How To Use Maracyn To Kill Bga

[mrapoc]

So far I only have a rough idea on how to use it. Could somebody give me pointers on when/how much water to change, whether to include an oxygen stone, keep dosing flourish excel, add KNO3 and how much lighting etc.?

Dont wanna be mucking this up and endangering my fish now do i

Thanks guys (it should be arriving tomorrow...D-Day for BGA)

 

[donkey]

Hi
is it in pill form or powder form ? all i did was to mix one tab or one powder with some aquarium water in a small cup. then stair well and add to the tank. i used one pill/powder to every 10 galls of water. treat for a full five days. then do a water change on the 6th or 7th day. after a while you will see it starting to die off. but be careful some of the BGA will make a run for it. it will jump out of your tank and dart all over the place. it will kill your first born and have sex with your wife. its even been known to steal your car and make a run for the border. so if you see it jump out of the tank find a big stick and beat it to death before it does any of the things i have told you about

The only good BGA is dead BGA. its the most evil thing known to man.

 

[dave1987]

what is BGA sorry if sounds like a dump question

 

[donkey]

Pure Evil

Nicked from G.F

Cyanobacteria (BGA)

Strictly speaking this is not a species of algae but a form of bacteria. It does, however, act in a similar fashion to algae and can be prevented using similar principles.

I am no expert on BGA (or algae for that matter) but I can share my experiences with it in the hope that it may help you.

Also known as Slime Algae, due to its physical nature, it covers the substrate and plants with a blue/green slime like substance. Untreated this will spread very quickly smothering everything, substrate, plants and décor. It out competes the plants for nitrogen and prevents photosynthesis due to it blocking the plants from the light. It is also toxic to fish and nothing will eat it. In short it is nasty stuff – it even has an unpleasant smell. This is one method of confirming it is BGA.

I understand it originates in the substrate, this is certainly true in the couple of cases I have had. I am unsure as to what the true cause of its manifestation but I think stagnant water helps it and the anaerobic bacteria associated with it. Low nitrates and natural light are often associated with its spread too.

 

[mrapoc]

it is pure evil tbf...

iv heard others break the tablet up and put pieces in worst affected areas.

so do the dose daily for 5 days (its a 70 litre tank so )

6th day do a nice big change.

should be dead after 5 days?



i have a nice big pointed stick (monty python?) ready for its escape

 

[donkey]

That works out at about 18.5 gallons . so i would put 2 a day in. some people do indeed break the tablet up but both ways would work fine. you should see it starting to die off at about 3 days but keep adding it for the full 5 days. yes do a 50% water change on the 6th or 7th day

 

[mrapoc]

Day 1.
Add 2.5 mg/L erythromycin. If you have a protein skimmer, turn it off. I believe it will inactive a lot of the antibiotic through coprecipitation with protein. It will, however, be very usefull later.

Day 2.
Add 2.5 mg/L erythromycin.

Day 3.
Now you should see a lot of dead blue-green bacteria floating around in the tank. Increase filtration (a second mechanical filter if possible) to get rid of it. If you have a protein skimmer, turn it on. The critical thing now is to get rid of as much protein (dead bacteria) as possible to avoid a peak of ammonia.

Day 4.
Most blue-green bacteria should be dead by now. Try to clean out as much as possible of the dead stuff. I use a jet stream of water from the outlet of a canister filter to remove
it from plants and decorations. Combined with the second mechanical filter, this works fine for me. Let the filter work for a couple of hours then make a 50% water change. Add 2.5
mg/L erythromycin.

Day 5-7.
Wash the mechanical filter at least once a day. Keep check on ammonia and nitrite but do not change any water unless absolutely necessary. The extra filter can be removed as soon as the water clears up.

Day 8.
Make a 30% water change. Add 1 mg/L erythromycin.


That regime look ok?


Iv also read it may kill off my malaysian trumpet snails??? perhaps i should give them a temporary home in case

 

[Egmel]

Iv also read it may kill off my malaysian trumpet snails??? perhaps i should give them a temporary home in case

If that's the case then you should know that Malaysian trumpet snails are hardy creatures and will be quite happy in a bowl of water (change it every now and then) with the odd bit of food thrown in. Keep them there until you've finished medicating your tank. If you don't use carbon to remove the meds then I'd keep them there for a couple of water changes afterwards just to be on the safe side.

Does anywhere say if any of these procedures will cause your tank to re-cycle? If so you might want to consider lining someone up in the area who can supply you with some mature filter media.

 

[Million]

Does anywhere say if any of these procedures will cause your tank to re-cycle? If so you might want to consider lining someone up in the area who can supply you with some mature filter media.

Well I dosed using the above quoted regime, and it set back my cycle quite severely, so i'd say you want to be ready to deal with a bacterial colony death

 

[mrapoc]

Ill put in about 300mg per dose (400mg for a 20 gallon tank and mine is about 17.5ish) unless i should go little over to ensure the death of BGA.

Ill pick out as many as i can until i dose (tomorrow?) plonk them in a bowl of water (ill change the water every 3 days or so and plonk algae wafers/cucumber in wen they've eaten the last lot of food.

How would i use the mature media donation? Put in with some water with my other sponge and squeeze it through or will i have to use their sponge for a while?

perhaps some of that filter boosting stuff on the market will help or is that designed for fishless cycling? boo!

thanks

 

[mrapoc]

removed as many snails as poss, gave them cucumber and algae wafer.

put one 250mg tablet in my tank tonight (broke up and put in different corners) for my 70litre tank (minus plants, fish rocks)

ill do one 250mg tablet a day for 5 days - should be enough ya?

 

[donkey]

its been a while since i used this stuff. but should it not be 1tab to every 10 gallons.

 

[mrapoc]

the usual dose is 200mg to 10 gallon and i worked out 70litre just water is like 18 gallon? Minus plants etc itll be around 15 gallon or so. 250mg is for about 13 gallon? i might pop in another half tablet to make it 15gallon treatable?

 

[donkey]

yes i think i would drop an other half tablet in there as well

 

[mrapoc]

done and plonked an airstone in

same dose everyday for 5 days or can i drop down to 1 tablet after so long u reckon?

i think i better go buy some filter bacteria boost stuff soon in case of filter death..