# Using Easycarbo



## JPT81 (31 Dec 2020)

Hey all,

I’ve had a quick search through the forum but couldn’t find the answer.
I was wondering if any of you had used Easycarbo to help get rid of BGA, or should I say Cyanobacteria, and roughly how long it took the Easycarbo to make a difference!?

I’ve been spot dosing it for 4 days now and I’m not really seeing a difference at all. The spots I’m dosing don’t look any different and I’m now seeing little strings of algae showing up all around my tank. 

I’ve upped my Co2 along with the my Easycarbo dosing and I’ve turned my lights down to minimal to almost being off most of the day.

I’ve also purchased some Blue Exit but I’m reluctant to use that yet!

Thanks very much - J


----------



## JPT81 (31 Dec 2020)

I forgot to mention!
My tank is cycling but I think it’s pretty much finished so I will be doing water changes over the next few days to see if it helps. 👍


----------



## GHNelson (31 Dec 2020)

Blue Green Algae, BGA


 

 

*Description*This isn't a true algae, but a bacteria called cyanobacteria that is able to photosynthesise. Covers everything in a blue/green slimy mat. Easily peels off but grows back again very quickly. It can smell pretty foul. It is very commonly found in the substrate and especially along the front glass where is receives light.*Cause*Often caused by very low nitrates. It is fairly common to have it growing in the substrate against the front glass from where it can spread. Sometimes it appears with new setups that have had light and ammonia present at some point. Dirty substrates and filters may also bring it on. Poor water circulation is another possible cause.*Removal*A blackout is the best method for this. Clean out as much of the algae as you can and do a 30 to 50% water change. If your nitrates are low then add some potassium nitrate to get levels to 20ppm. Remove CO2 and add an air stone. Turn off lights and cover the whole tank so no light can enter. Leave it for 3 to 4 days. No peeking and no feeding - fish will be fine without food for this period. After 3 to 4 days remove the covers and do a 30 - 50% water change. Remove air stone and start CO2. You will need to dose nitrates to keep them dropping too low again. Make sure your substrate and filter doesn't become too clogged up with mulm and also make sure you have good water circulation around the whole tank.
Another option is to treat with Maracyn which is an anti-biotic. Seems to work well but may affect the biological filter. In the UK it is illegal to purchase Maracyn without first getting a prescription for it from a vet.
If the BGA is originating from the substrate place some dark tape on the glass to hide the substrate from direct light.


----------



## lazybones51 (31 Dec 2020)

From my experience it has no affect on BGA. It does kill off BBA though, turns it pink.


----------



## papa_c (1 Jan 2021)

Spot does BGA with hydrogen peroxide, get from any chemist for a couple of quid. Works a treat


----------



## JoshP12 (1 Jan 2021)

Works great! Remove as much as you can manually, change water. 

If you do use this stuff, then be sure to add some kind of aeration during it -- whether that is more surface agitation or an air stone or something -- just to be sure. 

Josh


----------



## dw1305 (1 Jan 2021)

Hi all, 
Just syphon out the BGA, eventually you should reach <"some form of tank stability"> and it will go away of its own accord.


JPT81 said:


> My tank is cycling but I think it’s pretty much finished so I will be doing water changes over the next few days to see if it helps


My opinion is that, for a planted tank, you are much better planting it, not adding any ammonia and starting water changes straight away. The <"traditional ammonia based view of cycling"> is based on a scientific "best guess" that <"more recent scientific research"> has shown to be <"totally irrelevant">. 

In terms of telling when your tank has "cycled", you can still use NO3 tests, but <"there are certain caveats">. Personally I just wait until I have <"reasonable plant mass in growth"> and then my tank is cycled, it is as simple as that.   

cheers Darrel


----------



## JPT81 (1 Jan 2021)

Thanks for all your replies, everyone, I really appreciate it! 👍


----------



## JoshP12 (1 Jan 2021)

JPT81 said:


> Thanks for all your replies, everyone, I really appreciate it! 👍


@dw1305's post jogged a memory for me!


dw1305 said:


> Just syphon out the BGA, eventually you should reach <"some form of tank stability"> and it will go away of its own accord.



My friend has a reef tank and had a BGA outbreak. The common answer was "flow" - now flow was valuable but in the specific area (a 60 gallon that he added to the sump there were no "flow" issues - he knew from experience and that his 180 gallon has been going for 10 years with 0 issues).

He had two BGA outbreaks:
1) Before he plumbed the 60, he had a BGA outbreak in the 180. We beat it by doubling the light on his refugium (a macro algae growth area in his sump). All tests ran "good" for water quality but the tank told us otherwise.

2) After plumbing the 60, he had a BGA outbreak in the 60. The rock he had was leaching nutrients for sure. We took clumps out of his refugium and created little crates all in his tank - micro refugiums. We also ran the lights at double what he had them set to. We only did this to make the process faster. As a reefer, he doesn't change as much water as we do. We noticed a MASSIVE spike in copepods and the macroalgae grew FAST. We then split it, and repropogated it. The Cyano never came back in the 60.

3) It is now exclusively in the fuge - it could be a flow issue (as one of his pump died) - but we are going to do the basket trick in the 180 to help "fix" the tank.


The common thread here is that plants won every time. Why? Can't say for sure but it is evolutionary. They left the water, then returned with a whole arsenal of tools - one of those being roots.

Algae can likely take advantage of "more' situations of unhealthy plants than cyano - and the common idea of "nitrate levels being low" is probably because the plants are lacking nitrogen to do daily functions.

All of these are just my thoughts.

Oh -- my friend tried the slime remover and it worked momentarily - since the root issue wasn't address. So to add to my post, address the root issue too -- and that will take time.

Josh


----------



## JPT81 (1 Jan 2021)

Thanks for that Josh!
So, before I saw your post, I did a water change, cleaned as much of the cyano as possible and scrubbed my dragon stone with boiling hot water. I then squirted a bit of Easycarbo on to the stone and left it for 15 mins...I probably shouldn’t have done this, but my tank hasn’t had any Co2 today. 🤷‍♂️
As for the flow, the Fluval flex has 2 nozzles which I’ve tried to position in the best place for maximum flow. One is up out of the water to get a little o2 in there and the other is positioned to try and get a bit of a current going.
I’ll keep an eye on it over the next few days and see what happens.

Thanks again for your help!!!


----------



## JPT1974 (31 Jan 2021)

Hi JPT81 
Hogan's 'Copy and Paste' section from James Planted Tank will be your best bet! A four or five day black out. I've used it on various peoples aquariums, and it truly is very effective. Tape and Carboard the entire aquarium. Leave the lights on at this point as it will help show any areas missed. Then turn them off once happy no light can get in. I still dosed with plant food, but don't feed the fish. And as James say's "No Peeking" LOL It's then important to maintain that low level ppm of Nitrate.
Good Luck!


----------



## JPT1974 (31 Jan 2021)

.......Sorry 3-4 day black out but to be fair 5 days probably wouldn't do any harm


----------



## JPT81 (8 Feb 2021)

Thank you!


----------



## JPT81 (8 Feb 2021)

JPT1974 said:


> .......Sorry 3-4 day black out but to be fair 5 days probably wouldn't do any harm


Thanks for the info JPT1974!
I think I’ve been very lucky, it seems to have gone now. What ever I was doing seemed to have worked.
If I get an outbreak again, I’ll be sure to try out what you said! 👍

Also, good name...so similar! 😄


----------



## Courtneybst (8 Feb 2021)

I'm not telling you what's right or wrong but I'll just share what I noticed with cyanobacteria.

For me, I tried a blackout. Didn't work. Spot treated with Easy Carbo. Didn't work. Cleaned out my filter, tubing and all equipment and lowered my lighting. Didn't work.

I used the ultra reef slime remover someone suggested earlier and it did get rid of all of the cyanobacteria on the surface level... emphasis on that. I could still see cyanobacteria deep in the substrate and as new cryptocorynes popped up through the substrate, it seems like it brought the cyanobacteria with it and the rest of the tank got reinfected. The slime remover worked but didn't remove the source; my old muddy substrate.

I have a feeling that if you're experiencing cyanobacteria as early as you are, it could be contamination i.e. came in on plants, hardscape or equipment.


Expert at nothing, dab hand at many.


----------



## JPT1974 (9 Feb 2021)

Would be really freaky if your a John Paul Tate 😁,


----------



## JPT1974 (9 Feb 2021)

Absolutely Coutneybst. We can only go on our personal experiences. When your Banging your head against a brick wall, giving various things a go may just give you the results you looking for. Especially if that method is free. 😁 
I had the same experience as you treating Cyanobacteria with Chemiclean. Worked a treat on the surface. Then over a week or two it started to return. Emanating from the substrate. So frustrating. I started over with a new substrate mix in the end and no issues. 
I look after a few peeps aquariums and the last cyno outbreak I delt with was, I’m pretty sure, due to a drop out to near 0ppm nitrate. As the owner had stopped dosing the aquarium. Again in this case the black out worked
a treat, but I appreciate it might not always work out. No harm in trying 😁


----------



## Courtneybst (9 Feb 2021)

Yeah absolutely! Apologies if it came across defeatist in any way haha. My point was just if you can isolate the source, the other treatment methods will have a much better time at success.

Glad it worked out!  


Expert at nothing, dab hand at many.


----------



## JPT81 (14 Feb 2021)

Thanks fellas, much appreciated as always!!
I did notice a few strange of what looked like cyanobacteria at the beginning of the week. I sucked it out and have done a couple of days of black out. 
I did my tank clean and water change today so I’ll see how I get on. 
My tank has been pretty good since I last had any issues. I’m keeping my fingers crossed it stays under control!!!


----------



## john dory (14 Feb 2021)

Pay attention to the substrate line at the front of the tank.
Get the toothbrush in,whilst simultaneously sucking it up.
Get the toothbrush RIGHT in.


----------



## JPT81 (16 Feb 2021)

john dory said:


> Pay attention to the substrate line at the front of the tank.
> Get the toothbrush in,whilst simultaneously sucking it up.
> Get the toothbrush RIGHT in.


Thanks John, I’ll make sure to make sure I get in on my next tank clean and water change.


----------



## john dory (17 Feb 2021)

You'll probably miss a few bits,first time.
As soon as you see the first signs of it regrouping.. repeat the procedure.


----------

