Dump or reuse BGA present aquasoil?

[Malarky]

I have a 50 cm tank which I am going to break down and rescape, but it has a bad case of BGA (I am not breaking it down because of the BGA). Should I dump the aquasoil substrate in the garden and start over, or remove as much as BGA as possible and reuse?

 

[LucaG]

I would bake it in the oven to sterilised it. It has worked for me.

 

[Heelllooo]

I'm sure the safest thing to do is to throw it away.

But I had a massive BGA issue for 2 months until I rescaped my tank, using the same aquasoil.
I just siphoned it as much as possible and then mix it thoroughly. I cleaned my plants only in freshwater too and replanted them.
Since then it has not come back.

It's a risk to use the same soil but if you eliminate the reasons it did come in the first place it should be fine I think.

On the other hand, mixing the aquasoil is maybe one of the reason I had an ammonia spike for a week ( root tabs played a role surely too ).
I would be cautious about doing so if your gonna reintroduce livestock immediately after the rescape.

 

[Tim Harrison]

Put it in baking trays and place in a friend's or neighbour's oven at full temp until dry. Or use your own when the wife is out shopping or something, and open all the windows. That should sterilise it. Don't forget to turn it over occasionally to get to those difficult to reach damp spots. Then clean the baking trays asap and gaslight your wife when she complains about the strange smell. It's what I do and it works every time. Although my wife thinks I'm mad anyway and usually just humours me.

 

[Hanuman]

I have a 50 cm tank which I am going to break down and rescape, but it has a bad case of BGA (I am not breaking it down because of the BGA). Should I dump the aquasoil substrate in the garden and start over, or remove as much as BGA as possible and reuse?

What has been said above is a good way to at least reduce the bacterial load but I don't even bother doing that because at the end of the day you can't really eradicate it. Throwing it away will only dig a deeper hole in your bank account though without the warranty you will not have BGA in your next tank. Some people think they can control over what is in their tanks, but that is mere wishful thinking, specially when it comes to cyanobacteria. If you had a BGA outbreak it's because the conditions where there for it to develop. BGA will come back whether you want it or not throught water, plants, fish, air, tools.... You would basically need to live in a bubble cut from the world to make sure it doesn't come back anymore.
So I would dry the soil, bake it if you want, but you will need to find out why BGA is developing. IME warmers temps usually tends to stimulate their development. Too much of a low N content also contributes to their development. There are many other factors and no definitive answers but it would be a shame to throw perfectly fine soil.

 

[Tim Harrison]

@Malarky these threads might be of interest too, if you’re planning on drying it.

Flip Side of Scaping (Reusing Amazonia)

Just tore down Windswept...and decided to repurpose the garden furniture as an Amazonia drying table:D It's been rinsed, and when it's dry I'll sieve it to get rid of dust, and the like, and then it should be good to go another round. P.S. don't tell the wife:shh:

www.ukaps.org

Cleaning ADA 'dust' after rescape

I couldn't find anything with the search function, so I've made a new topic. Long story short, rescaped my tank, pulled out the plants, saved about half of the old water, cut some plants, put everything back in and its okay for now. I'm using ADA soil, now there is some sort of mud/dust cloud on...

www.ukaps.org

 

[Wookii]

What has been said above is a good way to at least reduce the bacterial load but I don't even bother doing that because at the end of the day you can't really eradicate it. Throwing it away will only dig a deeper hole in your bank account though without the warranty you will not have BGA in your next tank. Some people think they can control over what is in their tanks, but that is mere wishful thinking, specially when it comes to cyanobacteria. If you had a BGA outbreak it's because the conditions where there for it to develop. BGA will come back whether you want it or not throught water, plants, fish, air, tools.... You would basically need to live in a bubble cut from the world to make sure it doesn't come back anymore.
So I would dry the soil, bake it if you want, but you will need to find out why BGA is developing. IME warmers temps usually tends to stimulate their development. Too much of a low N content also contributes to their development. There are many other factors and no definitive answers but it would be a shame to throw perfectly fine soil.

+1 to this - I'd wager pretty much every substrate in every tank has BGA in it, even if it's not visible to the naked eye. It is only in tank conditions that are favourable to its growth that result in it becoming visible. Trying to eradicate every single cell of it would be a exercise in futility, so I'd just remove, rinse and reuse.

 

[_Maq_]

I'd wager pretty much every substrate in every tank has BGA in it

I agree, but I've made an experience once which suggests something different.
One of my tanks was suffering from serious cyano infestation. Concurrently, I've established four small tanks (my Michurins), all the same concerning water, substrate, light, filtration etc. Then I planted those four tanks with plants from various sources. Only one of them contained a single plant (Rotala wallichii, if I'm not mistaken) taken from that infested tank. And what do you think - cyanos quickly developed in that very tank.
True, I did not perform a permanganate bath, not to cause damage to the plant, and above all, I believed that it is favourable conditions, not an infested plant, which is decisive. Well, since then I know better.

 

[Hanuman]

And what do you think - cyanos quickly developed in that very tank.

The higher the bacterial load the more a bacteria colony has a chance of propagating faster. That is true in the outside environment as well as our bodies. This does not necessarily mean that your other 3 tanks did not have the bacteria. BGA just didn't get a strong hold in those tanks as conditions did not allow it to reach a critical mass for expansion.