# Still suffering with Black Beard Algae (BBA)! :(



## mede

Why o why am I still suffering with BBA algae!  It seems to be the only algae I ALWAYS have in al my tanks and can't get it away.

Took care of all hints and tips like flow, pH readings etc. The BBA is mosly present on my rocks (Dragon Stones) and older plant leaves.

If someone can help me getting rid of this annoying BBA I'm the most happy man in the world 

Using a spraybar: all plants (leaves) are moving slightly, even in the corners:





Overview of the tank. The big main rock also contains some green algae:




tank specifications:

- Dosing EI-method, 60% water change each week
- Pressurized CO2
- Tank 60x30x35 (centimeters); 50 liters
- Dennerle kwartz gravel
- Tetratec EX600 filter
- 1x 18W Philips 840 T8 tube + 1x Philips 865 T8 Tube
- Light distance from the water surface approx. 10/15 cm.

Daily switches:
- 11:00 CO2 on
- 14:00 Lights on
- 20:00 CO2 off
- 22:00 Light off

pH reading with calibrated Hanna pH meter:

- 10:55 8.3 (just before CO2 on)
- 11:30 7.8
- 12:30 7
- 13:30 6.5
- 14:00 6.4 (lights on)
- 14:00 until 20:00 6.4 (CO2 off)
- 21:00 6.5
- 22:00 6.6 (light off)


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## Marcel G

Tom Barr says that BBA (= genus Audouinella) has an optimal growth ranges of 5-10 mg/L of CO2 (see here => click on "Rhodophyta → red algae"), so if you are not supplying more than 10 mg/L of CO2 than you will probably have a lot of this algae. You need to go either non-CO2, or increase CO2 to higher level (say over 15-20 mg/L). It's also possible that your CO2 concentration is not stable enough, although it seem good from your pH readings as your pH is changing only by 0.1 point (from 14h to 21h).


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## mede

Thank for your reply.

I believe that I'm injecting CO2 to the max. level; drop checker is reaching yellow during the whole photo period (between 14:00 and 22:00).

Tank is running approx. 8 weeks now. Could it be to much light?


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## Marcel G

I don't think that too much light is a trigger for BBA, because (as you could read on my website) light compensation point for BBA is only 30-70 µmol PAR, which means that this algae grows at its max at medium light, so it doesn't need more light (this algae just can't utilize any more light). This algae is found usually in unpolluted systems, although some aquarists link its presence with high organic load (see "Analysis of total organic carbon").


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## foxfish

Try increasing your water changing routine, 50% as often as possible or practical!
Every day would be perfect but 3 times a week might see the BBA demise!


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## Nathaniel Whiteside

Try dosing the BBA with liquid carbon with the filters off for 10 mins.
then do as fox fish instructed, I too believe the more changes, the better the BBA will get.


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## mede

Unfortunately I'm not (yet?) an expert that understands all the physics like PAR and the measurements you show in the table on your website, although some is getting familiar.
I'm gonna read it though which hopefully gives me some good understanding of my tank issues.

Could you (or someone else) instruct me in easy to understand steps what to do to get rid of my algae? Will they disappear by themselves after changing to the right tank conditions?
I have the idea that the algae is not increasing, but it also doesn't go away .

A few pics that I've taken one hour ago which shows besides BBA algae (it is, right??) also some green cover on the biggest stone in my tank - someone familiar with this green algae?


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## mede

Thanks for the advice Nathaniel and Foxfish, just saw your replies after posting my last reply.

Any extra thoughts/advice after looking at the algae on my photos?

And again; will the BBA and the green algae disappear by themselves after doing more water changes?


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## Nathaniel Whiteside

The green algae is acceptable in tanks, but many deem BBA unsightly (with good reason!  ). The best way would 'remove' or kill the algae would be to dose liquid carbon with a syringe, directly onto the individual clumps of algae, with your filters turned off. This will cause the algae to turn a magnificent pinky colour then white, which can be easily removed once 'dead'.

Then from there you'll have chance to establish a reasoning behind the BBA, which could be down to slight lack of maintenance. How often do you change your tank water? What % do you change? 

Id also definitely wind back your lighting period, 8 hours is maybe a little excessive for a tank this lightly planted. Or like others have mentioned, turn up your Co2 gauge slightly at a time, watching for any effect on fauna, and try hit a sweet spot. 

Understanding what you could potentially be doing wrong will help point you in the remedial direction.


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## mede

Thanks Nathaniel - seems like you are having experience with battling BBA? 

After dosing liquid carbon; will it turn pink/white immediately, or after a few days? Can I wait and watch this process?

I'm doing 60% water change every week (Sunday) and I'm dosing EI-method... I will follow your advise and increase my water changes to as much as I can do and dose EasyCarbo directly to the BBA spots with my filter turned off. 

As said; the BBA is there, but it doesn't increase.


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## Marcel G

BBA will stay in your tank for months if you not remove it, even if it will not grow (increase in volume) anymore. So you definitely need to remove (kill) it. The best and most effective way is to apply "liquid carbon" (EasyCarbo, Flourish Excel, PMFE ... or any other preparation which consist of glutaraldehyde). The best procedure is as follows: Turn off your filter, do a water change of as much water as you can ... so that the stones are under the water surface, then suck a recommended dosage into the syringe, and apply it carefully to the most affected places (stones). Give it some time to react (say 15 minutes), then fill in a new water, and turn on your filter. You can apply the liquid carbon also under a normal conditions (directly under the water), but if your stones are above the water, the liquid carbon have better impact. The algae will die in a couple of days. Usually the second day the BBA turns pink, and the third day it will turn white and dissapear (disintegrate). Still this will solve the effect, not the cause. So you should try to establish good conditions for your plants and archaea (bacteria) to function properly. I would add more plants, because plants will supply oxygen to the substrate ... promoting nitrification processes. It could be that the organic matter in your tank is not transformed into minerals very well, so you have higher dissolved organics concentrations in your water, which is not good. Maybe you just need to give it some time for the bacteria to establish and multiply enough to transform all the organics into minerals.


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## mede

Thanks ardjuna, clear and very useful information!

Did already a 50% water change directly after this discussion and applied some EasyCarbo to the rock with the most BBA spots (filter off for 10 minutes).

I'll keep treating the same rock daily until I see the BBA disappear and then start with the other rocks.

My tank has 50 liters and the suggested dosing on the EasyCarbo bottle is 1ml per 50 liter which is not very much to treat a rock. Could it harm to overdose a little? Any experience with the amount that can be handled?


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## tim

I've got away with a double dose before, alternatively water it down with 5 or 10 ml water and it'll give you more to treat with.


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## Andy Thurston

My 35l tank gets 3.5x liquid carbon dose. Any more than this,  the Cory cats sit on the bottom and the cherry shrimp hang at the surface. If theres any breeding shrimp 2xdose is a maximum


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## mede

Last week I've done a daily water change of 50/60%, turned the filter off and dosed 2ml EasyCarbo directly to the BBA spots on one stone.

I didn't see the process of BBA turning from pink to white  Are there any pictures/videos of this process?

Positive news; BBA isn't increasing - but I want to get rid of the existing BBA. Do I need more patience, or can I take another approach?


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## Aron_Dip

mede said:


> Last week I've done a daily water change of 50/60%, turned the filter off and dosed 2ml EasyCarbo directly to the BBA spots on one stone.
> 
> I didn't see the process of BBA turning from pink to white  Are there any pictures/videos of this process?
> 
> Positive news; BBA isn't increasing - but I want to get rid of the existing BBA. Do I need more patience, or can I take another approach?


Sometimes it takes a day or 2 to turn (did for me when i had some)

You could also carefully take the stones out and brush them over with a tooth brush dipping in Exel or easy Carbo.


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## Yo-han

I know it is against all the increase CO2 people, but I've never conquered BBA with increasing CO2. I did conquer BBA though. IMHO it is all about organics. Here is a thread from when I was battling BBA. A pristine tank is key IMO. Do not overfeed, keep your filter clean, your substrate clean, remove any dead leaves daily, and if it still doesn't work, change the water more often. The only time increasing CO2 works is if due to a CO2 deficiency your plants are producing excess organics and leach them into the water. By increasing CO2 plants produce less organics and this way BBA stops growing. But if you already maxed that out, you can always change the water more often, clean your filter (and hoses!!) etc. and BBA will not grow anymore. It doesn't really die IME but you can remove it 'easily' from the stones by hand. Remove all old leaves which are infested, they produce organics and increase the problem. Or kill it like mentioned above. Whenever it grows back in my tank, I know my filter is getting dirty and I vacuum the substrate, reduce feeding a little and no problems anymore. Good luck!


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## mede

Thanks Yo-Han or the link to your BBA thread, that was interesting to read.

I think I'm on my way and already doing the steps that are suggested like water changes, filter cleaning and removing dead/infected leaves daily. Hopefully it is a matter of time before all peaces of BBA are vanished.

Tomorrow I will try to manually remove the BBA on the rock that I've treated with EasyCarbo last week.

*@Aron_Dip*; unfortunately it won't be possible to take out the rocks without risking a complete mess in my tank.


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## mede

Finally the first signs of dead BBA spots on the treated rock! The BBA is turning grey/white after one week dosing EasyCarbo directly to the BBA tufts.


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## PBM3000

Sorry to revive an old, old thread but my BBA only grows in the high flow areas of the tank. Nowhere else.


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## dw1305

Hi all,





PBM3000 said:


> old thread but my BBA only grows in the high flow areas of the tank. Nowhere else.


Do you have Ramshorn snails in the tank? 

I have Ramshorn snails (and other snails as well) and I also have BBA, but only on my filter sponges and the outlet of the power-head. I think the <"snails can't/don't browse"> these areas and the algal sporelings can grow there.

I think @a1Matt said that <"_Tarebia granifera _grazes BBA">.

cheers Darrel


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## PBM3000

A fair few Ramshorns but not overpopulated.  I'm currently giving the following a try for a month:

Lowering my EI dosing by 50%.
Lowering Liquid Carb by 50%.
Lowering flow somewhat.
Reducing lighting by 5% and 1/2 hr per day.


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