# How do you stop BBA with no CO2



## drjack (5 Dec 2011)

Hi,

I am 2 months into a transition from a CO2 tank to a low tech no CO2 tank. I am now using Excel having not used it for the first month during the transition causing other problems. But my regime following advice in the forum and tank details are  now as follows:

Tank: Juwel Vision 180 with 140 litres/ 36 US gallons water allowing for gravel etc. 
Lighting: Medium: Juwel Day plus Juwel Nature, T5 tubes 8 hours/day ~ 2 watts/US gal
Substrate: Caribsea Eco-Complete
Filtration: Juwel supplied Bioflow 3 internal (1000 lph) plus Eheim Ecco pro 200 external (600 lph)
Water Changes: 20% /week unsing mostly RO water blended with tap water to maintain a KH of about 4

EI Dosing: Low Tech Tank: KNO3 5/16 tsp /week : KH2PO4 5/32 tsp /week : Seachem Equilibrium 5/16 tsp /week
                                        Seachem Flourish 5ml twice weekly : Seachem Excel 5ml /day

My problem is BBA which has carried over from when my tank was CO2 injected but hasn't gone away. Since increasing CO2 is not an option given its a low tech tank, has anyone had any success in treating BBA in a low tech (non CO2) environment?


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## Brenmuk (5 Dec 2011)

I see CO2 related algae problems (including BBA) as one of supply and demand. 

When you cannot keep up with demand for CO2 from your plants the plants stop growing and algae starts to grow. If you use additional CO2 you just increase the amount you add or add more Excel etc to keep up with demand. If you want to stay low tech you are limited on the supply side

Low tech: increasing CO2 supply
-more fish& inverts /bio load - produces more CO2
-more feeding - produces more CO2
-soil substrate - organic matter decomposes producing CO2
-allow/encourage emergent growth -  this improves O2 levels which help break waste down producing more CO2.

All the above have limits/warnings etc don't overstock and don't overfeed. Adding a soil substrate to an already set up tank is not practical. You may not want emergent growth for your scape etc. 

decreasing CO2 demand
- reduce light intensity & duration
- reduce plant biomass by pruning and thinning out overgrown plants - more plants need more CO2 - 
- replace demanding plants with slower growing plants - many carpet plants are more difficult to grow in low tech and will get covered in algae - while others like swords plants will often grow at the expense of other plants.
- add floating plants - adds shade so reduces light intensity.


In my low tech tanks I usually prune the plants when I see algae start to appear. That and some filter maintenance seems to stop algae from growing and re invigorate plant growth again.


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## drjack (6 Dec 2011)

Great, thanks for the advice Brenmuk, really helpful.


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## RudeDogg1 (6 Dec 2011)

Flourish exel at twice the dose will get rid to but like what's been said u also need to get the co2 balance right to fix the prob


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## frothhelmet (20 Feb 2012)

ramshorn snails will also eat BBA to nothing. So will red-nose shrimp, but they will die in a few months because they are not freshwater shrimp.


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## ceg4048 (20 Feb 2012)

Try not doing any water changes and disabling 50% of your lights for the time being. BBA is related to CO2 stability, not CO2 levels. If you really want to do water changes then allow the water to degas of CO2 for a few hours first - or do the water changes at night instead of during the day.

Cheers,


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## Morgan Freeman (20 Feb 2012)

How much did you lower your lighting when you switched?


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## dw1305 (21 Feb 2012)

Hi all,
I agree with "frothhelmet": 





> ramshorn snails will also eat BBA to nothing.


They do, just give them time. 
cheers Darrel


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## plantbrain (21 Feb 2012)

This is not really a non CO2, rather the system is still carbon enriched, and adding good consistent Excel Easy carb DIY will help, I agree with snails and shrimp and SAE's.

They will all put a world of hurt on BBA.

You can add say 10mls per 10 Gal of the Excel daily and do water changes etc.
Do a large water change and kill the BBA on any non live material with a spray bottle or a toothbrush, wait a few min, then refill.

Add the Excel more consistently, add herbivores, kill the BBa that's there, trim infected leaves that are not really fresh or looking good. If a few leave have a small amount of BBA, that's okay, wait till new growth appears and then remove later.

I agree with NOT doing water changes also for a no Excel method............., just make sure to be consistent with Excel. you might try 1x a month water change of 50%. There is no need to do them weekly for this tank.


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