# Still getting BBA/staghorn on substrate/HC



## nry (29 Jan 2011)

Okie dokie, 15UK gallon, 2x18w T8's on 6hrs per day (4-10pm).  FloraBase substrate.

Pressurised CO2 as high as the fish will let me (on from 10am in the morning until lights off), and full dosage EI using TPN as trace.

TetraTec EX600 alongside Koralia Nano - all observations show the CO2 bubbles are getting blasted everywhere in the tank nicely.

After adding the Koralia about 2months ago, the front glass now stays 100% clear of diatoms, algae on the stem plants, crypts, staurogyne has 99% gone, just a touch left on some of the leaves very close to the substrate.

I'm still getting a reasonable growth of BBA and staghorn on the HC - I pick it out each week at the water change, but it is proving almost impossible to eradicate.  I've never managed a carpet of HC in this tank (current and previous scapes) without some form of algae loving it, and I'd hoped the Koralia would sort things out but it seems not.

Am I perhaps missing something?  The flow appears superb now, so unsure what the issue can be.  Filter is cleaned every 4-weeks with dechlorinated water.


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## ceg4048 (29 Jan 2011)

Hi mate,
             This generally indicates poor CO2 distribution to the substrate. CO2 doesn't naturally go down but instead goes up and out. Improving flow quantity helps in areas above the substrate as you can see, but sometimes you need to force feed the bottom of the tank. Excel can clear this up. How are you distributing? How/where is the powerhead mounted?

Cheers,


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## nayr88 (30 Jan 2011)

Hello nry

I had this algae in my tank for a short time, this was due as Ceg pointed out to poor flow, wich meant my co2 wasn't getting in that area too well, also at the time I didn't have a solernoid  or timer for the co2 so I would turn the reg on with the lights and turn them off together, the bubble count was close to the previous day but not exact,and I started getting Staghorn in 'well flowed' areas. now co2 is on a timer and comes on 1hour before lights on and cuts out 1hour before lights off. So not only can poor flow in pressurized co2 tanks cause this but inconsistency on co2 IME. 

When the light comes on there want 3 things.

•Ferts
•Co2 
•Flow to deliver the other 2

And if your lights bing on and there's one missing, in this case co2, then it has to wait for it to build up and get around the tank to absorb it. This is the inconsistency that got me staghorn.....

So try  adding  a timer if you haven't got one.


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## nry (30 Jan 2011)

CO2 is on solenoid as above, kicks in at 10am, then the lights kick in at 4pm - sounds like a long interval, but I figured in my infinite wisdom that as the tank is getting natural light from sunrise (not direct sun) then CO2 would be a benefit - the plants do begin to lean towards the windows before the tank lights are on.

I have a lily pipe on the right of the tank, with the Koralia on the same side, facing down a little, which does show bubbles being pushed downwards and you can see them around the HC.  I'll have a go adjusting the Koralia position to point it a bit further down to blast the HC and see how it goes 

I have some AE AquaCarbon which I can re-use again.


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## nayr88 (30 Jan 2011)

Im stooped then haha, I don't think the sunshine is gunna help, but I'm sure ceg will have a better answer than my probablys and maybe's. I'm sure the extra flow directly will help.

With mine I picked it alllll the time I'd search through the moss with my tweezers looking for tiny bits, I quite enjoyed picking it out, and getting good well developed multi pronged pieces of stag haha strange I know, also carbon helped with this a lot  and once gone it hasn't made a return.

Good luck.


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## ceg4048 (30 Jan 2011)

Yeah, you have to remove what's there, even if you fixed the basic problem. Getting everything right won't automatically get rid of what's there so that's why I like to use a combination of manual removal and Excel overdose (or spray/paint at low tide) to eliminate the hangers on. If you've corrected the cause then the BBA/Staghorn won't return.

Cheers,


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## nry (1 Feb 2011)

Shifted the Koralia last night to blast down the front of the tank and over the HC, then it flows up over the stems/rear of the planting.  Started with 5ml of AquaCarbon after the water change and I'll add 2ml a day (15UKG) and see how it goes


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