# BBA algae and surface scum



## johnson529 (27 Jan 2011)

I'm just after some confirmation that the algae on some of my plants and root wood is BBA algae. I've read the algae guides and im pretty sure thats what I'm fighting with here. Since my last FE change my inline atomiser hasnt been the same. it doesnt seem to be giving out as much Co2 even when my regulator is cranked right up. Is there anyhting obvious I could be missing that I've done or is there any maintenance to carry out on these? I think this could fluctuating my Co2 or even not supplying enough to my tank and could be causing the algae. Also I'm getting a considerable amount of scum on the top of the tank. I've read in other posts that you can soak it up with kitchen roll or increase surface agitation to sort this. I tried using kitchen roll but it came back pretty quickly. I increased surface agitation too and this helped, but my Co2 level dropped according to my drop checker. Is this just a case of finding a happy medium between the 2? 












tank is 20g
filtered by eheim 2213 and flow assisted by nuwave power head
1x25w T5 on from 1600 until 2300
Co2 on from 1400 until 2100 try to keep the drop checker slightly yellow(although I'm out of 4KDH until the weekend)
dry fertilisers EI method using Cegs guide
75% water change done weekly


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## Nelson (27 Jan 2011)

pics not working for me.


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## johnson529 (27 Jan 2011)

sorry about that, they should be good now


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## johnson529 (29 Jan 2011)

anybody? this layer of white stuff is really annoying and I cant shift it long term at all! When i try to break it up or add more surface movement white stuff sinks. Its almost as if its limescale, like you get in your kettle.


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## Nelson (29 Jan 2011)

have a read through this thread http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=2389 
and here http://www.jsctech.co.uk/theplantedtank/algae.htm .


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## Mark Evans (29 Jan 2011)

use a small container to syphon the top layer off, until you become stable.

leave the filters running, to create movement on the top whilst you take the top layer off.


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## johnson529 (6 Feb 2011)

Thanks for the replies. I've looked into the links and there's some interesting stuff in there. So far I've tried taking the top layer off and also upped nutrient dosage and co2 and started adding 2ml easycarbo. After a water change the scum disappears for a day or 2, but then its back just as thick as before. It's driving me mad. On a positive note the algae seems to be reduced. I trimmed any covered leaves away and tried cleaning as much off the wood as possible, and so far so good. If I could just sort this surface scum I'd be happy. There's no air fresheners in the room or anything that could contribute to this. Any other ideas???????


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## ceg4048 (8 Feb 2011)

Hi Johnson,
                 You might want to think about changing the position and orientation of that powerhead on the far left. Try moving it to the location on the back wall just to the right of where the green spraybar ends and point it straight ahead. Also give your crypts a trim and trim that tall stem that seems to be at midground. The swords might could use a trim as well.

Cheers,


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