black tufts of algae
- Thread starter jack dempsey chan
- Start date
Years ago when i did planted tank setups, to remove bba i would increase co2 in the tank and add seachem flourish excel. Took a few weeks to notice results, but after 6 months no more algae. Black brush algae is a pia. There some types of catfish that will feed on it, but I hadn't had much luck in than department.
ok how do the shrimp and fish live with 1 RD 2 JDs 2 Cons 1 Spotted Raphael and 1 Tex (i no my tank is overstocked and all my fish will kill each other eventually) all in a 50 g and i do have live plants in my tank
*gasp*
Putting overstocking aside, the flagfish would not survive in there. Neither would any shrimp, even >4". Maybe a pleco? But your bioload is VERY high to be adding a pleco.
Putting overstocking aside, the flagfish would not survive in there. Neither would any shrimp, even >4". Maybe a pleco? But your bioload is VERY high to be adding a pleco.
doesn't matter, plecos don't eat BBA . . . I've seen SAEs eat it, and supposedly the flag fish does too . . .
I wouldnt bother trying to get something to eat it. Address the root cause which in your case is probably your water changes. Try doing the water change at lights off time and leave the lights off till the next day which will give time for the co2 level in the water to equalize. Manually remove the stuff thats there, a tooth brush works well for this and pull out any leaves covered in it. As long as you fix the root cause it wont come back.
I know in my tank if I do a WC at 7pm and leave the lights on till 9pm it will induce BBA
so I do my WC at 8pm and leave the lights off and no BBA problem since I started doing this.
Regards
Ollie
I know in my tank if I do a WC at 7pm and leave the lights on till 9pm it will induce BBA
so I do my WC at 8pm and leave the lights off and no BBA problem since I started doing this.
Regards
Ollie
Mmmm, water changes may or may not be a critical factor. My nitrates are kept below 20ppm every week and I still get BBA in my two main tanks. It is possible that certain fish foods or the tap itself contain phosphates. Just a thought.
[FONT="]Nitrates and Phosphate do not cause algae in fresh water tanks. They feed it once it is growing they dont cause it unless there is a deficiency. I dose potassium nitrate and potassium phosphate as well as trace elements in my tank(no CO2 injection) for the plants and normally have nitrate levels around 30ppm and phosphate levels around 10ppm do 50% WCs weekly and have no BBA at all. BBA is caused by fluctuating CO2 levels. Water changes as most people do them will cause this, tap water has far more CO2 than the tank so when added to the tank and combined with light it triggers the BBA spores. Simply turning off the light removes one of the needed triggers and allowing the CO2 levels in the tank to stabilise overnight removes the other so when the light comes on in the morning no problem.
Sorry if this sounds harsh Im not very good a sugar coating things lol. Algae and its causes has to be one of the most misunderstood aspects of our hobby.
Regards
Ollie
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Sorry if this sounds harsh Im not very good a sugar coating things lol. Algae and its causes has to be one of the most misunderstood aspects of our hobby.
Regards
Ollie
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ok thanks so i just need to do water changes, take the stuff out that the has the BBA and scrub it clean, and have the lights off when i do the water changes right?
