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Pressurized CO2=BBA??

Discussion in 'CO2 Enrichment' started by irene, Sep 9, 2007.

  1. irene

    irene Lifetime Charter Member
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    Hi,

    I finally went pressurized on my 33gal (1 week ago) and I'm seeing the start of a BBA breakout. :eek: Little tufts starting on the older leaves and on my driftwood, even on my thermometer!

    Previously, I had 2 DIY yeast bottles on that tank and I would dose a bit of exel (3ml or so) daily as I know the yeast wasn't that consistent. And I had no algae problems, a bit of green dust but that's it.

    The tank has been running for about 3 months, is heavily planted, growing well. I have a drop checker with 4dkH solution in it. Lighting is 110w of CF. EI dosing.

    I've been running the CO2 24/7 with the drop checker green. I'm going to try turning off an hour before lights off and on 2 hours before lights on and turning it up a bit so it's more of a yellow green during the day. It's a milwaukee regulator so I just put it on timer tonight.

    Hopefully this will help? I've trimmed off the affected leaves, do I need to remove and srub the driftwood too or will it just die off once things are stable again.

    Thanks in advance!

    Irene
     
    #1 irene, Sep 9, 2007
  2. VaughnH

    VaughnH Lifetime Charter Member
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    What filtration do you use? And, how are you maintaining good water circulation in the tank? Unless you make sure the water circulates around the whole tank you can't be sure all areas are seeing enough CO2 in the water.
     
    #2 VaughnH, Sep 9, 2007
  3. Tom Barr

    Tom Barr Founder
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    BBA and DIY CO2 often suggest poor CO2.
    Maybe not today, but maybe at some point.

    BBA is definitely a CO2 related issue, every case I've ever seen in person and remedied..........CO2, this goes back 15 years and perhaps a 100 tanks in person.

    Not once has it been due to anything else.
    We critically tested it in the club better than anyone has done since.

    It's CO2.
    Good stable consistent CO2.

    DIY CO2 users have more issues in general and the reason is fairly obvious given the cause.........

    Change the brew weekly(one of the bottles and the other bottle the following week etc). Temp is also very important to keep the rate of CO2 flowing well, house temps vary day to day and week to week often times also.

    Regards,
    Tom Barr
     
    #3 Tom Barr, Sep 9, 2007
  4. irene

    irene Lifetime Charter Member
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    Ok, so I'll crank up the CO2. :) It's on timer now so it will be consistent from now on.

    As for circulation/filtration, I have an aquaclear + an eheim aquaball 2212. The CO2 is piped into the filter intake which seems creating a fine fist being blown around. I have the spray angled slightly towards the surface to create good surface movement. Plants are really pearling about an hour or so after lights on. Even the java moss pearls! :D

    The timer kicked in at 4am today though, and it's almost 8am now and my drop checker is still blueish green. That seems like a long time for it to change colour?

    Irene
     
    #4 irene, Sep 10, 2007
  5. charlie

    charlie Guru Class Expert

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    Tom ,she is on pressurized co2.
    Regards
     
    #5 charlie, Sep 10, 2007
  6. Carissa

    Carissa Guru Class Expert

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    Did you stop using Excel once you went pressurized? That may have been a factor.
     
    #6 Carissa, Sep 10, 2007
  7. aquabillpers

    aquabillpers Lifetime Charter Member
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    I believe the key reason for the BBA is not the presence or lack of C02 but rather that DIY often produces variable amounts of it, confusing the plants. The same thing could happen with injected CO2, if the amount injected was frequently changed.

    There are many planted aquariums that do not have BBA problems even though they do not inject or add CO2.

    Bill
     
    #7 aquabillpers, Sep 10, 2007
  8. irene

    irene Lifetime Charter Member
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    So it seems like consistency is more important than amount? I have been fiddling with it a bit since I got it. I'll stop.;) Any opinions on the excel? Should I keep dosing it for a while or is it not needed if my CO2 is consistent?

    Irene
     
    #8 irene, Sep 10, 2007
  9. VaughnH

    VaughnH Lifetime Charter Member
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    Excel isn't needed when you have pressurized CO2, but it can be useful for killing offf algae occasionally. So, I suggest you don't dose it regularly.
     
    #9 VaughnH, Sep 10, 2007
  10. AquaticJim

    AquaticJim Guru Class Expert

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    Will Excel only kill BBA if overdosed.
     
    #10 AquaticJim, Sep 10, 2007
  11. jeff5614

    jeff5614 Prolific Poster

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    FWIW, I had a problem with BBA on some driftwood. I applied Excel directly to the BBA during a water change when the wood was above the water line and within a week there was no BBA left on the wood. That has been a month ago and it has yet to come back.
     
    #11 jeff5614, Sep 10, 2007
  12. VaughnH

    VaughnH Lifetime Charter Member
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    Excel seems to kill most BBA when dosed at 1.5 to 2X the recommended dosage, usually in one dosing. I have read that it also kills it, but slower, at the regular dosage.

    One problem we may all run into is that we set up our filter output/input and powerhead, etc. in a newly set up tank, with newly planted plants. It works fine and all the plants grow rapidly. But, then the plant mass gets so big it interferes with the water circulation we so carefully arranged, and BBA starts to grow in areas with little or no flow. The lesson to be learned, is to do regular pruning, even minor pruning several times a week, to avoid the huge buildup of plant mass.
     
    #12 VaughnH, Sep 10, 2007
  13. jeff5614

    jeff5614 Prolific Poster

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    But I like that build up of plant mass, Vaughn, lol. I have a powerhead that I was thinking of adding but I hate the idea of more equipment in the tank. That leaves me with buying a larger filter, also an idea I don't cherish at the moment. What can I say, I'm tight, lol.
     
    #13 jeff5614, Sep 11, 2007
  14. Tom Barr

    Tom Barr Founder
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    If you have oversized stuff from day one, then you can account for it.
    I over do many things with tanks in the start up phases.

    I hate redoing and changing things later.
    Current is a huge issue.

    If you have decent current, algae often will not grow on plants.
    It's harder for their spores to settle and start growing, and even if so, the added nutrient and CO2 exchange increases plant growth so that they outpace algae colonization.

    In slower areas, less nutrient exchange, lower O2, higher NH4, less CO2 and much more algae.



    Regards,
    Tom Barr
     
    #14 Tom Barr, Sep 11, 2007
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