BBA in crowns

[samh]

Hey guys,

In the normal process of trying to improve co2, I screwed it up causing bad growth etc... but also noticed some small amounts of BBA on the crowns of some plant species.

After fixing the co2 problem growth has been awesome and i'm growing plants i've never been able to before, ie Rotala macrandra, syngonanthus manaus and belem, limnophila vietnam and repens mini, ludwigia pantanal...

Though plants that were there during the co2 deficiency still have BBA in the crowns and haven't fully recovered. Also small amounts of BBA on the glass etc... continue to grow.

I'm confident my co2 is pretty good considering the rotala macrandra is growing fine(orange/yellow/pink hue).

Anything else i can do?

Sam

 

[csmith]

Treat directly with Excel. Seems to work well for everyone that does so.

 

[detlef]

Yes, and after the treatment buy or borrow you 1-2 SAEs for every 20g. They will eat the reminder and keep BBA in check for the future. If grown too big or becoming aggressiv take them back to the lfs and buy small ones again.

Regards, Detlef

 

[hani]

hmmm taking them back? you have to catch them first, and that by it self a big problem, SAE very hard to catch.........
hani

 

[detlef]

You are right Hani. But it's fairly easy if you use one large net (8-10 inches wide) and another smaller one for chasing. Patience needed of course and eventually all fish get tired......

Regards, Detlef

 

[Matt F.]

Trim it all back. Excel/Glutaraldehyde kills BBA if directly applied to the area and allowed to sit for 5 minutes. Don't do this with delicate plants (vals, etc.).
reduce your lighting period (raise you lights). increase CO2.

 

[samh]

Thanks guys

I'm aware of sae but would like to avoid them if possible although I'm going to need some still. The crowns are fine now, just some plants that were shaded have algae now.