[jmontee]

Hello all, I have been having a growing problem with what I think is BBA or staghorn algae. I am not sure because I have not been able to get find info on what I see in my tank. I have a high tech tank with a modified EI dosing schedule. My CO2 level is around 30ppm according to my drop checker with 4dkh solution in it. This has slowly been getting worse. I have 3.5wpg for 8 hours a day. All of the plants are growing well. One issue that I have is that I just got some RCS and I have a few amanos in there so I have to be careful with what I put in the tank.

Please see the pics below and any advice will be greatly appreciated:

 

[jmontee]

Water is clear and clean. I am using a Cascade 1000 canister at full bore. There is a lot of water circulation in the tank. I clean the filter every 2 to 4 weeks on this tank. Something very weird is happening though. I dosed to around 10ppm NO3 on Saturday and it seems to be creeping up rioght nowe. I tested this morning and it was around 20ppm. Not sure why this is doing this but I am kind of overun by baby platies right now. I have around 40 to fifty fish in the 55 gallon with about 15 to 20 of them being 1/4 to 1/2 inch platie fry. This may be the problem and I am planning to get rid of most of the platy fry as soon as I have time to catch them.

 

[jmontee]

Aaron,
Phosphates are at around 2 ppm. I think this is OK.

Rich, I have used reference solutions to calibrate all of my test kits. I work in a lab so I was able to make reference solutions and 4dKH solution for the drop checker. The BBA is growing in the high areas of circulation and alot less in areas of decreased circulation. I say modified because I am testing my levels right now until I get the amounts just right. The main problem started when I realized that I was only using half the dose of nitrates recommended by EI and started dosing full strength. This is why I have gone a little leaner, thusly the "modified EI dosing."

Does everyone agree with trimming of all leaves that have BBA? I would have to trim most of my ground cover plants and a lot of leaves on my nana petites and Polygonum Sao Paolo.

 

[jmontee]

Rich, trust me no offenae taken! I've only been doing this for a few months and any and all advice is well received. I just wanted to get a couple of opinions before I dessimated my foreground plants that I planted only a couple of weeks ago!