tsp of KNO3. According to calculations, this has raised my NO3 levels >100 ppm. Just to metion that this caused no harm to my shrimp (red cherry) or any other algae.
 
Yeah, that's a huge amount of NO3 for a 10L. Best to do a 3 day, or 4 day better still.

Cheers,
 
Hi,

just to mention that the 4-day blackout is now finished and no signs of cyano. There's nothing to clean really. It's vanished. In fact, I have never seen the tank so clear. The water is super cristal and substrate is perfectly clean. Even those algae on the glass close to the substrate which are so difficult to remove are history. I think I'll do a blackout once a month ;)

So I'm calling it a success. Did a 50% wc, switched on the lights and CO2 and re-started the ferts (normal EI). Hope it stays like this and the cyano does not come back.

cheers and thanks for all the help.

GM
 
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