Tanked

Opinions on 3% H2O2 treatments vary. It is generally accepted that waiting a minimum of 24 hours between treatments is safe, and treatments may need to be repeated 3 or 4 times. If your tests are still showing 0 nitrates, I would use a full dose.

Submerged leaves cut off from the air will probably die. The only houseplant that I am aware of, said to be toxic to fish is Defenbachia.

That was basically my process. The owner's had health issues, and had abandoned the tank. The tank would have looked like the set of a dystopian movie if you could actually see anything other than algae.. I retained about 20 gallons for the fish and stretched the process out over 2 days to give me time to restore the tank, and acclimate the fish to their new normal.

I kept a tall window jar for one season. The idea was to place a few pieces of Duckweed in it and see if it would live up to its reputation. It did not, but it did develop much longer roots than expected. Eventually it picked up some wildlife and if you were lucky you could see the convection currents caused by the sun's heat. Today I keep a 10 gallon that goes by several different names, but it is where plants go to recover or die. It has a light and nothing else but aquarium water. The snails that live there survive by eating the decaying plant matter. Some of the plants also grow better here than in the other tanks.

Your option. Peroxide brakes down to water and oxygen, so after a couple of hours, it is gone. I think I would wait, let the peroxide to continue its work, and then maybe take a toothbrush to the tough spots and perform your maintenance.

Story of my life! My backup heater is being discontinued before I plug it in for the first time.

The TFBs are major plant eaters, so a few sad plants survive behind a fish fence. The Val were the first plants dragged through the fence, so that won't be a problem. The recently planted Chain Swords are showing some promise. Will it kill Chain Swords?

I've read where you should dilute it, but for the life of me, I can't see the purpose. Like you said, it isn't a lot. I spray straight H2O2 on the aquarium plants in and out of the aquarium. Fun Fact: If you use the spray bottle underwater, it will dilute the peroxide in the bottle. Straight H2O2 will kill BBA. You might not get it all on the first treatment. In 1-24 hours the dead algae will change color, usually red. As I mentioned early on, I don't use any of the other products. Peroxide (H2O2) is super cheap and plant safe to use. My single experience with Alum wasn't good. I can't prove it, but I blame it for the 2020 Great Hornwort Apocalypse. 😬 The next time I quarantine, I will use the RR method.

A trigger sprayer is that plastic pump spray bottle your window cleaner comes in. With luck you can find a pint size bottle for about $2.00 I have one each for peroxide and vinegar; both have uses in the home and around the aquarium. The aquarium looks much better. If you have the space and time, and you haven't discarded the other plants, you may be able to treat and rejuvenate some of them.

I have a 5 yr. old Nana that just put out its first flower. I had done some pruning, so I thought it was just a new leaf. The rhizome on this one has a few direction changes You will have your answer soon. Two flowers would definitely be super cool

BBA in my 75 is more of an annoyance than a problem. The barbs eat some of it. Over time the gravel substrate will darken with BBA or some other black/gray algae. A deep gravel cleaning will turn over the gravel, deny light to the algae, and restore the bright white appearance. Spot treating decorations and plants have little or no effect on the gravel. I'm thinking that treating the gravel with a whole tank peroxide treatment might kill the beneficial bacteria in the UGF even though it is shut off.

Flowers 🤞🤞

Why not begin swapping water between the tanks? Swapping small quantities over a couple of days should give you identical water in both without upsetting the cycle in the home tank.

The peroxide will decay and become water. I would do your water change after the treatment. Any algae killed or dislodged will go with the old water. Some people use a pipette or a syringe for dosing. I spray mine through a piece of tubing connected to the trigger sprayer. A trigger sprayer used under water will eventually dilute the peroxide My 55 has a recurring BBA problem. Before I replied to you, I liberally sprayed the plants, fish fence and large lava rock. An hour or so later the back wall had taken on a reddish tint, even though I had not sprayed it. The algae on the lava rock had also gone from black to a reddish brown, and the barbs were picking at it. These treatments will not remove the algae or gunk. They will only kill/damage it. Whole tank treatment killed off my staghorn algae, but it required multiple treatments. If you can get the algae under control, your clean up crew and maintenance will do the rest. In a different tank I have three pink quartz rocks. They are normally covered with a solid black coat of algae. The SD's like to graze on it occasionally. After introducing the SAEs, the rocks remain about 95% clear. I have limited experience with RR. and I don't remember if it removed algae. One thing for sure is to use a product that is labeled Seltzer Water. Sparkling water products won't work as well. Remember that your algae killing efforts may show progress tomorrow. Efforts to prevent algae will take weeks.

All of the lights you mentioned are reported to be good lights. Your lights could be on too long, or could be too bright. 8 hours would be a maximum. If you are already running the lights <8 hours try dimming . Changing the water every other day is probably too much. I would try twice a week. Your plants and fish require stability. Each time you change the water you remove some of the required micro and macro nutrients. When these level fluctuate, the plants suffer and the algae benefits. I've never had a Red Flame Sword, but the two leaves on the right side look like indicators of a nutrient deficiency. Peroxide treatments: The most common method to treat the whole tank is by adding 1.5 ml. per gallon after you remove your sponge filters and leaving the still water in the dark for at least 30 minutes. I have used 3ml. and even 5ml. without issue. Treat only once in a 24 hour period. You can lower the water to the minimum level for the fish and spray exposed plants directly (this method seems too risky to the critters) you can also spray the plants as they are now in the aquarium. This is similar to the easy carbon methods You can remove the plants and spray directly, letting them sit for 10 minutes. Peroxide is an oxidizer and might harm some plants more than others. Peroxide is light sensitive and breaks down quickly Results should be seen within 24 hours. The dead algae will change color. BBA usually turns red As always, your results may vary, and treatments may need to be repeated. Peroxide will also kill some of the beneficial bacteria, so it is important to remove the sponge filters. and let it work in still water. You can also try Reverse Respiration, It kills algae but requires removal of the plants to do so. https://forum.aquariumcoop.com/topic/24465-reverse-respiration/#comment-221140

Full disclosure: I am far from an algae expert. My point was that the gravel is not the problem. I do not see Cyanobacteria, but I do see several other algae. The SAEs will eat most or all of them, and in my experience are the hardest working algae eaters in the tank. There are others. I don't actually see the mud you refer to; that could be algae, or a build up of mulm ie: fish waste and plant debris. I am guessing that the blooming Anubia is very new. It is in great shape. The plants behind it have yellowing, browning leaves, and algae. These are indicators of a nutrient deficiency. Seachem states that Pristine helps reduce nitrates. You said your Nitrates are 0-10 ppm. Yours are too low, and in my opinion, one reason your plants aren't growing. A lot of the folks here like to see a minimum of 20 ppm. and up to 50 ppm. are considered safe. With the exception of Easy Green, I do not use any of the products that others have mentioned. If the plants aren't using the available nutrients, the algae will. At this point, you could do a 100% blackout for a week. I've never tried this, but it would definitely help the algae issue. Replacing the gravel is a matter of choice, but capping the gravel now may cause other problems. I would: trim off the damaged leaves and do a deep gravel cleaning, stop using Pristine, and start using the Easy Green as directed. For algae control, I prefer Hydrogen Peroxide. Try this for a few weeks, change is slow. Lighting could be an issue, but if you change too many things at the same time, you won't know which one worked.

Changing the substrate will not fix an algae problem. If you don't have a cleanup crew yet, I would get two or three SAEs. They will eat BBA and most other algae. The BBA releases spores into the water column, so new substrate will only mask the problem. Stepped up water changes will help.

It is a very long shot, but if you can, I would remove the rams for a day or three. It occurred to me that you said the fish were happily swimming around at the LFS. If all of the parameters are good, the next biggest change would be their their tank mates. If the surfing stops, you won't have solved the problem, but you will have identified it.

I have only seen that vertical swimming behavior once with a very unhappy Tiger Barb. He was the last of his group. For lack of a better idea, I would ask the LFS to test their water and yours, and see how they compare. The Co-op site indicates that they prefer "relatively soft" water. You've had the fish for four months, so they should have adapted to your water. Other than that, I've got nothing!

My small community tank has a special corner. In late afternoon it is not uncommon to find the SAEs attached to the glass in the right front corner. They prefer to rest as a group. This is the same corner where the Vallisneria Spiralis migrates to, but otherwise doesn't grow. A little later, all or of the fish gather on the right side of the tank. I've considered that this might be a flow problem, but with the possible exception of the Embers, all of the fish will swim into the current, or hang out directly under the HOB on the other side of the tank. My best explanation is that they know that this is the direction that the food will come from.

I've only kept a few rescued rasboras, so I've never observed this behavior. It does looks like you have already tried just about everything. I have to ask: When you say they are glass surfing, Are the fish swimming close to the glass, or out in open water? I can't tell from your picture how much open swimming space the fish have. (Great looking tank BTW) They are a schooling fish, and they could consider their reflections as part of a larger school. I see a lot of reflections. Does their behavior change when the aquarium/room lights are out?

The video was one of the too many that I've watched on making bread or starters. In between jokes, they do offer some good information. The purist probably won't like it because the starter only got a cameo appearance. It did actually help me get a decent pizza crust this past weekend, so I might have learned something🍕

I got called away, sorry. BBA should get it's own forum here because this is a recurring question. Peroxide will kill the beneficial bacteria, so I would remove the sponge filter. The internet and these forums will have several variants on how to treat with peroxide. Because BBA produces spores, it is hard to remove, and may require several treatments. In minor cases such as yours, you could remove the wood as you have done and spray it, leave the wood in the tank and spray it directly, or treat the entire tank, which is essentially the same thing. This is the most common method: Turn filters, pumps, and lights off, wait for the water to become still, add 1.5ml/gallon peroxide mix with separate Aquarium water, pour in, Wait 1 hour before starting pumps. This is best done after lights out as H2O2 is light sensitive. You should see results in about 24 hours. I have used up to 5ml. per gallon without issue, but as usual, your results may vary! If you only have floating plants right now you could remove them during treatment. Ultimately you should include a cleanup crew in your aquarium..

Maybe not adding the starter and salt in separate steps/times are the first of several mistakes that I regularly make.

Yes and yes. Carefully remove the stick and give it a dose of peroxide. Wet the sticks liberally and let them sit for an hour in a dark place.. Personally I would give the stick a good scrub and dose it again. If there are no fish in the tank yet I would dose the entire tank. Alternatively you could: turn off the pumps and filters, wait for the water to become totally still, and spray the sticks with peroxide where they are. BBA isn't the worst thing in the world, but it is a real pain to eliminate.