# Help needed....



## Kamla (Oct 14, 2005)

Hi guys, this is my first post..
And in the algae section…. LOL..
I have a 72 gal bow front tank, with 65*4 PC light for 9.5 hrs/day.
Quite heavily planted, pressurized co2, internal co2 diffuser (Tom'
model) normal gravel and drift wood.

Readings…
Ph 6.4, KH= 4 Co2 @ 45ppm
NO3 10-15ppm
Po 2ppm
Using IE method of ferts..

O.k. now the problem..
I have algae growing on my drift wood..(no where else)
The algae is green in color, and grown in small clumps..
Its like hair growing from one center.. the hair is about 3 mm long..
I first noticed in one spot, now it spreading to different spots and fast…
I cannot make out where it is BBA or BGA..
I tried to kill it by give the inficted wood with Flourish execl using
a dropper..
IT DIED…. 

But i want to know what it is and what is causing it, so I fix the
root problem..

Thanks


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Hey Kamla,

First off welcome to APC  We should be able to get you over this algae problem. 

If you are following EI than it is doubtful either your NO3 or PO4 will be low enough to bring on algae. That only leaves CO2! I know your levels are currently at 45ppm according to your test kits but try not to rely on them too much  

It sounds like you have BBA by your description. Low CO2 is usually the cause of BBA. Try upping the CO2 more and don't trust the kits so much. After all, 40ppm is supposed to be lethal to fish  When increasing your CO2, make sure you will be around to keep an eye on the fish. You don't want to "gas" anyone.

The BBA will not go away on it's own and you will need to address the source of the problem, which CO2 should do. Don't forget to take a peek at the algea finder for some more removal techniques and keep us informed on how the tank is doing.


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## Kamla (Oct 14, 2005)

thanks.. Matpat..
up the co2 you say....hummmm

o.k. u have a point with not relying on test kits..

if i up the BPM of co2.. at the end of the day my internal rector is full of co2 gas... so i thought co2 has reached a point of saturation in the tank..

Please help me understand..
My tank was set up in Feb, i have done tons of reading but still a newbie..


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Kamla said:


> if i up the BPM of co2.. at the end of the day my internal rector is full of co2 gas... so i thought co2 has reached a point of saturation in the tank..
> 
> Please help me understand..
> My tank was set up in Feb, i have done tons of reading but still a newbie..


We were all newbies once and depending on who you are comparing yourself to, most of us still are 

I have similar problems with my reactors, as most folks do. What type of reactor are you using?

I don't think yo have reached CO2 saturation but I think it does become more difficult to diffuse CO2 into the water when the water is at higher concentration. This is currently a heated topic on another forum or two.

Let me know what type of reactor you are suing and we can go from there for the venturi


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## Kamla (Oct 14, 2005)

i am using an internal diffuser using a pover head with agravel tube and i have also added the venturi on it..
it is modeled after tom's...


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Since tom's visit here, I made one of his reactors for my 30g tank using a 6" viewtainer, Rio 200 powerhead and venturi according to Tom's plans. It accumulates some gas at the end of the day but it works very well! I believe Tom has stated this reactor is only suitable for tanks up to 55g or so but don't quote me on that  

You may ned to add another internal reactor at the other end of your tank...


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## Kamla (Oct 14, 2005)

ooohhh.... i plan on making an external diffuser soon... maybe couple of weeks...
in th e meanwhile should i put in onther powerhead to move the water around more..
will this help..
Thanks 4 all ur help


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

If you have another powerhead, it may not hurt to add one but I can't say for sure...I've never done it  

I have built several external reactors and will include a pic of my latest. This reactor is a bit smaller diameter (1.5") for a lower flow Eheim Ecco 2231/2233 canister filter. The flow on the Eheim is almost nothing with a 2" reactor on the output. 

It has been suggested that I move the venturi half way down the tube versus where I have it located. I could have also routed the venturi tube back to the top of the reactor versus the outflow. Please disregard the black addition on the right side (top) of the reactor. It was a little experiment I was doing and has been replaced with a 1/2" male connector now. Here's the pic:


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## Kamla (Oct 14, 2005)

thanks a lot... so what do i do with the algae till i can make external diffuser..

any thoughts on that...


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Since it seems to be a CO2 issue you can continue to kill it with Excel or H2O2 until you get the reactor made or remove the driftwood. Adding Excel along with CO2 might also help. Other than that, manual removal methods are about all I can suggest. 

Maybe there are a few others with some more input...


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## Kamla (Oct 14, 2005)

thax 4 all ur help again.... i will try execl and make another diffuser..
i will let you know how it goes....


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