# another age old question: bga, best way to eradicate?



## nap83 (Feb 7, 2006)

i dunno how it all started, seriously...

i've set-up numerous tanks but my 55g show tank is infested with bga bacteria. 

couple of things that are new in the tank:

new filter: replaced hob with an xp2 filstar canister along with hydor eth 200w heater.

new lights: replaced 8 month old ahsupply 6500k 2x55w bright kits with odyssea 48" strip unit with 2x55w 9325k ge aquarays.

new conditioner: from prime to kordon novaqua. 

the tank has been well kept and has been running great for a year now, EXCEPT AFTER MY BIRTHDAY PARTY IN WHICH A CLOSE FRIEND POURED A LITTLE BEER IN THE TANK WITHOUT ME KNOWING AND KILLED ALL MY HATCHETS AND SAE, AND YEAH THE PLANTS HAVE THINNED DOWN TOO. i did 4 consecutive massive water changes after this and this was also the time when i replaced a lot of my older equipment. 

someone enlighten me please!

i know i could do a blackout for three days but i do not really want to do it unless necessary, i've also been dosing flourish nitrogen & excel at the same time to increase no3 and carbon beeing used up in the water column. co2 has been running smoothly although it's diy, it's hooked up to the intake of my canister filter making the filter the reactor. 

i also have maracyn, is this the most effective way to get rid of this pest?

which way to go? 

thanks!


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## yildirim (Nov 25, 2004)

IMO first thing to do from my past experiences is to improve circulation in the tank as it requires a stable water to grow well. That's why it is mostly seen at still parts of the tank where plants do not wave a bit and places between hardscapes. But the most important reason it appears is the change of NO3 amount in the water. When most other nutrients are in abundance but NO3 is limited it is most likely you will have it around. Some others have alse talled that high NO3 rates may also cause it but I have not observed t yet even at ~80ppms. A good blackout followed by a massive water change is commonly accepted as a solution but I never tried it. Instead I first followed the above two processes and siphoned out as much as possible (which is quite easy as it doesn't attach itself to anywhere but just stays as a blanket on anything). Besides if you are not going to immediately siphon out the freed bga, never ever disturb it. As the loosened parts will move to some other place and infest the tank more quickly. Antibiotics is another way to treat bga as it is in fact a bacteria not an algea. But this is also not a method I have ever used because most of the antibiotics also kills the useful bacteria. When bga is ın small quantities young and lightly fed guppies esp females are a good way to deal with it. When bga covers a leaf for a long period (lets say around a month)it prevents the leaf to photosynthesize and causes it to yellow and die. But I also observed a benefit of bga as well which is; it has once covered some of my anubias leaves which were infected with gsa. I left it unattended for about 2 weeks and then cleaned the bga and saw that all of the gsa was completely cleared and the leaves were as good as new. Bga is also very sensitive to high O2 rates. Therefore H2O2 treatment is also a useful method to deal with it, but this time at higher concentrations H2O2 may harm some fragile leaves. To cut it short what I can summarize is:
- Improve the circulation
- Increase NO3, do not allow the other nutrients to deplete
- Syphon out as much as possible
- Keep some guppies in tank
- No need for blackout or any bio-chemical intrusion


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## nap83 (Feb 7, 2006)

good tip, i've noticed that my nitrates dropped to 0ppm, so now i'm dosing nitrogen, circulation in the tank is much better too since i'm using a spray bar rather than an hob. thanks for the info!


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## nap83 (Feb 7, 2006)

43 views and no one else has anything to say? i know it's been a very tried subject but this is apc fellas! pleeease! lol.


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## stcyrwm (Apr 20, 2005)

nap83 said:


> 43 views and no one else has anything to say? i know it's been a very tried subject but this is apc fellas! pleeease! lol.


If you do a search under Maracyn and BGA I'm sure you'll find the info you need. I don't remember exactly how to do it so I don't want to steer you wrong. I do remember that it is impotant to use the correct Maracyn. I think it is 1 not 2, but again you should double check. I'm pretty sure Trenac has written about this a couple times. You may be able to do an advanced search under her name.

Good luck,
Bill


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## bigmark (Sep 8, 2006)

> never ever disturb it. As the loosened parts will move to some other place and infest the tank more quickly.


This is good advice. I made the mistake of trying to pick it off, and it spread like a wildfire.

It took me 2 weeks to get rid of all of it, but here is what I did in my 29gallon tank.

I took Excel, and added 3 caps full for 3 days in a row, after that I added 2 cap fulls until it was gone. Now I am adding 1 cap full every other day. My tank is looking great!

I was so excited about it I talked to my LFS, and they are going to keep it in stock for me.


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

1. Physically remove as much as you can.

2. Spot treat with a syringe of H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide 3% solution)

3. Half recommended dose of Maracyn.

4. Large water change later in the day or the next day.

5. Make sure nitrate levels are where they should be (~10 ppm).

This should get rid of it all in one day.


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## nap83 (Feb 7, 2006)

thanks a lot guys!


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## ryzilla (Feb 3, 2007)

I prefer the blackout over chemicals. This is what has worked for me. Main things is making sure you have enough circulation especially at the edges of your tank by the glass and NO3 @ 20ppm. Cover your entier tanks with large black trash bags, 2 layers. NO light should get in from anywhere. I throw a massive beach towel as the top layer over my 30g and tape it up. No feeding the tank for a FULL 3 days. After 3 days do a water change and make sure you turkey baste all dead BGA off of all leaves and suck all remaining dead BGA off of the gravel. I have gone 4 days just to be anal but I think it is not needed. This should solve the problem.


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## nap83 (Feb 7, 2006)

this seems like a idea ry!, maybe some posterboards and such will do the trick.


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