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BBA?


Greg H
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Hello,

I have a brand new 66 gallon tank that I’ve been running for 2.5 months now. Everything so far has been running great! In the last 2-3 weeks I’ve noticed that I am developing what I think is BBA on my crypt spiralis and apontogeton crispus. I added my co-op light at click 3 for 8 hours. My tank is fairly tall and the algae largely appears to be attaching itself to the leaves that are mid way through the tank or towards the top. I am starting to see some at the bottom even though it is much less than the mid level. I am wondering if this is just a phase in the new cycle of my tank or if this is a sign I’m starting to get out of balance and need to make an adjustment. 
 

substrate: stratum, ecocomplete and crushed coral

fertilizer: easy green. 2ml, 1 time per day

Nitrates are at 25ppm after 2 weeks with no water change

running CO2 for 8 hours

stocking - 4 neons, 5 chili rasboras, 4 amanos, 1 hillstream loach, 3 killis. 

42B2B4CB-C68B-42DB-BBE2-363E00C5DF30.jpeg

41DD74E3-4D80-42BC-81BC-9AC03BF05CBD.jpeg

8843B273-2E44-4BA5-8015-2CA83F19ED6D.jpeg

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Nice looking setup! What species of Killi are you keeping?

I always have issues with BBA. Once it gets in there, it is a pretty hardy algae. I have tried Siamese Algae Eaters. They do clean off BBA eventually. But they are a quirky fish to keep, and (in my opinion) should be kept in shoals of 6-12. They can be boisterous. Florida Flagfish are another species I've tried. Males are lovely, but can be aggressive once they reach spawning age. I recommend females exclusively if you're trying to control BBA. Amano Shrimp are probably the most favored for a tank like yours. That's a tremendously impressive scape! Great work. 

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On 2/13/2023 at 7:08 PM, Greg H said:

I have a brand new 66 gallon tank that I’ve been running for 2.5 months now. Everything so far has been running great! In the last 2-3 weeks I’ve noticed that I am developing what I think is BBA on my crypt spiralis and apontogeton crispus. I added my co-op light at click 3 for 8 hours. My tank is fairly tall and the algae largely appears to be attaching itself to the leaves that are mid way through the tank or towards the top. I am starting to see some at the bottom even though it is much less than the mid level. I am wondering if this is just a phase in the new cycle of my tank or if this is a sign I’m starting to get out of balance and need to make an adjustment. 
 

substrate: stratum, ecocomplete and crushed coral

fertilizer: easy green. 2ml, 1 time per day

Nitrates are at 25ppm after 2 weeks with no water change

running CO2 for 8 hours

A few caveats, because yeah.... this is bba you're looking at.  Placement is pretty standard for red algae types and you're going to see it mostly on dying leaves.

A.  How much water, how often is it changed?
B.  You're dosing in 2 pumps per day of EG.  I would ask how long you've been running that dose for these plants. You mention it's a new setup, but is this dose been in use in the prior tank and adjusted up based on the new tank volume?
C.  Can you get a phosphate test kit?
D.  For your CO2 setup, how long before the lights come on is the CO2 running?  How do you transition the CO2 off and the lights off, same time?
E.  What is your filtration and circulation for the co2, can you record a video of the CO2 being diffused and show the path of circulation for the bubbles?
F.  2 hours after the CO2 is on, can you run a test of KH+PH?  We can calculate the CO2 ppm.  Repeat this same test 2 hours after lights out.

On 2/13/2023 at 7:08 PM, Greg H said:

41DD74E3-4D80-42BC-81BC-9AC03BF05CBD.jpeg

@Seattle_Aquarist can you help us out here with deficiencies.  The color on this monitor isn't great, but I see some deep veining on a few leaves, I do see pearling on the left, and some washed out leaves (yellowing).  I would think adding in some iron is a good idea.

@Greg H If you can, please post full testing values, especially PH, KH, GH, etc.

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On 2/13/2023 at 8:55 PM, Fish Folk said:

Nice looking setup! What species of Killi are you keeping?

I always have issues with BBA. Once it gets in there, it is a pretty hardy algae. I have tried Siamese Algae Eaters. They do clean off BBA eventually. But they are a quirky fish to keep, and (in my opinion) should be kept in shoals of 6-12. They can be boisterous. Florida Flagfish are another species I've tried. Males are lovely, but can be aggressive once they reach spawning age. I recommend females exclusively if you're trying to control BBA. Amano Shrimp are probably the most favored for a tank like yours. That's a tremendously impressive scape! Great work. 

I love reading about other people's experience with SAEs. Apparently they have more personality than it seems at first glance! I have kept a single one for a few years and it's the biggest and most active fish in the tank. It out-competes my tiger barbs for bloodworms!

Also to this day it voraciously eats most algae as an adult. I have had massive algae blooms and still never got BBA on any of my plants because it's constantly nibbling at the edges of the leaves. @Greg H if you are able to pick one up they are quite active and will likely be a huge help combating your algae. Good luck!

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