# blue green algae in NPT



## chi1013 (Apr 12, 2019)

Hi folks.

I have a NPT I started in April that is stocked and been stable for a bit now. Plants are growing like crazy! Earlier on (few months ago?)I had some blue green algae that came with a new plant I had gotten and dealt with it. At the time I treated with erythromycin and hydrogen peroxide. Nothing new has been introduced to the tank plant wise.I did add a 2nd light to light the back of the tank like at least a month ago. The BGA is growing at the front of the tank and there is more now than whenI first treated it. 

So whats the best way of treating it in a Walstad method tank? I have no filter, only a powerhead. I'm afraid if I do a blackout, the plants won't do their job of filtering and adding O2 to the tank. I removed what I could yesterday when I found it and started erythromycin yesterday. The other problem is that I am going on vacation starting Wednesday and there is no one who can do tank maintainance while I am gone so I am trying to get the tank as stable as possible. Any suggestions would be awesome!


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

The hydrogen peroxide may have injured the plants and tipped the competition towards the BGA (blue-green algae). The erythromycin alone should work without hurting the plants. Add it at night-time, as this antibiotic is light sensitive. If kanomycin or erythromycin don't work, you have antibiotic-resistant bacteria; then all you can do is remove the BGA manually, add floating plants, and encourage plant growth. Make sure that you're not adding any fertilizer (other than calcium and magnesium) to this tank.

Photo of tank would help tremendously to see just how many plants and what kind are competing with the BGA. 

Remember, that algae and BGA is everywhere. You are counting on healthy plants to keep it in check.

I would remove that second light while you're on vacation. If the tank is lightly stocked with fish, you could also turn off the powerhead. Sometimes, people come back from vacation and find their tanks miraculously recovered.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

If I knew what causes algae blooms, the world would beat a path to my door, LOL. Blue-green algae blooms (cyanobacteria) in natural bodies of water are usually associated with high temperatures, poor circulation, and excess nutrients. I suggest several large water changes and increasing the circulation.

Good luck!


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Several times I have had blue green algae areas where a sun beam hits the tank for an hour or more every day. That happens below the water, in the substrate at the glass, and it happens in the tank on the substrate. This has convinced me that too much light can cause BGA blooms. And, it is why I never let sun beams hit my tank.


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

BGA always occur in new tanks for me. It goes away in mature tanks, with removal and cleaning of course.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Michael said:


> If I knew what causes algae blooms, the world would beat a path to my door, LOL.


In a world of algorithms, ubiquitous cameras, 5G, etc, hobbyists are _still_ struggling with algae. I think it's refreshing in a twisted sort of way that mankind has not yet completely tamed the natural world.


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## chi1013 (Apr 12, 2019)

Here's a pic of my tank. There's plenty of brazilian water weed, valisneria, crypts, swords, tricolor lily, and a few others. I was just about to add 2 aponogeton plants too. I have not had luck with anubias - they melt for some reason. The brazilian water weed half floats and is half planted. It is a bit more stocked but the numbers have been fine and I often have plenty of o2 bubbles coming from the plants. It's a 54 corner bow. I just changed the lighting this morning to having that 4 hour siesta in the afternoon. I just saw the fluval 3.0 added a pro function to fully customize the lighting. As of right now I'm just doing the erythromycin. The last time I did the hydrogen peroxide was months ago and only a small amount.

re-edit: pic now attached. this was taken this evening


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

I don't see any blue green algae in the photo. Is it gone now?


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## zolteeC (Dec 26, 2017)

chi1013 said:


> Here's a pic of my tank. There's plenty of brazilian water weed, valisneria, crypts, swords, tricolor lily, and a few others. I was just about to add 2 aponogeton plants too. I have not had luck with anubias - they melt for some reason. The brazilian water weed half floats and is half planted. It is a bit more stocked but the numbers have been fine and I often have plenty of o2 bubbles coming from the plants. It's a 54 corner bow. I just changed the lighting this morning to having that 4 hour siesta in the afternoon. I just saw the fluval 3.0 added a pro function to fully customize the lighting. As of right now I'm just doing the erythromycin. The last time I did the hydrogen peroxide was months ago and only a small amount.
> 
> re-edit: pic now attached. this was taken this evening


Plants look healthy in this tank.


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## chi1013 (Apr 12, 2019)

So I cleared as much as I could when I first saw it. Some of it was on the bottom between the val and the crypts there. some of it is on the water weed. The plants are healthy. I have normal plant decay from some dying leaves but all the plants are growing and spreading beautifully. 

Tonight will be when I do the first water change after treating the erythromycin. I'm going to do a trim and take out as much of the BGA as I can. I am seeing more of it on the water weed. I'm also wondering about water flow. I have one power head that is aimed towards the val section to add circulation to the water but I wonder if the water weed gets so dense it doesn't allow for water water movement to get through it. I do have a 2nd powerhead that I may re-add in the opposite direction of the water flow (and maybe angled down) to get 2 opposing flows to meet in the middle essentially. That's really had to describe. 

Early in the tank's life I did have BGA that I treated with EM and hydrogen peroxide which I believe came from some cabomba I purchased at my LFS. Unfortunately they had an outbreak of BGA after I got mine. I wonder if maybe I didn't get it all and it was lying in wait for the right time? 

I also wonder if the fish knew it was there because some of my smaller fish are showing ich. I had just started treating them with kordon's ich attack when I saw the BGA. I haven't treated with the ich attack since adding EM because I don't know if there are any adverse interactions.


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## zolteeC (Dec 26, 2017)

chi1013 said:


> I also wonder if the fish knew it was there because some of my smaller fish are showing ich. I had just started treating them with kordon's ich attack when I saw the BGA. I haven't treated with the ich attack since adding EM because I don't know if there are any adverse interactions.


If the small fish are showing ich, then very likely all fish are infected. Let us know how Kordon Ich Attack works for you. It does not contain the typical chemicals I use to treat ich. Ich is quite common in lakes and fisheries, so there are lots of scientific papers dealing with it. I have not read any papers that discusses the active ingredient of this product to treat Ich.

(ps. Ich somehow got into your tank with infected fish, plant, or other way. I found ich is unfortunately quite common in some fish stores in my area, where they do not do a proper treatment to eliminate all protozoa completely so infection may start when someone puts something into their tanks from the store.)


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

Treat the ich first. Don't mix meds.
Using antibiotics to tread BGA is like using a hammer to put a stamp on an envelop. It's not necessary.


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