critter_crazy Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 So my 750L tank is full - I mean FULL - of BBA It's thankfully not on the gravel and I don't have plants in there so I think the plan is to scrap it off the glass (mainly at the back of the tank, only tiny speckles) and do something drastic with the driftwood. I have one of those blue seashell paddling pools out back, could I fill that up with water, put the driftwood in and dose with excel? How many days would I have to dose for and should I put the driftwood back in when it changes colour or wait a bit longer? I'd do a bleach soak but since it's porus driftwood I'd bee really paranoid about putting it back in the tank Any other suggestions/experience with BBA and driftwood? I thought BBA was more prone to planted tanks with CO2 etc? I've never had an outbreak quite like this and am suprised it's in this tank and not my planted. The tank gets a 50% waterchange 1-2 times weekly and doesnt have an excess of nitrates. :an!gry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matto Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 leaving it in the sun for a couple days normally works Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godly3vil Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 :iag: but bleach dipping will do the job, just have to give it a good GOOD blast with the hose then let it soak in some dechlorinated water until it doesn't smell like bleach anymore, leaving it out in the sun while it's soaking is a great idea as sunlight helps break down bleach too. I wouldn't recommend doing an excel treatment on anything other than a small tank or spot dosing, too expensive otherwise. I just bleach dipped a bucket of anubias yesterday and it worked excellent, bba turned white within an hour and now my algae eaters are loving it. You only need to leave the wood in the bleach for 3-5 minutes so I wouldn't think it would absorb much bleach anyway as it should already be water logged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoFishing Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 Even easier than that, put your wood in hot water. The hotter the better. The BBA will turn red in seconds. :bggrn: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 Its common for BBA to attach to driftwood and no plants means nothing to soak up excess nutrients in the water. You could mass dose in the paddling pool but the only way to keep it totally at bay is to use it at the correct amount daily. It is one of those algae that every time a tuft, no matter how small, breaks off it will reattach to another surface and grow. So basically if you take the wood out and leave any tufts behind it will still be in your tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angus Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 leaving it in the sun for a couple days normally works :iag: even one day in the sun, to dry out the wood, will kill the BBA. It'll turn a nice purple colour within a few hours, then a quick brush with a firm or steel brush will remove the tufts. I do this myself, rotating pieces of driftwood when I've run out of Excel and funds... :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calculator Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 For bits of drift wood I just throw them in a pot of boiling water, or if I don't have access to a large enough pot I just tip boiling water over it. I have never dried it out in the sun, guess I am just to impatient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 Wht about getting some fish that eats BBA? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomGilberg Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 Wht about getting some fish that eats BBA? Like? Id use boiling water! Like nofishing said Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 I dunno, but I asume that there is a fish that eats it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angus Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 If there were, it'd be the most popular fish in the world :slfg: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 So is there honestly no fish out there that eats this stuff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angus Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 I've seen the odd reply from people who claim SAE's eat it, but not in my experience. And judging by the complaints on forums the world over, a true candidate has yet to be discovered... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 Interesting, I wounder how mine disaperd. I had a bit then added some difrent plecos ( not for BBA reasons) and then before I realised I had no more BBA. I just asumed that one of them took care of it. Hence my earlier comment of getting a fish to deal with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godly3vil Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 I find that swordtails will eat it if you don't feed them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted March 20, 2013 Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 I had the same issues. but BBA went away almost overnight (over a week) when i got my first royal pleco. Maybe get one of those:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted March 20, 2013 Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 It maybe the Panaque family, as mine disapered when I got a couple of Panaques in my main tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted March 20, 2013 Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 It maybe the Panaque family, as mine disapered when I got a couple of Panaques in my main tank. yes, a small panaque would do then in that case:d but yes, my royals demolished all BBA, anything their mouths could scrape they got. maybe a small panaque, like a peru striped panaque looks nice or a baby one, a baby one would be more inclined to constantly eat and graze to grow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calculator Posted March 20, 2013 Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 Wht about getting some fish that eats BBA? I find that my SAE will eat the little growing stuff, so stop it spreading/getting larger patches, but they dont eat the larger bits of it. If that makes sense... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
critter_crazy Posted March 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 Thanks for all your replies! Might give a few different things a go with the different bits of wood, just out of curiosity to see what works Interesting you say that about the plecs! The break out started shortly after our young Royal was moved to a different tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandaz Posted March 20, 2013 Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 I bought a tank that had a big problem with it, and have just gotten rid of it. I did three things: 1. Got some Siamese Algae eaters (x6) and they definitely stopped the new stuff from growing 2. Used a syringe with bleach to treat the worst affected plants. It did turn white straight away and then the SAE and mollies absolutely loved it! Especially the black mollies. 3. Double dosed my tank with Flourish Excel with a water change every 3 days. This treated the tank as a whole and all those other things I couldn't get to with the bleach It's been just about a month and its all gone. I know some people say it looks nice but I hated the stuff. The people at the pet shop told me loads of people have come in asking for advice, and think the really hot summer this year had something to do with it. I don't know much about the reasons it grow, but maybe partially to blame for it starting up in your tank? Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
critter_crazy Posted March 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 If it were my smaller tank I'd put some SAE in there but in this tank they don't stand a chance with the other fish. Gave everything a good scrub today - the glass and the hardware inside the tank (Thank god for those aquaone multi tools with the blade on the long pole - can't remember the name but what a life saver!!) I've pulled out over half the driftwood and poured boiling water over it and left it to dry - I can see a difference already in the amount. I didn't wanna do the driftwood all at once and leave nothing for the fish so am doing it in two parts. I do have some old flourish excel in the fridge which I'm not using for anything else so once I've got the worst of it off I'll dose with that. How much should I put it? And how soon after can I do a waterchange? All the fish in there are fairy hardy except maybe some of the catfish. Again, thanks for all the advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandaz Posted March 20, 2013 Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 I do have some old flourish excel in the fridge which I'm not using for anything else so once I've got the worst of it off I'll dose with that. How much should I put it? And how soon after can I do a water change? All the fish in there are fairy hardy except maybe some of the catfish. Again, thanks for all the advice! My tank is 350l and I used 16 caps full at each water change, basically the major water change number on the bottle for your tank size, and then double it. I was advised to do a 30% water change 3 days after dosing and then to keep doing it until it's gone. It's taken 3 weeks basically for me. If you ever see your fishes at the surface gulping for air do an immediate 50% water change. And if possible make sure you have lots of bubbles in the water. I've got catfish and all sorts of others and they never seemed bothered by the double dosing. Expensive for sure (it's taken me basically ~650ml of Excel) but definitely worked for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
critter_crazy Posted March 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 My tank is 350l and I used 16 caps full at each water change, basically the major water change number on the bottle for your tank size, and then double it. I was advised to do a 30% water change 3 days after dosing and then to keep doing it until it's gone. It's taken 3 weeks basically for me. If you ever see your fishes at the surface gulping for air do an immediate 50% water change. And if possible make sure you have lots of bubbles in the water. I've got catfish and all sorts of others and they never seemed bothered by the double dosing. Expensive for sure (it's taken me basically ~650ml of Excel) but definitely worked for me! Great will give it a go next week. Hopefully by getting rid of the bulk of it manually it wont take as long. I've got two massive columns of bubbles and usually do two 50% waterchanges a week so hopefully all will go well. Good to hear it's worked for someone :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
critter_crazy Posted March 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2013 Today, after 2 days in the sun I put the lot of driftwood I'd taken out back in the tank - The BBA is still there, took a few hours to fluff up but is now a real pinky purple - assuming this is good? Have taken out the second lot of driftwood and will let that sit in the sun also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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