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Advice before I tear down because of BBA

2K views 15 replies 12 participants last post by  Crob5965 
#1 ·
Hey Guys,

I havnt posted in a while but I'm still working on my tanks. However I am at my breaking point with my 55 gallon. The BBA has gone down and came back with full force and I am thinking the only solution now is tearing it all down and starting from scratch. I feel like this is the only way to really get a fresh start and at the same time change the parameters to prevent any further episodes. My swords, crypts, and ferns are just constantly being affected with BBA and now my drift wood has become a victim. I have tried scrapping it all off, using excel, reducing my photo period, increasing my Co2, adding an additional water circulation pump and moving around the CO2 diffuser.

My question is for you guys, are there any additional aspects I can change around to really make a last ditch effort or should I just stick with my plan and tear everything down and clean it off then start again. Has anyone tried this before with some decent success?

It's a 55g with a T5 HO 2 55w fixture, about 3 inches above the top of the tank. I know this is high lighting but I thought I had it under control for a while, especially with the addition of the CO2.

Any help would really be appreciated guys.
 
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#6 ·
As of this morning the BBA is essetnailly gone form my tank. I attribute this to the Excel Flourish. I double dosed 1x and turned off the CO2 for a day or two. Turned my tank very cloudy. Three day slater i turned back on the CO2 and the tank cloudiness went away. Then about 5 days later I did a 50% water change with tap water. Now 3 days after that the BBA has evaporated. Excel did not affect the fish, but melted all my val within a day or two (except for some roots that seem to be alive) and crypts. Everything else is fine. I am happy. Good luck!!!
 
#12 · (Edited)
I HATE BBA! Every once in awhile my tank gets it, mostly on my manzanita wood. I just take whatevers coverd in BBA and put it in a big bucket fill it with water dumped quite a bit of excel in there and let it sit for an hour. After that I put it back in my tank and the next day it was all red. Soon after it was all gone.
 
#13 ·
FLOURISH EXCELL
that's all I do I promise it will work

just use double dose for about a week
I use MetriCide28 which has glutaraldehyde which is what is in Flourish excell
for right now I would invest in some flourish to get started but buy some metricide for future use cos it's like 10x's cheaper but you have to order it online and for right now you want to get started
 
#14 ·
oh yeah and the best thing is you dont even need to remove fish or at least I never didnt
I'd love to hear back to see if you try it out and to see if it worked as well for you.

I just converted to Saltwater after 15+ yrs of freshwater so I have a whole new set of headaches I think i'd welcome a little BBA now
 
#15 ·
You can also make a decision to go with low light from now on. That will make any BBA attacks grow so slowly you can easily kill them off and remove them at your leisure. You can use this chart to figure out how high your light fixture needs to be from the substrate to get around 20-25 micromols of PAR. Then you can use CO2, which you already have, and grow a pretty wide variety of plants well enough to make the planted tank experience enjoyable, and not just a war with BBA.
 
#16 ·
Nice Chart Mr Hoppy
A little more informative and professional than my Dump some medical sterilizer in there.
that's a good point no point giving him a way to get rid of it if we dont mention how to stop it coming back.
I used my Metricide 28 religiously in my tanks for my Co2 substitute and I'm sure it does not compare to the real thing but there was a noticeable difference in growth rate and health in my plants after a couple of days not to mention no more BBA.

good luck
 
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