My Main Display Tank

BGA (blue green algae) and Cyanobacteria is the same thing.

 

Oh... Ok then... Sorry.

I had some in one of my breeding tanks... Apple Snails work wonders on it.

 

I have been thinking of getting an apple snail or two, but not for this purpose, mostly just to see if it will take care of any dead plant material that I may miss when doing tank maintenance. But if they eat BGA I'd be happy. Actually, this does surprise me a little, as BGA is not actually a plant/algae, but photosynthesizing bacteria.

 

Since adding the apple snails to some of my breeding tanks, I don't have too many issues with algae. Except Thread Algae. But that's fine. The fry find food in that stuff, so I leave it until it gets too much and then I remove most of it.

 

So how quickly do they multiply? How many would you say I can add to my 300L without causing a major snail explosion? Remember, I also have clown loaches in this tank. They will leave the bigger apple snails alone, but I think they will probably ensure no others make it to the adult stage!

 

these snails, they the ones with the "golden" shells? (i keep thinking they're red, like a red apple?)

 

Apple snails are the golden colour snails. I have never seen them get rid of BGA though.....believe me I tried but they had no effect.

 

Strange...

I only had 1 in my main tank, but he grew to the size of an apple!! He was massive. Also have a few rams horns which I hate!!

 

@ferryman - have you seen "golden" apples?

Perhaps we can get this back on track. Do we still agree the picture is BGA on the sessiliflora and if it is, then why would double dosing erythromycin not kill it? This is driving me nuts...

That's what I thought. BGA isn't algae - so why would they eat it?

 

Have you increased the current in your tank Laure? This has also worked for my BGA. Aim a powerhead directly at the spot where it is the worst. I can almost guarantee you, it will go away. This, along with snails, has worked wonders for me.

 

I have a spraybar from my cannister on the one end of the tak, about 5cm below the surface with the holes facing 45 degrees up. This creates resonable surface turbulance and a nice swirling current ON THAT SIDE of the tank. Obviously water flows to the other end where the filter intake is, but the current is not that strong.

So what I did was add a powerhead 5cm below to the surface on the back wall on the side of the tank near the filter intake. This blows directly onto the front wall, creating a circular current and the end result is all the plants are gently moving in the current. There is now quite a bit of flow throughout the entire tank.

Because there is now more surface aggitation, without causing air bubbles, etc. like a waterfall type filter return, I think I will get more O2 in the tank, which will help curtail BGA growth. I have obviously also increased water flow. I am still going to get an additional external cannister. Hopefully by next week sometime.

I did this over the weekend. To be really honest, I don't have lots of BGA (cyanobacteria). I only have a little bit here and there and it doesn't appear to be spreading either. I just want to be sure I correct the root cause so I don't get any major infection. So let's see how they respond this week to the increased flow in the tank.

My question regarding BGA when you aim a powerhead at it: does it actually go away or do you end up blowing little pieces all over the tank and you just thought it went away because of water current? Just a thought...

 

I don't know Laure... It's a conundrum. But the tanks that had the stuff are completely cleared of it. It has never returned. Initially it covered any surface that didn't have plant growth, like my caves, pots and substrate. But since the water flow was slightly stronger, and an apple snail added, it has never come back. I can't explain it.

I realize that upping the flow could spread it around, but as I said, it hasn't come back.

Personally, my tank has water movement in all directions. 2 x Cannister Filters. 1x 1000l/h filter and a cascade 1500. On top of that, there is a 700l/h Powerhead directed at the gravel in the front. (I intend to try a glosso carpet and I am experimenting with a few things. Since the flow increased, no more algae. Except on the glass. But that's just the dust algae.

 

I fully agree a lot of algae problems are caused by low flow and under filtration. That is why I am doubling up on my cannisters. I think it is related to nutrient transport on the one hand, but in nature you will also typically see algae in slow moving, stagnant water. I also think BGA likes water with low O2, so by increasing surface turbulance I can get more O2 in the water.

I originally increased my lights to drive plant growth more so that I can saturate the water with O2, as I thought this would be beneficial to the fish.

Basically right now I am attacking it the way you did - add more water flow and hopefully it results in more O2. So let's see what will happen by the end of the week.

I think I may try a 3-day blackout next week just to kill whatever is in there. I have also ordered Prof Dirk's anti-algae specifically formulated for BGA, which he said has been very successful in his experience. So I can use that in the future if needed.

Also think I might be off to the LFS later this week to get some Apple snails

 

Pterophyllum Scalare arrived

Hi all

Just a quick update. I finally received the 8 Pterophyllum Scalare fish I ordered from Prof Dirk. During this hectic time in his schedule, he managed to help me out by catching the fish, packing it nicely and sending them off to PE. I am very grateful for the way he manages to go out of his way to assist fellow hobbyists.

So here are the 8 fish in their bags, as they arrived.



Here they are while acclimating to my tank water. I followed a process prescibed by Prof Dirk.





And finally, released in my main tank. They are actually much bigger than I expected!





I hope they will be happy in this tank! I will try to get some better pictures at a later stage, but I didn't have much time tonight to sit and play with the camera. I would rather just sit and enjoy the fish!

Regards
L

 

Very nice .. they look so healthy and relaxed ..

 

Awesome, Just Awesome

 

Hi Laure,

Firstly I must apologize, because I have missed this thread completely, and have not seen all the progress that you have made. It is really a pleasure for me to see how all the plants that you have purchased from me have grown and now to see that the angels seem to be happy.

As you know, I formulated my drops for a low tech system, in other words for an aquarium in which one keeps fishes but in which one also wants to keep plants. It is quite obvious, that with your setup we are not dealing with a low tech setup anymore. Your higher lighting induces better growth as a result of which your plants will actually need more nutrients and it may be that your algae problems are related to this.

With this in mind, I am at the moment starting with the development of a new generation of Dirk's drops. What I am working at is to formulate ferts for what I would call a medium tech setup, which is with higher lighting and more plants but without CO2 and then I want to formulate additional ferts for a high tech CO2 ferts system which will require additional carbonate hardness to cope with the effects of CO2 on the pH. Your tank would conform to what I would call a medium tech setup and what I should do is to send you an experimental batch of the ferts which will be aimed at adding more nitrate (N), additional Potassium (which is already in Dirk's drops in significant amounts) and a smaller amount of phosphate (P). I am formulating this mix based on the estimative index (EI) method. Perhaps I should send you some of my experimental additional NPK mix for you to experiment with. I would be interested if we could get your algae problem under control in this way.

I will be in touch my PM, but I am really impressed with your progress, your tank is looking great and really setting an example to all of us.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

Dirk's Drops, now with added Techron, nanobots and extra veggiemite
see also Dirk's Drops Original, Dirk's Drops Tech I and Dirk's Drops Tech II

 

Dirk's Drops no Smoke.... Err Algae

 

Fish look awesome ... congrads ..