# Nasty Blue Green



## Hadouken441 (Feb 19, 2010)

On second day of maracyn treatment and is working already. A lot of the algae turning brown and dying.

Some questions I Have.

Should I keep my lights off? If they are left on what are the affects? (my lights have been off the 2 days of treatment.

Is it safe to fert my tank now or should I wait untill the algae bloom is gone? (havent added any ferts since maracyn treatment.)

I read that low nitrogen levels are the main reason for Blue Green blooms. Would the API fert tabs I have be enough nitrogen to safely keep my tank fertilized and control the BG in the future?

Sorry for the questions if they have been answered but Im having trouble finding answers haha! Thanks again.


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## boink (Nov 29, 2006)

I think the fert tabs would just provide localized N values. You might want to consider dosing KNO3 into the water column or increase circulation in the area you are getting it.

I get BGA sometimes on the front glass when my UG gets sandwiched there.


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## doubleott05 (Jul 20, 2005)

blue green algae is a bacterial infection.Thats why maracyn is working, its like penicillin for your tank. lights is really here nor there so you can leave them on. its up to you.


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## Christian_rubilar (Jul 21, 2005)

You can elimite Cyano Bacter only with the black out. If you use an antibiotic it will be more effective. However, you should change the way you fertilize your tank. You are havving a lack of No3, you should add more. 
Usually I recommend 3 days of black out, but this is just a recommendation.
Regards


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## virgo888 (Jun 25, 2009)

use the full treatment. 7 days, i recall. UV sterilizers are good versus blackout.


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## DVS (Nov 20, 2005)

Christian_rubilar said:


> You can elimite Cyano Bacter only with the black out. Regards


I've eliminated BGA without a blackout. I've had BGA 2 or 3 times over the last 10 years. Eliminated it by cleaning filters, manual removal and increasing nitrates. Generally took 2 or 3 weeks. Maracyn and/or blackouts should reduce amount of time necessary to beat it into submission.


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## Shurik (Mar 22, 2008)

I did use Maracin for my lovely BGA once, after trying everything else, I had pretty severe case of this ugly algae. It cleared it out in two days. While using it, I quit blackouts and other things simply because I got really tired of this fight and gave up. So it did work fine alone.
However, I know it is not all that easy, Christian_rubular is absolutely right! I had to make some changes, clean up the filter, check the bioload, avoid overfeeding et cetera. Also I've heard if you use antibiotics on it too much without some investigation of the causes of this bloom, it is possible to get antibiotic-resistant form of BGA, and then... and then it sounds like a major trouble.


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## flashbang009 (Aug 6, 2009)

UV sterilizer won't kill BGA. H2O2 is a GREAT simple cheap option to kill BGA. Maracyn will work too, but is known to hurt the biological filter in some cases. Increasing flow is a biggie, and adjusting fertilizer will also help. If you use H2O2 in the future, only use up to 3 mL/gallon.


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## xavierj123 (Aug 24, 2008)

The gal at the local pet store reminded me to clean and remove the charcoal from my filtration system as the charcoal will not let the Maracyn do its job. "It show it nice to have a sparkling clear aquarium again. My angel fish think they done died and gone to Heaven"!


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