Hey everyone, I am new and usually research forums rather than posting but i figured some specific help might be of benefit.

I had a planted tank years ago and decided to start again.
Current set up:
40g, Current USA fixture with sunpaq bulbs (6700k/10k), Fluval 205 and 306, CO2 injected with red sea reactor (though I'm starting to wonder if its working).

Ferts-
My macro nutrient mix is;
10 teaspoons of Potassium Nitrate
2 and a half teaspoons of Potassium Phosphate
dissolved in 500ml RO/deionised or distilled water

My micro nutrient is; 3 teaspoons of CSM+B
5 teaspoons of Potassium Sulphate
dissolved in 500ml RO/deionised or distilled water

dosed at 7ml and 15 ml a day.

The tank is 3 weeks old and filters started from scratch.

I have been battling hair algae and won with the help of Excel but now i am about to be over run with BGA.

I have done 40%> water changes every other day....FOR 3 WEEKS!

All this to say what is going on with my plant

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What is your Gh and Kh? Also, are you adding anything other than Plant ferts to your RO, such as GLA Gh Booster or Seachem Equilibrium?

I am not using RO in the tank but only in the fert mix, so not adding anything additional to that. Currently only testing Nitrite, Nitrate and PH

PH is >7.6, NO2~ .25ppm and NO3 ~40ppm

My tap water has nitrates in it so its something i cant help much, Im using Prime as the conditioner.

I've got the same thing going on. Boosting CO2 and GH booster will help clear this up.

As for the BGA, erythromycin helps.

classic co2 deficiency right there
40ppm nitrates wont hurt a thing either.. adding more co2 will help utilite more of the nitrates though

Ill try to up my C02. i'm currently at about 4bps but im beginning to question the reactor as i am never in the green on my indicator. I also have been supplementing quite a bit of Excel.

As for the BGA i am about to try ultra life BGA remover before i try the other antibiotic.

So their doesn't seem to be a problem with my fert program? I plan on slowing down the water changes to 50% every week but since it was a new set up i was doing it very frequently and its taking its tole on me.

the bga is likely contributed to ur bacterial colony growing.
keeping the bga low while letting ur bacterium grow in will help

That was my main concern; afraid to ruin any good bacteria since it was so new. On the other hand i am struggling at keeping the bga in control since it is spreading. Also picking it off of my HC is not easy. I have read that the ulralife targets the right type of bacteria mostly.

since the tank is so new, remove manually as much as possible, fluff everything around with the filter off, perform a 80% water change
perform a 1 day blackout and come back with aother 80% water change


this should remove a TON of bga for u and hopefully help u stabilize things

All good advice. What I would add is to stay away from that 10000k bulb & run 6500-6700k only. BGA will thrive on most spectrums except 6500-6700k spectrums.
I had a big problem with BGA & changing bulbs to 6500k helped a lot. I next added carbon to my canister filter & let all my canisters blast without a spray bar. The carbon is good at controlling DOC's which the BGA will feed off. The carbon is only used during the BGA battle . After it is gone take it out , but You may have to change it out a couple times until the algae is gone. When your tank cycles fully you can try the 1 day blackout with antibiotic if it is not gone. In my case all the elements mentioned were needed to kill it off since it was very viral in my case. It lasted for months until I changed my bulbs, added carbon, blackout with flagil antibiotic & added flow. The nitrates need to stay above 10ppms or you will never get rid of it. That being said you must keep all the nutrients up as well as CO2. Pressurized CO2 will be best at least 16-38 mg/L of it. Nitrates can never crash or it could come back.
My tank has been BGA free now for 3 months & the water is crystal clear without any sign of algae on my plants or even glass.
I would cut your tank with r/o water to get those incoming nitrates down to near zero. You did not mention what your Kh was or Gh. If your Kh is high it will be difficult to get enough CO2 into the water. High Gh could be a problem as well. Make sure to add Gh booster if the opposite.
My 2 cents

all good advice, ill try a combination. I guess the good thing is I haven't added fish so i don't have to worry about that element.

That specific plant I've had a hard time as well while all my others thrived in high light direct co2 setup. Not sure why either

Well i have adjusted a few things and tried to get more CO2 in the water. All my plants are thriving and growing like crazy except the one. Im just prepared for that one to fail.

On another note, I did use Ultralife BGA remover. It did clear up the BGA and had no impact on anything else. I was dilligent to remove any waste and as much as i could. Overall, the tank is doing better than ever and my HC is spreading quickly now that it has no film to compete with.

most changes take 2 weeks to really show up on most plants, there are some minor things you can notice, but new growth will take time to adjust to changes