Could my BBA not be BBA?

andy1_52 · 07-31-2006, 12:31 AM

Ok so I was siphoning some BBA off of the sand in my aquarium becasue it started to amass in great number so i had to do something. I used an airline siphon which I explain in this .

When i siphoned the water and BBA into my one gallon milk jug I noticed that it was in fact green not Black as I thought just so dense it looked black. So is this still BBA or just green hair algae.

The other thing that makes me curious is that I've been increasing my CO2 in my tank for quite some time now and it still seems to have no effect on the "BBA"

**Hoppy** · 07-31-2006, 07:13 PM

Here is the best website I have seen for identifying algae: http://www.aquariumalgae.blogspot.com/. BBA is easy for me to identify, having had a lot of it. It isn't really black - more dark green and sometimes dark red, but it looks black in the tank. Mine never did, as far as I remember, grow on the substrate. It only grew on the drift wood, the plant leaves (the edges), the heater, the filter tubes, the sponge filter, the rocks. I went through about a month of slowly increasing my CO2 bubble rate, adjusting my powerhead output for the best water circulation, and finally, going to a stronger powerhead, before I got the BBA down to manageable size. I still get it starting up on the drift wood, primarily, but on my filter sponge surface too. And, I run a very high CO2 bubble rate with a CO2 mist system that has my plants pearling all over within a couple of hours of CO2 on every morning.

andy1_52 · 07-31-2006, 08:47 PM

I have BBA because none of the other stuff looks like what I have in my tank. But it seems like the CO2 isn't helping much how long should this take to get rid of with CO2

**Hoppy** · 07-31-2006, 09:56 PM

You can't get rid of BBA except by physically removing it, or killing it in place with peroxide or Excel. Adjusting the CO2 level is to prevent it from coming right back, not getting rid of it. If you don't do both at the same time you just spin your wheels.

andy1_52 · 08-01-2006, 07:11 AM

I'm upping the CO2 and I have excel but haven't been using it and yes I remove as much of it as I can without destroying my plants. I think my problem is that I need more plants and now that you mention it more excel

07-31-2006, 12:31 AM	#1
andy1_52 Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: UT Posts: 200	Could my BBA not be BBA? Ok so I was siphoning some BBA off of the sand in my aquarium becasue it started to amass in great number so i had to do something. I used an airline siphon which I explain in this . When i siphoned the water and BBA into my one gallon milk jug I noticed that it was in fact green not Black as I thought just so dense it looked black. So is this still BBA or just green hair algae. The other thing that makes me curious is that I've been increasing my CO2 in my tank for quite some time now and it still seems to have no effect on the "BBA" __________________ ----------------Current Equipment------------------- 80 Gallons Fluval FX5 4x 65w Power Compact by Odyssea 2x 200 Watt Submersible Heaters 900w UPS Greg Watson Ferts 15 ml. Flourish Excel daily (keeps BBA away) 25 lb. Pressurized CO2

07-31-2006, 07:13 PM	#2
Hoppy Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (57/100%) Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 17,286	Here is the best website I have seen for identifying algae: http://www.aquariumalgae.blogspot.com/. BBA is easy for me to identify, having had a lot of it. It isn't really black - more dark green and sometimes dark red, but it looks black in the tank. Mine never did, as far as I remember, grow on the substrate. It only grew on the drift wood, the plant leaves (the edges), the heater, the filter tubes, the sponge filter, the rocks. I went through about a month of slowly increasing my CO2 bubble rate, adjusting my powerhead output for the best water circulation, and finally, going to a stronger powerhead, before I got the BBA down to manageable size. I still get it starting up on the drift wood, primarily, but on my filter sponge surface too. And, I run a very high CO2 bubble rate with a CO2 mist system that has my plants pearling all over within a couple of hours of CO2 on every morning. __________________ Hoppy

07-31-2006, 08:47 PM	#3
andy1_52 Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: UT Posts: 200	I have BBA because none of the other stuff looks like what I have in my tank. But it seems like the CO2 isn't helping much how long should this take to get rid of with CO2 __________________ ----------------Current Equipment------------------- 80 Gallons Fluval FX5 4x 65w Power Compact by Odyssea 2x 200 Watt Submersible Heaters 900w UPS Greg Watson Ferts 15 ml. Flourish Excel daily (keeps BBA away) 25 lb. Pressurized CO2

07-31-2006, 09:56 PM	#4
Hoppy Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (57/100%) Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 17,286	You can't get rid of BBA except by physically removing it, or killing it in place with peroxide or Excel. Adjusting the CO2 level is to prevent it from coming right back, not getting rid of it. If you don't do both at the same time you just spin your wheels. __________________ Hoppy

08-01-2006, 07:11 AM	#5
andy1_52 Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: UT Posts: 200	I'm upping the CO2 and I have excel but haven't been using it and yes I remove as much of it as I can without destroying my plants. I think my problem is that I need more plants and now that you mention it more excel __________________ ----------------Current Equipment------------------- 80 Gallons Fluval FX5 4x 65w Power Compact by Odyssea 2x 200 Watt Submersible Heaters 900w UPS Greg Watson Ferts 15 ml. Flourish Excel daily (keeps BBA away) 25 lb. Pressurized CO2

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