Dealing with BGA in a slow growing crypt tank...

[thefisherman]

Originally Posted by houseofcards

So your nitrate is off the chart?

i guess if its >160ppm... i also let the outflow raise above the waterline to boost Oxygen levels.

[houseofcards]

Originally Posted by thefisherman

i guess if its >160ppm... i also let the outflow raise above the waterline to boost Oxygen levels.

I didn't think most fish, looks like you have cardinals in there can tolerate those levels?

[thefisherman]

Originally Posted by houseofcards

I didn't think most fish, looks like you have cardinals in there can tolerate those levels?

i have cards, pair of rams, 2 cories and a kuhli loach... all fauna seem fine with no visible signs of stress.

[houseofcards]

What do you think is the source of those levels?

[m00se]

Day #3 ...yea you *shouldn't* see any signs yet I guess. This stuff will just...sort of...not be there anymore. There won't be any dramatic shedding or sloughing. It just ... isn't there anymore.

Keep us posted!

[thefisherman]

i think it was when i doubled up on my KNO3 dry dose, to initially raise levels. i originally had <10ppm. I've done major waterchanges since, but i think a lot of it remains in my substrate. i also have root ferts planted in the eco-complete.

i stopped dosing ferts about 2.5 weeks ago in hope the poants would do the rest... but then again my plants aren't the fast growing variety. i was thinking if adding some pennywort from my fry tank for added plant mass and oxygen boost, but not as a nitrate sponge as the fish seem fine

[thefisherman]

Originally Posted by m00se

Day #3 ...yea you *shouldn't* see any signs yet I guess. This stuff will just...sort of...not be there anymore. There won't be any dramatic shedding or sloughing. It just ... isn't there anymore.

Keep us posted!

good to know moose, will do...i'm trying my best to keep the faith!

[BruceF]

Maybe what you have is a kid helping problem.

[happi]

to make you feel any better, i was able to grow BGA in high nitrates as well as low nitrate, however it did grew faster in high nitrates.

[m00se]

Plenty of people have pointed to direct sunlight from a nearby window, if even for a few minutes a day as the possible cause of it really taking off. That infers that yellow light, like in the 2500-4000K range could help it grow. It's in all tanks but in check usually.

Anecdotal, I know...but it's out there.

[thefisherman]

Day 5 - EM treatment

The good thing is other than affected leaves i know about, there are no new signs o BGA anywhere else including my susbtrate.

rechecked nitrate levels and things seem to be normaling out again... at 20ppm.


i'll take this as a good sign as my plants are waking up again. some new growth on a sp i planted before i realized i had a BGA war on my hands...

my tank is absolutely filthy at this point. gonna do weekly maintenance and continue treatment

[houseofcards]

Looks like lots of BBA as well. Keep pruning and removing waste.

[thefisherman]

Originally Posted by houseofcards

Looks like lots of BBA as well. Keep pruning and removing waste.

yessir, will do. i just finished doing a major pruning, removal of detritus and gunk.
FTS

i trimmed off the worst affected leaves and was able to rub some leaves clean with my fingers. i tried to suction as much BGA remnants as possible.
Left Side

Right Side


thank you noodle for reminding me crypts aren't as fragile and patience is just as much a key to success.

although i had a massive melt occur, i checked each rhizome and most are still crisp, well rooted and intact. beneath the melt there is even some new growth. again a promising sign my plants will bounce back.

i know my tank doesn't look to great, but if my plants bounce back, it will be another plus against the BGA... i am inclined to think, perhaps oxygen is the silver bullet for BGA... i guess we'll see if it returns after this tank maintenance. [fingers crossed]

[thefisherman]

Day 6 - The tank actually looks better than it has in a while. Perhaps its a false positive as a result of my major pruning and tank maintenance yeterday... nonetheless i'm happy to see any kind of improvement at this stage.


I removed the one severely BGA affected leaf and rubbed off the rest with my fingers. It came off quite easy yesterday, i tried my best to suction it up before it traveled to other parts in my tank.



there are very slight dustings of the BGA on the left side of my tank. but whatever traces remain they turned a dark green color.



not really sure what to make of all of this, i only dis a partial waterchange so i'm sure there are some meds still circulating in the tank. i ran my final dose yesterday and would have to buy more EM if i were to continue treatment. i hope i don't have to!

[ThatGuyWithTheFish]

3 day blackout and more nitrates.