# Is this BBA and how can I eradicate it ?



## kellyboy47 (25 Mar 2022)

Hi,

I hope somebody can help with the current issue I have with my tank. In January I drained my tank, removed all livestock and plants prior to moving home on 4th Feb. Everything appeared to be fine with the move and I didnt lose any fish. I had transported the plants in original aquarium water and had saved around 60 litres of original water so that I wouldnt have to cycle the tank. Since the move I initially had brown algae bloom on the glass, hardscape and filters which I have tried to rub off weekly at water changes. Over the last 2 weeks the issue has now got dramatically worse with what I think is BBA . The fish are fine but the tank now looks awful. Any help would be greatly appreciated Please see photos pre move and post move. I am sorry about the quality of the 'after' photo. ...I will try and get a better photo later, The 3rd photo shows the general state of all plants

I normally do a 60 litre water change every week and am currently dosing with Easycarbo and APF Micro / Macro nutrients


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## castle (25 Mar 2022)

Anecdotal maybe, but I lived in a very modern flat (which had some on site water treatment) I only had two nanos, but I didn't get any BBA, in fact I didn't get any algae. 

I moved less that 500m down the road, to an old victorian terrace, and both nanos got BGA and BBA within the month, felt like less than two weeks. The only change was the water, and I kept all of the water from the tanks, so it was a gradual change.

I think water/pipes have more to do with algae than I can prove


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## MichaelJ (25 Mar 2022)

kellyboy47 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I hope somebody can help with the current issue I have with my tank. In January I drained my tank, removed all livestock and plants prior to moving home on 4th Feb. Everything appeared to be fine with the move and I didnt lose any fish. I had transported the plants in original aquarium water and had saved around 60 litres of original water so that I wouldnt have to cycle the tank. Since the move I initially had brown algae bloom on the glass, hardscape and filters which I have tried to rub off weekly at water changes. Over the last 2 weeks the issue has now got dramatically worse with what I think is BBA . The fish are fine but the tank now looks awful. Any help would be greatly appreciated Please see photos pre move and post move. I am sorry about the quality of the 'after' photo. ...I will try and get a better photo later, The 3rd photo shows the general state of all plants
> 
> I normally do a 60 litre water change every week and am currently dosing with Easycarbo and APF Micro / Macro nutrients


Hi @kellyboy47 Dramatic changes to water parameters ( or instability)  might trigger algae growth - likely in part due to the plants being weakened by the change.  

Cheers,
Michael


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## Ghettofarmulous (25 Mar 2022)

just out of interest how long was your filter out of service? Did it dry up or sit in water for prolonged periods?


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## kellyboy47 (25 Mar 2022)

MichaelJ said:


> Dramatic changes to water parameters ( or instability) might trigger algae growth - likely in part due to the plants being weakened by the change


Hi Michael so do you think it would be best then to remove and discard all of the plants and scrub the hardscape and perhaps in a  short while buy new plants ? I tested the water today with the following results:

NO3 100
NO2 0
GH 8d
KH 10d
PH 7.6
CL2 1.5


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## kellyboy47 (25 Mar 2022)

Ghettofarmulous said:


> just out of interest how long was your filter out of service? Did it dry up or sit in water for prolonged periods?


The internal juwel was out of service for 1 day. The Fluval 4 was being used to filtrate the container I had housed the fish in


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## Oldguy (28 Mar 2022)

kellyboy47 said:


> with what I think is BBA


If it is and it looks as if it is then BBA is normally associated with CO2/circulation/lighting being  unbalanced. So try less light and a uniform flow or as uniform as you can get.

I think that easycarbo is a glutaraldehyde based product. If it is then try adding it via a dropper directly to the affected plants as part of your normal dosing.

I can not comment on APT ferts as I am a 'dry salter' and mix my own.

I am assuming that the tank is not CO2 injected.

Badly affected plants may not be growing/slowly dying so trim leaves/replace plants.

BBA is a sod to eliminate.

Plant up with fast easy plants until your tank settles down.

Best of luck.


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## kellyboy47 (12 May 2022)

CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS : I've now been running the tank  with just Easycarbo and NO Ferts for the past 6 weeks. I had removed all the plants and dipped them with 3% solution of H202.
All the fish are fine. I did not reintroduce the original plants but instead this week introduced a new Hottonia and several Echinodorus Bleheri but the Hottonia has already got a thin layer of BBA.
I would now like to add H202 to the tank which is 40 gallon so does anybody know what the dosage rate should be and for what period should it be done ?
Should the filter material be removed whilst going through this process ?
I am also worried that the BBA is within the substrate which is Tropica Aquarium Soil but I do not want to go the expense of buying new soil but would appreciate any views on this
I do a 33% water change every week but I am now contemplating whether I should empty the tank completely and give it a thorough clean to try and rid this BBA and start all over again
Sorry for all the questions but I am really beginning to get p***** off with this now


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## jaypeecee (12 May 2022)

Hi @kellyboy47

I suspect that the problems you have been experiencing are the result of nutrients being stirred up during the tank transfer. It is likely that nitrate and phosphate (in the water column) are contributing to algae growth. And dissolved organics from detritus in the substrate is not good news for BBA (Audouinella). Organics promote BBA. Removal of organics can be achieved using granulated activated carbon (GAC) or Seachem _Purigen_ (in the filter). Alternatively, you could rely on multiple water changes. And, on the topic of water, tap water sometimes contains a lot of silicate, which can promote growth of diatoms.

JPC


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## tam (13 May 2022)

No ferts at all? What's your NO3 running at now? What's the tank volume?


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## kellyboy47 (13 May 2022)

No NO Ferts whatsoever, only Easycarbo, NO3 is 5.0ppm and tank size is 180 litres


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## tam (13 May 2022)

kellyboy47 said:


> No NO Ferts whatsoever, only Easycarbo, NO3 is 5.0ppm and tank size is 180 litres


Now your NO3 has dropped down again, I would be adding ferts, trace at minimum but might as well do something comprehensive. You want the plants to grow healthily to replace the old damaged leaves. Are the new plants growing? 

I've never been keen on the idea of complete restarts - you would literally have to discard everything to make it a true new start, then you have to deal with the potential issues of a brand new setup (algae inducing too) and you end up back where you started.


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## kellyboy47 (13 May 2022)

I am doing a water change tomorrow afternoon so will add the Chelated Trace then...what about the Macro ferts ?....I am running 2 filters atm a Fluval U4 internal and the internal Juwel filter but I I have only the carbon media in the U4. 
Jaypcee suggested I try some Seachem Purigem in the filter so would that be a good call. I have removed the Hottonia and dipped it in a H202 solution and quarantined it. Some of the Echindorus leaves as you can see  in the photos are becoming translucent.  Is this because of the lack of ferts ?


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