# BGA in 5 gallon planted tank



## scooterscooby (Jul 17, 2007)

Hello!! I have a 5 gallon planted aquarium with a single dwarf puffer (Kirby) and a red cherry shrimp, and I'm starting to get really annoyed with the BGA that I've had for about a month. The tank's been set up since Feburary, and I do weekly or bi-weekly water changes. I also check the water quality every time I do a water change, and it's always the same: pH-8.2, Ammonia-0, Nitrite-0, Nitrate-0. I do not use any CO2 in the tank, and I haven't used any ferts for a while. The tank has a 10 watt flourescent bulb over it, which I leave on about 8-10 hours a day.

I tried a round of Erythromycin on it (the last day of dosing was last night), and it seems to have made an impact, but I'm afraid the BGA will come back b/c the nitrate is so low (poor 1" puffer just can't make enough poo). I'm having trouble finding KNO3 to add to my tank, so I'm wondering... I have a 55 gallon community tank that has a nitrate reading of 40ppm- could I add just a smidge of the water from that tank into Kirby's to raise the NO3? (I know about the risk of disease spreading and also the other things that may be in the water. I do bi-weekly water changes on this tank as well, and all of fish have been healthy.) Also, I have "Plant Gro" iron enriched fertilizer that I will start adding to help the plants along, but what about C02? Is it safe for a tank this small (5 gallons)? I worry about dramatic pH changes with my little puffer. Thanks for the help!!!


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

I wouldn't worry about CO2. You're actually quite low on lighting. It seems like 2wpg, but that "rule" really breaks down on small tanks like this. You could have 20 watts of light over it and it still might not be "high" light.


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## Homer_Simpson (Apr 2, 2007)

scooterscooby said:


> Hello!! I have a 5 gallon planted aquarium with a single dwarf puffer (Kirby) and a red cherry shrimp, and I'm starting to get really annoyed with the BGA that I've had for about a month. The tank's been set up since Feburary, and I do weekly or bi-weekly water changes. I also check the water quality every time I do a water change, and it's always the same: pH-8.2, Ammonia-0, Nitrite-0, Nitrate-0. I do not use any CO2 in the tank, and I haven't used any ferts for a while. The tank has a 10 watt flourescent bulb over it, which I leave on about 8-10 hours a day.
> 
> I tried a round of Erythromycin on it (the last day of dosing was last night), and it seems to have made an impact, but I'm afraid the BGA will come back b/c the nitrate is so low (poor 1" puffer just can't make enough poo). I'm having trouble finding KNO3 to add to my tank, so I'm wondering... I have a 55 gallon community tank that has a nitrate reading of 40ppm- could I add just a smidge of the water from that tank into Kirby's to raise the NO3? (I know about the risk of disease spreading and also the other things that may be in the water. I do bi-weekly water changes on this tank as well, and all of fish have been healthy.) Also, I have "Plant Gro" iron enriched fertilizer that I will start adding to help the plants along, but what about C02? Is it safe for a tank this small (5 gallons)? I worry about dramatic pH changes with my little puffer. Thanks for the help!!!


Have you considered a 3 day blackout. The same thing happened in my 10 gallon tank and a 3 day blackout wiped out 99% of the BGA. I will be doing another 3 day blackout this weekend to try and wipe out the remaining 1%. My plants and ottos seem to pull through and were not harmed by the blackout.


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## scooterscooby (Jul 17, 2007)

This may be a silly question, but do I just not feed my fishy during the 3-day blackout? He's just a little guy, and I just wondered if it's ok not to feed him. Thanks!!


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## Homer_Simpson (Apr 2, 2007)

scooterscooby said:


> This may be a silly question, but do I just not feed my fishy during the 3-day blackout? He's just a little guy, and I just wondered if it's ok not to feed him. Thanks!!


I fed the feeder guppy and two ottos during the blackout and there were no problems. I don't believe that feeding your fish during the blackout will harm your fish or interfere with the results. Good luck.


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## rs79 (Dec 7, 2004)

I battled BGA for years till I finally listened to Tom Barr.

Change 80% of the water two days in a row.

Dose with postassiom nitrate. Do you really expect plants to grow with zero nitrate?

If you want to kill it quickly double dose with flourish excel. It'll turn red (help I'm dying!) nearly overnight then white (arrrg, I'm dead) and drop off.

Just a water change and KNO3 workef for me though, I haven't even seen the wretched stuff in 3 years.


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## scooterscooby (Jul 17, 2007)

Well, since using the erythromycin, it looks like it has all turned white now. I have started using a fertilizer for the plants, but I don't think I've seen KNO3 around here (Utah), at least in the pet stores. Is it something I should go to the garden center for? And what about adding a little of the water from my big tank (the one with 40ppm nitrate)? Will that work? Thanks!!


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## rs79 (Dec 7, 2004)

Try aquariumfertilizer.com. That's the old standby.

The formulas you need are here:

http://aquaria.net/articles/plants/fertsols/

Why you should never use antibiotics is here:

http://aquaria.net/articles/meds/antibiotics/warning/


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

scooterscooby said:


> Well, since using the erythromycin, it looks like it has all turned white now. I have started using a fertilizer for the plants, but I don't think I've seen KNO3 around here (Utah), at least in the pet stores. Is it something I should go to the garden center for? And what about adding a little of the water from my big tank (the one with 40ppm nitrate)? Will that work? Thanks!!


There are several brands of Stump Remover that are pure KNO3:
Green Light Stump Remover - Usually found at Lowes 
Spectracide Stump Remover - Usually found at WalMart

I've been using these for years.


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## scooterscooby (Jul 17, 2007)

So, I want to add 1-2 ml daily of the 0.0305 g/ml solution of KNO3. Can I use just the KNO3, or do I have to add all of the other chemicals as well? And should I continue to use my fertilizer while doing this? Thanks!!


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## rs79 (Dec 7, 2004)

There's a thing called the "law of minimums". Say the plants have enough N(itrogen). Now they're out of potassium. Say you add potassium. Now you're out of phosphorous. Say you add phosphorous, now you're iron-limited.

You should add all of them.

Blue green algae usually shows up when you're out of nitrate BTW.


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