What kind of algae is this? BBA?

1065 Views 10 Replies 5 Participants Last post by Holy_Peanuts, May 22, 2014

Holy_Peanuts

Discussion Starter · May 21, 2014

I was under the impression this was BBA.

I know the picture isnt great but you can see the outlining fuzz around the driftwood. It looks like little strands, roughly 2 - 3 mm long..

Plant Nature Organism Wood Terrestrial plant

What is it? Its spreading pretty fast so I guess I must not be balanced in nutrients and such :icon_sad:

I have gradually reduced the photo-period to 7 hours from a recent 12 to 13.

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Holy_Peanuts

Discussion Starter · #2 · May 21, 2014

Although I gotta say, it looks kind of nice on the wood.. Im worried about it spreading to leaves which it seems it has already

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its hard to see from the picture but it doesnt look like BBA to me. BBA for me always grows in tufts on my hard scape or very distinctive black fur on leaves.

How old is your tank? What are you dosing?

I totally agree with you that some algae looks nice on the hard scape. BBA is always ugly. I use excel flourish on a small paint brush to clear up any spots that are out of control or look bad on my hard scape.

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Holy_Peanuts

Discussion Starter · #4 · May 21, 2014

nanotanks said:
its hard to see from the picture but it doesnt look like BBA to me. BBA for me always grows in tufts on my hard scape or very distinctive black fur on leaves.

Thanks for the response. Thats why Im asking!

For the longest time I've thought this was BBA but also somewhat doubted it since it doesnt resemble most of the pictures ive seen of it.

It is brown/dark red in color.

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corycat123

· #5 · May 21, 2014

alges

im surewhat its called but reduce your lighting period , i had this once on my amazon swords and got 4 siamese algea eaters they have done an amazing job at keeping algea to a minimum

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nanotanks

· #6 · May 21, 2014

When you pull it out or siphon it, does it come out in strands?

It just sounds like common brown algae when you first set up a tank or not enough light. Chek your water parameters and stocking to make sure its not contributing. Otherwise, if you are using fluro lights like T5 or T8 you may need to change the globes as they wear out and start emitting light that promotes algae growth.

Hope this helps.

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Holy_Peanuts

Discussion Starter · #7 · May 21, 2014 (Edited by Moderator)

corycat123 said:
im surewhat its called but reduce your lighting period , i had this once on my amazon swords and got 4 siamese algea eaters they have done an amazing job at keeping algea to a minimum

Thats what I'm trying out now, will let you guys know after a couple weeks whether it spreads more or not.. And I cant for the life of me find any SAE's around here. Not locally or at any LFS. And Montreal is a big place so I'm kind of disappointed..

Anyone live in Montreal selling SAEs?? :smile:

nanotanks said:
When you pull it out or siphon it, does it come out in strands?

It just sounds like common brown algae when you first set up a tank or not enough light. Chek your water parameters and stocking to make sure its not contributing. Otherwise, if you are using fluro lights like T5 or T8 you may need to change the globes as they wear out and start emitting light that promotes algae growth.

Hope this helps.

It's too small and fragile to pull out. I scrap it off with my nail and it just seems to disintegrate/fall apart. I am using T5s, but they are only a month old. Currently only using 2x39w for a 35 gallon aquarium out of a 4 light fixture.

There are some strands that are attached to the tips of certain leaves which is why I'm concerned its starting to take over.

This tank was recently taken down then setup again from the gravel up. I am however using the same filter and biomax media and also saved the water and obviously since have been doing water changes.

I was actually going to put together a journal type thread with the whole process as it was quite extensive. I was using a 67 liter rubbermaid tub as a temp aquarium. I'm almost 100% sure the tank didnt need to cycle again so I'm not sure whether this type of maintenance would be considered a "new tank". The substrate was new though; I am using 21kgs of flourite black.

As far as light cycle, I used to turn the lights on in the morning before leaving to work and then shut them off sometime during the night. It wasnt uncommon for the tank to get 13+ hours of light and I've been drastically reducing that lately since reading this forum and attempting to build a nice planted tank. I am also dosing 5ml of Excel in the morning and 5ml at night. I know this is overdosing but I'm experimenting

.

The most repetitive piece of info I've read concerning planted tanks is that you gotta try and fail, sometimes several times, until you get the hang of things. So I'm trying

Thanks for the help.

Anyone else have an idea of what this fuzz might be and how to control it? (as in what I may be doing wrong for it to propagate?)

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thelub

· #8 · May 21, 2014

If it scrapes off, its not BBA. BBA is tough stuff that doesn't come off. Sounds like one of the many forms of algae out there. How long have you been dosing excel in this new setup? Sometimes it can take a couple weeks for things to balance out.

Have you tried adding a siesta period? This allows you to have longer photo periods without getting crazy algae blooms. A siesta period screws with the algae because it has a hard time dealing with broken photo periods.

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BobLsaget

· #9 · May 21, 2014

The long Lighting exposure was most likely your problem. Unsure of the strain.

This might help read this article over, pretty thorough
http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_freshwater_algae.php

As far as killing the algae, A method I swear by, take a spray bottle put in 3% Hydrogen peroxide solution and just spray the Algae covered area, plants or driftwood or fish will not be harmed as long as you don't spray them directly. It is best to do during a water change before the new water is added.

Please keep in mind this is a solution to a symptom this will not cure the root cause of the algae growth.

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nanotanks

· #10 · May 21, 2014

How big is your tank? Is it excel flourish (carbon dosing) or fertiliser?
5ml is a lot. I'm pretty sure its dosed at 5ml per 250L tank once a week. I know from experience, if you over dose it casues crazy algae blooms. Also just grab yourself a timer from a hardware store for your light for about $3 so you can accurately time your photo period and not have to worry if you get caught at work.

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Holy_Peanuts

Discussion Starter · #11 · May 22, 2014 (Edited by Moderator)

Thanks for the responses guys!

BobLsaget said:
The long Lighting exposure was most likely your problem. Unsure of the strain.

This might help read this article over, pretty thorough
http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_freshwater_algae.php

As far as killing the algae, A method I swear by, take a spray bottle put in 3% Hydrogen peroxide solution and just spray the Algae covered area, plants or driftwood or fish will not be harmed as long as you don't spray them directly. It is best to do during a water change before the new water is added.

Please keep in mind this is a solution to a symptom this will not cure the root cause of the algae growth.

Do you mean remove the wood and plants or do it while still under water?

thelub said:
If it scrapes off, its not BBA. BBA is tough stuff that doesn't come off. Sounds like one of the many forms of algae out there. How long have you been dosing excel in this new setup? Sometimes it can take a couple weeks for things to balance out.

Have you tried adding a siesta period? This allows you to have longer photo periods without getting crazy algae blooms. A siesta period screws with the algae because it has a hard time dealing with broken photo periods.

Almost 2 weeks now at roughly 2x the regular dose. Sorry for my ignorance, but what is a siesta period?

nanotanks said:
How big is your tank? Is it excel flourish (carbon dosing) or fertiliser?
5ml is a lot. I'm pretty sure its dosed at 5ml per 250L tank once a week. I know from experience, if you over dose it casues crazy algae blooms. Also just grab yourself a timer from a hardware store for your light for about $3 so you can accurately time your photo period and not have to worry if you get caught at work.

Tank is 35 gallons, I know I'm overdosing, I guess its somewhat of an experiment considering what I've read about Excel's potential as an algecide as well as a source of carbon. The light fixture has a built in timer which I'm using now. I've started using it since getting more serious into planted aquariums.

So you would suggest cutting down on the Excel. I know I've been overdosing but plants and fish seems perfectly happy, just this fuzzy algae is exploding.

After reading an extension thread by Tom Barr on non-CO2 tanks, I'm seriously contemplating doing the following;

- Reducing my Excel dosing to the regular dose advised by Seachem,
- Start dosing with dry ferts, 1/4 tsp KNO3 and 1/8 tsp KH2PO4, both once a week,
- Do weekly top-offs for evaporated water and do a 50% water change once a month,
- Seachem trace, as indicated on bottle, twice a week,

Although I must say, some of his info is hard to read.

Anyone see this as a move in the right direction?

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