# Poly filters, phosphate and algae



## robitreef (Jan 4, 2005)

As of yesterday, I scrubbed my driftwood that was infested with BBA. I don't have any on my plants, so I now want to keep it at bay. I am going to start double-dosing Flourish excel (I currently don't inject CO2 as my tank is low light), adding KNO3, and I was also wondering if phosphate removers like a poly filter would help?


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Unless you have high phosphates out of your tap you may want to try adding a little instead of removing it. The old myth that phosphates cause algae is pretty much dead now, at least for planted tanks. Plants need both the nitrates and phosphates, even in a non-co2 tank, they just need it in lesser quantities. 

You may want to try an H2O2 bath or boiling for your driftwood along with scrubbing. I have never had much luck removing BBA from driftwood with scrubbing alone. Then again, if you are adding some Excel, it should take care of the BBA.


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## robitreef (Jan 4, 2005)

Don't know about the phosphate content of my tap-I used to use RO water and I got no algae, but the plant growth wasn't as robust, so that is why I switched back. I have a TDS meter and my tap is around 200 ppm (Chicago-Lake Michigan water). It's funny that only the driftwood and not the plants are affected. I have seen some BBA on some of the old leaves, but they usually get pruned out, and new growth is algae-free


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## Gumby (Aug 1, 2005)

I used to work at a store that had horrible BBA problems. The BBA usually grew thickest on driftwood, plastic plants and certain types of rocks. We tried all kinds of methods to get rid of it. We bleached the stuff, ODed Seachem's Pond Health Guard(similar chem make up to Excel), and just threw stuff out that was beyond saving. 

ODing PHG worked well, but took a while to work; it also had the potential to crash a tank. Bleach worked, but is dangerous if done incorrectly. Those solutions kind of worked... but then we found something better.

Someone came up with the idea of putting the affected items in the sun. The concept was that since algae is a primitive form of plant life, perhaps it's more susceptible to UV radiation from the sun. So we tried it... threw all the driftwood, rocks, and plastic plants out in the Georgia summer sun for about 3-4 days. When we put the items back into the tanks, the algae fell off and got sucked up in the filters and didn't come back for quite some time. 

Not sure if this is a possible solution for you, but just wanted to let ya know that it has worked for me in desperate situations.


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## plantbrain (Jan 23, 2004)

BBA is CO2 related issues, it has nothing to do with PO4.

Work on adding more CO2 and not adding a little bit one day, not much the next etc. Or adding not enough.... 

DIY folks lots of troubles with BBA for that reason.

That will stop it from growing and being a problem. You'll still need to remove what is there.

If you think it's something else other than CO2, don't.
Go back and add more CO2.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## billykid7171 (Dec 7, 2005)

I also recently had a BBA problem in a non-CO2 tank. I cleaned out most of the algae and added a DIY CO2 and no problems have resurfaced.


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

*C02 high, but bba still comes*



plantbrain said:


> BBA is CO2 related issues, it has nothing to do with PO4.


Plantbrain I know you always say it's CO2 related and nothing else, but I could tell you my ph is consistently in the 6.2 to 6.4 range and I have a steady KH of 3, so my CO2 is consistently high, but I'm starting to get bba mostly on DW, rocks and the filter intake. I also noticed some now growing on my Blyxa. My CO2 is going directly into my intake via a microairstone and pumped into the tank thru my eheim spraybar.

So are you saying that I should raise my co2 levels even higher?


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## Simpte 27 (Jul 16, 2004)

You sound just like I used to 

Are your fish gasping for air? If not crank it up!!! Test kits (even good ones) are not very accurate for testing KH. I don't know of any test kit we use that actually tests for carbonate hardness. They all test for alkilinity. My water here has quite a bit on non-carb alkilinity so for me testing is moot. I now rely on my fish. If they are not gasping, I turn it up. Test kits "lie". Fish don't.


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

_[Are your fish gasping for air?/I]
No, not a one. All the fish look great as well as the plants. I don't get alot of pearling, but otherwise all is o.k, with the exception of the BBA? 
My bubble count is almost a stream at this point, so I guess I am very hesitant to turn it up._


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