[joekidwell]

If I leave the bba alone will it run its course and eventually disappear?

 

[Jadelin]

As far as I know BBA isn't like diatoms or green water which will go away if allowed to run its course. Usually BBA is a symptom of an unbalance, so if you don't find and address the problem it's going to persist. If you do address the problem, the BBA should gradually decline, although it's at that point that a treatment like Excel can really help clear it out.

 

[joekidwell]

It can't be the water I do 2 25's a week....im guessing its a deficiency of some sort

 

[joekidwell]

Also I bought some chain swords from ebay and didn't quarantine them so two days later I see bba on the tips of the stems now it has spread to other plants...i trim it as i see it.

 

[Jadelin]

Do you run CO2? Fluctuations in CO2 levels can lead to BBA. Tap water always has CO2 in it, so if you're doing 2x25% wc a week that would definitely cause the levels to fluctuate if you're not running CO2. If you age the water 24 hours before using it most of the CO2 will have degassed by the time you use it.

It could be that the BBA was introduced from the swords, but if it's spreading that means there's something it likes about your tank.

 

[joekidwell]

Yeah I have a 10lb tank, I try to keep my drop checker a light green almost yellow...its around five bubbles per second on a 46 gallon. Could not enough nitrates help it along cause they have always been low in the 5ppm range

 

[Jadelin]

This is the site I normally go off, and it seems to indicate that CO2 levels is the primary cause, which doesn't seem to be a problem in your tank.
http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm

You could try treating the sword leaves and any you see with the Excel method or H2O2 and see if you can nip it in the bud.

While I wouldn't really recommend it, my tank constantly has small amounts of really short BBA in it here and there (I think because I don't have CO2), but as long as my tank stays balanced it's not a problem. But since yours seems to have a specific source it seems like it'd be easier to treat it and just get rid of it.