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Low Tech - BBA

Hooky

Hooky

Member
Joined
29 Aug 2014
Messages
108
I have started to notice very small outbreaks of BBA on some old crypts and starougyne repens leaves all other plants are fine and any new leaves don’t seem to be effected. I currently don’t dose any Co2 or ferts and lights are on for around 8 hours a day, the set up itself is relatively new and was initially set up in October. My question is as this is such a small outbreak should I just remove the effected leaves or should I start to look at dosing liquid Co2?
 
Ryan Thang To said:
Hi
Remove as much as you can and do 50% water change once a week also try to dim the light down or lower the light time to 6 hours and slowy add a hour as things get better. Add more plants or floating plants help a lot too

Cheers
Ryan
Click to expand...


Thanks Ryan – I actually have been doing around 50% weekly WC which is possibly why it is restricted to small isolated areas of the tank. I do want to add some floating plants of some kind but wasn’t too sure if I would have much success as I have a juwel rio tank and not an open top which from what I can make out is what floaters require. Do you think I could get away with some kind of floating plants in the rio?
 
Yes if it is on the older leaves, just cut them off.. It all depends on what sp. of rodophyta you got in there BBA is just a collective name of a rather large family.. In my case the one roaming in my low tech tank is kinda light sensitive, so going down with light intensity helps a lot to slow it down and go away.
Now that going away is just a way we perceive it. Once this algae is caught, it stays latently present even if you do not see it. There is no need for panic, it is rather common to have. It also is a typical BBA propperty to affect old (unhealthy) leaves from slow growing plants.

In my own experience with my 2 low tech tanks, i see light beeing the main BBA accelerator.. Especialy in low tech tanks with easy and slow growing plants we rather tend to have to much light intensity compaired to the grow speed of the plants. What works best for me is extending the periode and lower the intensity.

In a way it's only logical, plants need light to grow, now when it comes to slow growers low light plants. Giving them a short period of 8 hours higher intensity and 16 hour darknes, doesn't make much sense, it doesn't make them grow faster. On the contrary they still grow slow, it's in their nature and this for a shorter day periode.. So the short periode of excess light that the plants doesn't utilize is not making a plant healthy and in many cases only feeding algae. Giving them a longer period of less intensity keeps them growing for longer periode. And in the end this will only result in more plantmass over the same time span.

Anyway both my low tech tanks have 12 hour + light, the one with the lowest intensity has 0 BBA. The other just a little, but this tank receives a bud load of daylight. With this i'm still searching for the best combination between the 2 light sources available.

I've learned this from my outdoor pond, that in the summer receives 18 hours of daylight for months and about 12 hours full sun and it never has BBA and very little other algae.. Only thing i do is grow plantmass and block light intensity with floaters. :) If this works in nature, than i have no clue why it would be a problem with an indoor aqaurium and what the idea is behind higher intensity short light periodes above a low tech. :thumbup:

We all can agree, we need light to make plants grow, not darkness..
 
Last edited:
Hooky said:
Thanks Ryan – I actually have been doing around 50% weekly WC which is possibly why it is restricted to small isolated areas of the tank. I do want to add some floating plants of some kind but wasn’t too sure if I would have much success as I have a juwel rio tank and not an open top which from what I can make out is what floaters require. Do you think I could get away with some kind of floating plants in the rio?
Click to expand...
You can have floating plants in any kind of tanks. Just remember to remove some when there too much as they block light. I can send you some if you like
20170223_231445.jpg
 
Ryan Thang To said:
You can have floating plants in any kind of tanks. Just remember to remove some when there too much as they block light. I can send you some if you like
20170223_231445.jpg
Click to expand...

Sure if you have some to spare I would appreciate it
 
So since my last post I have introduced lots of floating plants that have since virtually covered the surface reducing light intensity. I have also reduced my feeding as I am sure I was feeding way to much. I continue to struggle with BBA and this has now covered my starougyne repens lawn as well as a large piece of wood that was never there before. On another note since adding the floating plants and reducing the light intensity my limnophila sessiliflora which has always grown well for me has started to disintegrate to the point where in the worst affected area I have just ripped it all out. I can only assume that this is due to reduced light can anyone explain why this may have happened? Going back to the BBA I am not sure what my best move is going to be, I think the starougyne repens is probably going to have to come out as this is where the majority of the BBA is. My options are:


· Reduce lighting to 6 hours from 8

· Try doing ferts and liquid CO2 (not currently dosing anything into the tank)

· Remove the starougyne repens and replace with more plants


Are any of the above going to help remove the BBA from my tank and is adding new plants a good or bad idea at this point? I also forgot to mention that I continue to undertake 50% water changes weekly, although the filter sponges are now over 6 months old (these are rinsed weekly in old tank water) should I think about replacing these.
 
Hi all,
Hooky said:
although the filter sponges are now over 6 months old (these are rinsed weekly in old tank water) should I think about replacing these
Click to expand...
No, they are fine until they disintegrate.
Hooky said:
Try doing ferts and liquid CO2 (not currently dosing anything into the tank)
Click to expand...
How healthy do the floaters look?
Hooky said:
On another note since adding the floating plants and reducing the light intensity my limnophila sessiliflora which has always grown well for me has started to disintegrate to the point where in the worst affected area I have just ripped it all out. I can only assume that this is due to reduced light can anyone explain why this may have happened?
Click to expand...
Could well be lower light, or it maybe a nutrient effect.

cheers Darrel
 
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