The Return Of The Bba

[xing]

Hi guys

I've had a sudden attack of bba whilst I've been away on holiday. I've had it previously and diy co2 plus excel cured it (then it was v. dark green, almost black). Everything was fine until I went pressurised about 2 weeks ago (week before going away) and its come back with a vengence since (clear when I went away), but this time its markedly redder in colour. got co2 drop checker and AE's 4kh water but checker wont shift from blue (maybe indicator solution that came with checker is naff - awaiting nutrafin ph kit to use instead). Got co2 bubbling through at a much higher (and controlled) rate than old co2 so surely there must be more dissolved into tank than before. Everything else is fine - left the tank under the care of my dad who's usually pretty good at maintaining any dosing routine and certainly doens't overfeed. Have stopped excel (felt I wouldn't need it with bette co2 provision). Also noticed some hair algae in there

One thought that occurred was will my diffuser be sufficient now I've gone pressurised? The ceramic disc is 1" across and it was advertised for up to 400litres (within my size). Would changing to a 2" disc such as the rhinox 5000 (http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rhinox-5000-Co2-diffuser-live-aquarium-plant-fish-tank_W0QQitemZ250117009361QQihZ015QQcategoryZ66794QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem) improve diffusion as it has a greater surface area?

Any suggestions?

 

[Dave Spencer]

One thing about ceramic diffusers is that they lose there efficiency to produce micro bubbles pretty quickly. I change mine every week with the water change, whether it looks like it needs it or not. I have a clean one ready to go in the tank and the used one goes in to a weak bleach solution to soak overnight. There is always a marked improvement when the clean one has just gone in to the tank.

As for the BBA, remove it by hand or, failing that, spot treat it with Excel, but make sure you are not overdosing if there are inverts about. Make sure that your dropper is giving you a correct reading as soon as you can. I had my CO2 cylinder run out on me a little while back without me noticing and BBA was my prize. It is definitely an algae whos appearance can be attributed to fluctuating CO2.

Dave.

 

[DevUK]

When you say dose with Excel, is that Seachem Flourish Excel?

 

[BHornsey]

When you say dose with Excel, is that Seachem Flourish Excel?

Yup, that's the stuff.

Xing, if you're indicator is blue and you have algae it's a sure bet it's low or swinging CO2.
Try cranking it up, pick off what you can and do big water changes (50%+) every couple of days and also dose Excel if you can get some. That really hits algae where it hurts
I've not had any experience with ceramic diffusers. I use a DIY reactor on my Trigon 190 and a Mazzei injector on my big 6' tank.
The DIY job is really efficient, blasts out a nice mist of CO2 and only cost me about £20

 

[xing]

I'm sure the drop checker isn't reading right but until I get the new ph kit I'm in the dark.

As for fluctuating co2 - now I've gone pressurised surely it must be more stable than with my old diy setup? The diffuser has been cleaned regularly and there are definitely finer bubbles and a greater amount than before so therefore there surely must be more co2 than previously. This would suggest that bba shouln'd be a problem through lack of co2 as there is more than before (maybe not 30ppm, but that was probably the case before).

I think I need to wait until I get an accurate co2 reading and see where that takes me. Still surprised how quickly this stuff has spread in a week.

Any ideas why it's a different colour than before?

 

[nry]

I don't suppose that you have one of the non-4dkh 4dkh water bottles from AE? I believe there was a batch that was incorrectly tested at the lab before being sent out, not sure when or how many bottles were affected though.

 

[xing]

probably not - I only got my bottle a week ago. As the problem came to light prior to me ordering I presume all the bad batch had been dealt with before I ordered.

 

[nry]

Worth a thought!

 

[BINKSY]

Brian h, have you got any pics of the diy reactor you made and the materials used to make it,


sorry for going off topic a little guys

cheers Gordon