[Deedledee]

Thought I would weigh in on this topic, as I just finally recovered from a bba outbreak. I normally only purchase tissue culture plants, however a couple months ago I introduced potted plant & didn't sterilize it before planting. Bba is one of those algaes that hitchhikes into your tank on something. Sometimes it's on a plant,but can hide in a snail shell,or come in a bag with new fish. In the 40 + years I have been doing this hobby, I have never met a nastier algae than bba. It is really difficult to eradicate if it gains an upper hand imo. When I first noticed it in my 34 gallon, I removed any visible patches,& spot treated with hydrogen peroxide. Then it started to aggressively take over an entire grouping of Pogostemon helferi, so I had to rip all that out ! Everything I have read, seen, heard about this particular algae is clean, clean & clean everything, and often ! Now I do 25 % water change every other day. My tds went from 288 to 100 over the course of a week. I am also a lot better keeping my canister filter really clean, but like others have said, rinse filter media in aquarium water only. I also bumped my c02 up, as fluctuating may contribute to the outbreak. I am happy to report that my bba is finally under control, and I hope you can get rid of your bba soon. It's a beast !!
Oh and lastly, get rid of the test strips. Brands like API and Salifert are very accurate & way more cost effective. I bought the API master kit 3 years ago & it is still valid, and I over test everything!!
Good luck.