Black Beard Algea Weirdness

[4D3]

Hi,

I have been keeping fish IN AUSTRALIA (that is important I think) for over 15 years and never once had any form of algea issues.

About 5 years ago I was sent to the UK for work reasons, and i now have tanks over here too, my setups are identical, same light arrays, same filters same media used, even same fish species and load.

For some reason in the UK I get black beard algea......



(the white flecks in the water is not floaters, it is micro bubbles from my surface skimmer)

I have tried everything I can think of:

- tank is not in direct sunlight
- tank lighting is on from 10:30am to 10pm
- I have removed all wood and scrubbed them down with peroxide
- I have tried Seachem phosguard
- increased UV from a Fluval FX Uvc clarifier to also include a 22wbUV Steriliser.

And it keeps coming back...... I am completely lost as to what to do!

Do I need to completely dismantle and nuke everything? Although that would mean also nuking my bio media........

Please can someone give me any ideas?

 

[phreeflow]

The source water likely has a different mineral and nutrient composition.

The first thing would be to cut your duration of light. Running them almost 12 hours per day is unnecessary unless you have lots of high light plants, CO2, etc.

Bump up water changes to remove excess nutrients and perhaps start over with new plants, decor, and gravel…that stuff is stubborn.

 

[kendragon]

I personally found it related to certain pieces of wood. Don't know if it was a type or age but I got rid of the affect ones and the problem went away.

 

[tiger15]

Seachem phosguard is the wrong chemical. Use Seachem excel instead to fight bba. Dose double dosage after water change, and daily regular dosage thereafter. bba will die and turn red enabling pleco to consume it.

 

[phreeflow]

Good point. When I had a planted tank, I also used Excel or hydrogen peroxide and squirted it on the bba. It works great but it was so tedious. If it’s just wood and rock work, I’d just pull them all and throw them in a bucket with Excel or hydrogen peroxide

 

[tiger15]

Peroxide is best to be used as dry spray on exposed bba when the tank is drained during water change. Excel is best to be dosed in the water column. Both will kill bba but won’t remove it relying on pleco and manual removal. If you stop the treatment, bba will return without fixing the cause. You have to cut down the photo period and/or intensity to keep out bba long term, but there is no harm to continue the treatment indefinitely if the cause cannot be eliminated.

 

[duanes]

Have used Rid X (a probiotic) because its components act as a competition for nutrients that promote Cyanobacteria.
I had only 1 tank out of arund 20 that it would proliferte in, especicially of drift wood, it was a grammodes tank,
with only a mated pair in the tank itself, so not all a overcrowded.
But the tank was on a communal sump, that shared hundreds of gallons, and 5 other r
tanks.
so why only that 1 ightly stocked tank1 tank? I couldn´r determine


Above is before adding the probiotic
below a couple weeks later

I realize it is for use in septic tanks with odors, but it is a similar concept .

 

[duanes]

Here'sn the link posted about a cyanobacteria problem I had, a long time ago (over a dozen years ago)

Thread 'Probiotic experiment'

Jun 19, 2013

I have been reading the sticky about probiotics ever since Miguel pointed it out to me.
After taking out the plants that I'd been overwintering to the pond, from a refugium/sump, the sump became overrun with cyanobacteria.


Being on line with a few other tanks, they started to become a bit over run with it too.
...

• duanes
• Replies: 33
• Forum: Freshwater Diseases and Health Issues