Budget Non-CO2 Aquascape - BBA Nightmare!

[@Mapantz1]

I'm glad you showed this. Anyone who delves in to planted tanks needs a serious algae outbreak as so much can be learnt from it, particularly if you try to fight it. BBA occurred in my first ever attempt at a hi-tech. That's when I learnt about liquid carbon, I used that, cleaned things, lowered my lighting, changed my injected Co2 programme - after a few weeks, I managed to beat it. It was the perfect learning curve. Good on you George, for showing the tough times that can happen in the aquarium. :-)

[@AmaPeel]

Glad you decided to show this openly and honestly by stating the reasons for it happening in the first place and the solutions as well...long as they maybe. If you just ditched it and started over with the iwagumi, it would have been the easy route and we wouldn't have learned as much. Thanks for taking the time to teach us and show us "failing" is okay and that you can learn from 'mistakes' and that the tank with regular care will recover.

[@dishantdeepak6976]

I got rid of BBA completely. What I did was take a pinsette and whirl them around the plants. Like taking spaghetti on a fork. Takes time but it comes out. Clean the filter, removed the hardscape and hand scrubbed it under running water. Most of the BBA was gone. Post water removal, i filled in with RO water. And then I released 5 Nerite snails and 18 amano shrimps. In 2 days my tank was as good as new! No chemicals whatsoever. Tank size: 60 x 30 x 24 cm.

[@AGENTSIXTY9]

Dishant Deepak lies. True bba doesn’t grow stringy it gets bushy and it attaches Itself really well you wouldn’t be able to twirl it off.

[@maddestruction1]

@@AGENTSIXTY9 It was probably hair algae

[@davidbb1977]

I've had good success just boiling the hard scape for half an hour to remove bba. Definitely an option to try first for anyone worried about using chemicals.

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

Great idea!

[@leoamaya1818]

I now have the same problem again due to lack of maintenance. I’m gonna boil the hard scape this time to see if it’s quicker. I will replace the carbon in the filter & do several water changes in time. Iv simply been adding water to the tank as the level lowers. I have a fluval sealed tank & the top is getting cut off. Aqua scaping is difficult when you have a 6x6 opening at the top. Regardless I enjoy seeing my tank in an immaculate state & making adjustments. Rock on boys & girls 💎💯🙌🏻

[@no-knickers-emma1112]

You only need to put affected stuff into boiling water for 20 seconds, That kills it instantly.

[@kidgrave]

BBA is a nightmare. Many people give up in the hobby due to it. Thanks for this video. It is inspiring to see someone beat BBA. I had to break down my first high-tech tank due to BBA. I had increased Co2 like many would suggest and no results at all. Then one of my low-tech tanks got BBA. I had removed as much build up mulm as possible from the substrate and I covered the rest with sand. BBA disappeared.

[@patmost9982]

Thank you George! This video is right in line with a lot of people who would run a low tech budget scape and very helpful.

[@shngsam8777]

thanks for the video, love the detail explanation I have BBA attack on my tank fairly recent too, and it was a nightmare, they are all over the place, and all over the edge of my plant leaf

[@42paxl]

Hi George...I just put the hard scape in a bucket of boiling water....when I put it back the shrimps and the fish ate all the dead BBA away in a couple of days....good video again....thanks Les...

[@morciego]

I had the same problem a couple of months ago. The BBA was coving the leaves of all my plants. I read that dosing H2O2 will remove the BBA and so that’s what I did. I was not disappointed. In about 5 days the BBA turned a brownish-red color and began to fall apart on its own. Haven’t had a problem ever since. I did also start doing Seachem excel so that probably helped also.

[@somebodyelse9696]

Yes! I know you didn't want to do it this way, but I'm really looking forward to following how this turns out.

[@moduleman93]

You would probably know this, but some stuff I've read on non co2 tanks and bba is that its caused by fluctuating co2 levels. So things like water changes can cause an increase of co2 causing bba. Something people recommended was to do water changes at night, turn your lights off after the water change, or limit water changes. It helped with bba on hardscape in my tank. Just another thing to try in the fight.

[@Ninja8021]

Hey George, great informative video! I had a bad BBA breakout like you shown in that video in my 227L tank, and I found that the "One-Two Punch" method was an extremely effective in eradicating BBA. Afterwards, I upgraded my canister filter to a much larger one. BBA vanished.

[@jaymiller3238]

Thanks for listening to your viewers, George, even though you really wanted to do a new scape. I've had my run-ins with BBA. Hopefully never again, knock on wood. (I dealt with it by gradually increasing my daily dosage of Excel.) It was interesting to see your approach. I never would have been brave enough to bleach my driftwood. Glad to see it can be done. Thanks for your outstanding contributions to our hobby. I watch every video you post.

[@MsLinanator]

I’ve had that on edges of java fern. Major water changes and stopped using ferts. I was feeding too much baby food powder. Learning always.

[@deannesherriff3247]

Hi, I recently had an outbreak of this, it was on my dwarf Sagittarius. I discussed it with my lfs and he loaned me two flying foxes, its a much bigger tank than this one. I also dosed easy carbo for a fortnight, just into the water column, not locally. It’s worked fine and the fish are ready to be returned now - once I can catch them!

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

Good luck catching them!

[@thomkennan7118]

Assuming you complete the task, by using a liquid carbon and syringe, to eradicate any remaining BBA, as you pointed out, you should be ok. Based on my experience, ALL traces must be dealt with to prevent a return. Keep us posted. Great videos and thanks for sharing.

[@dan_cupra]

Great video George, as usual ! :) Looking forward for an update later on !

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

Thanks Dan 👍

[@thunderousshore6968]

It might also help if you put some floating plants like water lettuce or frogbit to consume all the extra light and nutrients.

[@jonwebb5241]

Very helpful and honest. Will save as a guide. Probably some will return, but be outdone by the flora and fauna.

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

Thanks Jon 🙏

[@42paxl]

Hi George, thanks for the ‘ like ‘.....at the moment I have no BBA...when I did see it making an appearance I would attack it with a dose of sea hem flourish..through a syringe....and the shrimps would eat straight away!....but since I’ve added, ‘water lettuce ‘..floating plant...to all my tanks the BBA has not returned...some algae still appears on the glass but it lacks strength and one can wipe it away with a finger, I believe the water lettuce competes by absorbing the nitrates....needs to be kept in check though as it will spread very fast, and needs to be discarded and allowed to die in the bin or garden....hope us find this comment helpful...Les

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

Thanks Les, I may well try some floating plants. Great idea!

[@42paxl]

Thanks for replying...as a foot note...my tanks all have ...Star Grass...growing in them too...maybe worth an experiment or two..

[@FXOptions007]

Nice Job George, this is something that every aquarist runs into sooner or later. I always enjoy your videos! Thanks!

[@marcinp9769]

Thank you George for another awesome video! Also what I noticed is if you put roots of a pothos plant inside the aquarium, the aquarium would have virtually no algae.. I guess aquarium would be in equilibrium 😉

[@arachnophilegrrl]

I know this wasn't your favorite way to go but thank you so much for doing it. I would be too discouraged to start over so it means a lot to see how it's done!

[@Ongsansoy]

I first encountered BBA on my 5th year into the aquarium hobby... Didn't know how to treat it and so I did what I usually do with algae. Hydrogen peroxide... But spot treatment doesn't work for me with BBA. It needs a more concentrated dose. So I lower the water level exposing BBA because they occupy top parts of the hard Scape, there was enough water level for the fish. Then I sprayed Hydrogen Peroxide all over it. Waited for a few minutes then filled the aquarium with water. After a few days the BBa turned pink and the shrimps ate it. One thing with this technique, don't leave the hydrogen peroxide too long specially if you also sprayed your plans with it. It can kill plants even the hardiest ones like Anubiases... But usually if the agae isn't that bad I leave it alone and just make sure plans are healthy, it'll go away or get eaten...

[@usmankola2111]

Great video George, Could you make a video on green/blue slime algae? Cheers

[@ErickWhite-Gronok]

Just found your channel and I have been enjoying what I am seeing. I currently have a 20 gallon tank, and I have picked up a similar substrate and put in several plants that I could pick up at my local pet store. I have found a couple species that you've put into your budget tank that I need to see if I can find someplace in the USA. Need to find some scissors and tweezers like you have as well, but I digress. I don't have much money and despite my education and training, life have made it where I live barely within my current means. This all means your budget tank planted build caught my eye and I've been looking over your video's and subscribed. I am a researcher (Happens when you spend so much time in college and/or teaching students) and I've red that shrimp are really susceptible to problems due to the fertilizer, and I've seen that you've mentioned multiple times this is the best way to combat algae. I am currently looking into getting a few more plants (No rocks or wood currently in my build as was concerned about any PH variants or whatnot from adding in 'mystery rocks.') I have a Betta, five little monsters that I won't purchase again (Panda or Dawn Tetra's) Ghost Shrimp, and a black khuli loach. I see you have the cherry shrimp and an Amano, and you said they are breeding well as well in the tank. With this information, from your experience, I was wondering how you deal with the susceptibility of the fertilizer to the shrimp, or if their is a specific one you would recommend to keep from hurting my little clean up crew. (My understanding is both the shrimp and the loach is susceptible to fertilizers and medicines.) Is there any other biological algae eater that you could recommend that wouldn't hurt the shrimp and help control this issue as well? I know you've said that you get a LOT of questions about this. I think I have some algae on my banana plant leaves that has been growing in a smaller filtration free tank with my beta for a couple years and I finally got into a position to put back up a better set up. So, I suppose what I am asking is any extra advice with this kind of set up? I have some Anubis (not right spelling I know) and some unknown plants as well as a Paraguayan "invasive species" of plant in the tank, but nothing was labeled. More research. I like some of the species you put in there, and I was thinking about some cherry red's and whatnot. Just curious about the questions about the fertilizer with the crustations, and other live items while combating the algae before it starts off of anything but that banana plant with former live light and... all that. Anything you could share, I would be greatly appreciative.

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

Hi Erick, thanks for the feedback! It’s a common myth that liquid fertilisers are bad for shrimp. In the quantities we dose they are perfectly safe. I overdose all of my tanks and the shrimp breed like crazy.

[@ErickWhite-Gronok]

Okay. I have read it lots of places about the fertilizers and as I said, I've grown attached to the ghost shrimp and really wanna look into an amano or two and some cherry reds, possibly to work with them. I know the ghost shrimp get along with the five Panda Tetra's (Viscious little monsters) and the Betta and black Khuli loach are all fine. I wanted to add more, but I needed to make sure everything is safe. I love plants (aquatic and otherwise) but also love my little guys and wanna make sure I can give both what they really need to thrive. So, I should go with the fertilizers you mentioned on the other video's? Just covering bases. Thanks very much for the video's and the updates on stuff. One additional question, I thought I saw a Siamese algae eater in your tank. That play nice with the shrimp too?

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

Hi Erick, the fish was a dwarf chain loach. Shrimp are usually fine when there’s plenty of hiding places and the fish are well fed.

[@yvespoirier1949]

I was told to configure my lighting in two periods of four hours or less, separated by at least three hours, to prevent algae growth in a tank. Something to do with the photosynthesis of algae needing a five hour window of light to contribute to growth. Could this help kill off the issue?

[@ultimatefishkeeping]

Hi George. I enjoyed this video on maintenance. Very well done. thank you for sharing. I gave it a like. Keep up the good work.

[@cannondale97]

Very good n informative video. Instead of using liquid carbon to spot kill the BBA, you could also use Hydrogen Peroxide. You could do it in the tank or remove the equipments or hardscapes n use a syringe to drench the hardscape with peroxide. Leave it for a couple of minutes, wash n scrub off the BBA. Hope you'll do an update on the progress.

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

Thanks!

[@ThePlantedTankTV]

I agree with what everyone else is saying. I would also like to see a "finished" product and then the iwagumi! lol

[@johnuy1822]

Hi George. If the BBA is located in the bottom parts of the plants, what should be the best way? Should i trim the plant first, remove the parts with BbA (with roots) and replant the the trimmed plants free from BBA? Thats my problem right now 😞 Makes me want to do a soft rescape

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

Yes, sounds like a good idea 💡

[@Njwobrien]

I'm currently working on a 1 week black out, I'll try excel afterwards. Good video.

[@lukasvanpiggelen8149]

It's great that you make videos like this so that everybody can see that you also can make mistakes like everyone who own's aquarium's. Great video.

[@J1a9m8e3ss]

Iwagumi layout !! After you shown how to get rid of the BBA ! 👌🏻👍🏻

[@dimplepwr85]

Thanks for sticking with it George and not rescaping the tank! It's great to see how you address the algae and I can't wait for an update on how your technique works out!

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

Thanks Kyle 👍

[@hmdileep06]

Because of One month vacation my thriving planted aquarium turned into full of BBA. I used hydrogen peroxide i think i put too much which not only killed the BBA , it also killed other healthy plants. Now manually removed by brushing all the Hardscape and maintaining it well with regular water changes. I also added two apple snails and 2 bubble molly fishes they are eating all remaining BBA. i am observing new growth in plants. looks like it takes long time to recover where it was two months ago. Your video is very helpful... thank you.

[@connornewkirk2887]

Some useful info and techniques!! I'm currently dealing with some BBA on my Bogwood, so i'll give this a go.

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

Good luck Connor ! 👍

[@M0DQO-BeachMobileDx]

Certainly quite gungho with your tank cleaning.. I feel like I am too careful and am scared that I'm going to damage something! Think I'll take a leave out of your book George! Anyway, hope the school children have enjoy this as much as I have! Please keep us update on progress and am sure if its kept maintained you will beat it! Thanks again for the inspiration and keep on scaping!

[@MonkeyGus]

Really enjoying this budget non-CO2 series as i am doing experimental non-CO2 aquariums too at the moment, 2 1/2 weeks and only a bit of diatoms and small amount of filamentous algae. :)

[@larrydsAquatics]

Just had bba in my 75 gallon tank stripped the whole thing and started over, but used the substrate I had it tank...

[@Deathorizer]

is that safe to do? i want to upgrade to a bigger tank but i'm scared that i carry over some of my Staghorn algae. Also what about my old fish, can i take them into my new tank safely?

[@GM-zn3ww]

I soaked my drift wood (tiger claw) and dragon rocks in bleachy water for a while last night follow a BBA outbreak. I soaked them all in tap water, and Tetra aqua safe plus, but I'm concerned there will be liquid bleach lurking in the wood or deep in the stone. I gave my Betta girls some old plastic decorations and oddball rocks to hide in until I'm confident with the bleach being dried up/neutralized. Am I being a nervous Ned, or is it a good idea to dry everything out/let it gas off?

[@chrismeredith5605]

Really informative video George. You've got quite the talent; Fantastic looking tanks!

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

Thanks Chris 👍

[@robby260]

Great video, very informative. But I was wandering when you put the hardscape in the bucket you dipped your hands in the bleach water then put them back in the aquarium. Will that not harm the inhabitants?

[@mormsbie2227]

Wonderfully informative, looking forward to more. Thanks George!

[@StanTheObserver-lo8rx]

A single albino Ancistrus takes care of that. Funny George that Rachel O Leary likes the look of a dark mossy driftwood. Doesnt bother me either. I get it here and there...then the Pleco finds it...and scrapes it clean. There are times I wish I hadn't added Pleco's and Ancistrus..since I do get green algae covered wood. Sunlight on a tank will do that. Without a doubt..there is a range of algae from pleasant to horrid- the hard stuff that will cover Acrylic like a spotted green stain-get out the credit card scraper-lol. That last my tank cycled past as I added more plants. Thank God!

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

Cheers Stan! Great points

[@jimmarch5457]

Very helpful George, great video and great practical actionable information

[@AyeeBroTV]

Hey George I just bought a used 20lb co2 tank for $20 bucks with refill it was $40 pretty good deal huh. You should do a series on how to save money on good equipment setups 😊

[@Loricarii]

BBA is my biggest aquarium enemy. I get it in all of my bigger tanks all of the time. My own experience for this thriving and always coming back is that I'm a bit lazy. The water parameters are absolutely fine, for the fish! Nothing toxic or so for them. But I would need to do water changes more often and also from time to time a bit bigger. Then the BBA would have a difficult time finding "food". I also get a lot of fry and babies in my tanks and then I have to overfeed so they can find food. As I said before: that would be absolutely ok if I then removed the excess with waterchange.

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

Water changes should help. 👍

[@2KXMKR]

Great job, George. BBA is a nightmare. It's always come back for me in the past but a two hour lights out period seems to have stopped it from growing back. It still sprouts on older leaves but never grows out. The shrimp are going to love that dead algae. I found a single infant cherry in my tank today! His parents are the only two survivors of the Betta massacre that occurred the very night I put the Betta in my shrimp tank. They now live in my 240 community. I'm hoping to see more. I love cherry shrimp. Do you know why stem plants shed their lower leaves? Mine only have leaves on their top quarter now and look horrible. I think I'll chop them back and re-plant them. Hopefully they will root. I'm thinking my lights aren't very good and I did realize today that I was over-dosing on ferts. Whoops!

[@jreustle76]

Little shrimp are like thanks for killing this algae, dad - it's delicious!

[@TheNickDAcool]

Great video George. I would like to ask you something different. Since my tank is running with a fish inside ( channa striata) i decided to put some plants inside. So i have lots of plants now but i have and java moss and a type of vallenseria which i cant remember. I cant use liquid carbon cause it will damage vale and moss probably and neither take off all the hardware for obvious reasons( :) ) I use 2 T5 juwel lights and they work everyday for 7 hours. All my plants are for low tech lighting and without CO2

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

What’s the question ?

[@TheNickDAcool]

Can i use liquid CO2 like excel in my tank to destory BBA when i have moss and vale? Thanks for answering George

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

You could spot dose the BBA whilst it’s exposed to the air during a large water change

[@Ballacha]

you can't have both high light/long lighting period AND low CO2. that's a recipe for algae explosion. if you want to keep your tank low tech and without CO2, cut the lighting intensity and/or period in half and start doing blackouts one or two days a week. i've kept a 70L and a 220L for almost two years, both of which had their CO2 switched off 10 months ago. since i started doing what i just said more than half a year ago, i've had zero issue with algae whatsoever.

[@dannyverboekend5517]

Hey there George! Nice channel, nice video! I would welcome more non-CO2 stuff! Regarding the BBA: I have to agree with Terry: the lighting appears very intense (like with most LED's nowadays). I also switched my bright LED set-up to non-CO2 (after getting tired of the hassle) with the result of a BBA algae bloom. I also noticed like George that the pearling continued without CO2, particularly after a water change. What worked for me: after cutting back the light time (from 8h to 5h) and intensity from 100% to 15% (using a dimmer) the growth of algea stopped (running at 1/4 of the EI-index fertilizer values). Now 6 month BBA-free. Note: also pearling after a water change stopped to occur. Hence my suggestion would be to try to reduce light intensity from the LED bar. Would that be an option, George?

[@noraa1]

Mine went away after a few weeks after I set up the tank and then I just had normal green algae I just did normal cleanings and water changes from my research the brown algae is just dormant in normal tap water and then when it’s in a tank it feeds on stuff that is high in a new tank and then once that is gone it dies off

[@newmexicoaquatics282]

Thank you for sharing George. Very informative!

[@adstertheshadowminer6806]

Is that Monte Carlo at the front carpet? If so do you think I'll be able to grow it in a 20L without co2

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

Possible but not easy

[@TheXternalHunter]

Hey G, nice vids. Any idea why leaf edges and brown spots would appear on leaves? Trying to water change loads and cutting off bad leaves but not seeming to go away - 22l cube tank im dosing fert’s and Amazonia soil, 5 hours lighting 14w but CO2 doesn’t seem to change indicator recently despite being blasted by return pump. Substrate dust seems disturbed at times as small tank but not sure if it’s algae or leaf burn. Thanks

[@chrisz928]

i got a little BBA problem, too. It caused by some co2 and fertilize problems. i believe i solved this, do i have to remove it anyways or will it go away now, if ive done it right?

[@jenthulhu]

Amano Shrimp would help a lot with that BBA!

[@thunderousshore6968]

That’s exactly how I was, I built a nice new planted bowl, and within 1 week all my plants and rocks were completely covered. I cut down my light cycle and put some snails and otocinclus in it, so I’m hoping it will eventual be destroyed.

[@thunderousshore6968]

@Jason Bourne so far, it's doing great. I put some mystery snails, ghost shrimp, and otocinclus to get rid of the algae and they keep everything looking pretty good. I do have to do maintenance every week, but that's normal most aquariums

[@Deathorizer]

Thanks for this video. I've got a really bad Staghorn outbreak in my tank and will try to safe it instead of tearing it all down. Another idea that i had is to use this to upgrade my 70l to a 180l tank. The Staghorn is mostly on my plants. Is it save to reuse the substrate for my new aquarum or should I clean it first to not carry over algae? Also what about my fish, are they save to take into my new tank?

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

I’d reuse the old substrate as it’ll have a lot of beneficial bacteria. Focus on healthy plant growth - loads of fast growing plants and keep them well maintained 👍

[@acsal3283]

Hi George. I have always turn my filter off while i clean the glass. I see you didnt turn it off. so my question is, is it safe for me to leave my filter on and not worry about it getting dirty during tank cleaning?

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

Change lots of water straight afterwards

[@acsal3283]

Thanks George!

[@raimondogomes6407]

Loved the video George good incite on how to maintain explaining step bij step ive learned some more today many tnx 😊👌👌👍aside that today ive cleaned my exstern eheim filter the spunges with same water did some water change 20% and its running well fish are wery healthy as far as i can see and wery low algee its a non CO2 74l tank

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

Sounds great Raimondo! 👍

[@ajd1978ajd]

Hey there George, Love all your videos. They are so instructional and helpful. Really appreciate the work you put in to educate us mate!! One question though: When u soak the wood in the chlorine solution and rinse later, are u not afraid that some of the chlorinated solution may be absorbed by the driftwood and then leach out into your aquarium later, thereby affecting your livestock? Just wondering. Obviously that isn't an issue with the rocks so the "bleaching" would work well there. Thanks and keep em' vids coming. Cheers!!

[@rgilroy1909]

GF - I know this is from 2018 - -but please come to the east coast of the USA - Boston, NY area (summer of 2022?). you can film and fix my tanks - I'll take you to a few shops - what do ya say?

[@Zingo89]

I hate BBA, I had it in the past and it just took over. I noticed I started to get a bit on my anubias in my new tank so I panic ofc, I watched a lot of youtube vids on how to treat BBA and I keept hearing ppl talk about hydrogen peroxide over and over again, after a few weeks I gave in and bought 3% hydrogen peroxide, I drained the water down, exposed plants/hardscape, gave it a spray, waited 2.5mins, filled up the tank again and 1 week later my big majestic anubias had all started melting :'( TLDR; I do NOT recommend using hydrogen peroxide on BBA if u have planted tank.

[@calvinbasilio9331]

Hey George does it matter what type of bleach you use? I’ve got white king at home, it says it’s hospital grade disinfectant. Also love the video! I could tell that cleaning was such a chore for you haha, keen to see more videos like this!

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

Any thin unfragrenced bleach should be fine

[@jeffreykuijper538]

Hey George, Great video! I have just started my first aquascape in a juwel rio180. I've changed the internelfilter Eccoflow 600 for a Eccoflow 1000. Do you think this flow will be enough to keep the algae away? The scape is a couple of days old now and on the spiderwood is some kind of white fungus buildin up. Can this harm? I am looking forward to your next video's! Cheers from Holland!

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

White fungus is normal. Scrub it off and it shouldn’t come back. Sounds like good flow. This will help

[@andrewlipic8414]

Awesome video, super informative! There was a jump after everytime you grabbed something from the tank. I assume it was because you were rinsing your glove after immersing it in the bleach solution everytime you put something in the bucket?

[@jmacd98]

Looks cracking! I hate BBA more than any other algae. Great video

[@Humakt83]

I kind of like the look of that tree with BBA.

[@moduleman93]

When reducing organics for BBA in a tank with aquasoil do you distrub the substrate to remove stuff like fish poop? Or is a weekly water change with plant / filter maintenance enough?

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

If you can remove as much organics as possible and follow up with a large water change I think that’s helpful

[@gedheaton1415]

As others have said below very helpful to newbies like me that would probably not knowing wtf to do,jack the hobby in.Awesome vid,I also like that you dont treat the tank(livestock aside) with kid gloves, Cheers George,I seem to be "Binge watching" your channel atm,

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

Thanks Ed!

[@johnkelly2902]

would running a UV filter for a couple of weeks help with this George?

[@neonice]

Weirdly I never had am algae problem and I have three heavily planted tanks. Maybe it's because I'm so crazy about having them always look their best and doing water changes twice a week might be overkill lol.

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

Great job 👍

[@eroggero]

Coming from salt water and thinking of doing a planted fresh water, do you use RO Water for top off and water changes ?

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

I use tap (hard) water Top off is usually done at the same time as a 50% water change every week.

[@xisotopex]

interesting. just getting bba in a brand new heavily planted tank with no livestock. using a aqua soil I have never used before... thinking that is the culprit. lets see if I can kill it before it kills all my new little expensive plants.

[@MusingsFromTheDen]

This was very useful, I've added the video to my aquarium maintenance playlist. 😊

[@mrzebra9124]

Do a 7 days blackout!!! It worked for me😁😁😁😁😀😀😀

[@princemypc1]

Hey George, I'm new to aquarium forget about aquascaping, I was wondering if you had a CO2 setup you could have avoided BBA nightmare?

[@davidmcgahan5021]

battle the problem. save the scape. i"m in the middle of doing that with my 75 gal.

[@hirwanasgal2556]

Sir I love to do it by my self but would you share how to quick start ..basic.or share the video you had..low budget non co2..please tq

[@fishiontanktics9356]

The bucket in which the rocks went in had bleach in it, did it not? Sure looked like the gloves went in the bleach water and back in the aquarium. Big risk.

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

Yes, genuine mistake that I realised afterwards! Thankfully no apparent harm done - all livestock fine. Thanks for noticing and pointing out. I’ll let folk know in the next update video. 👍

[@tomspotley5733]

Hi George, would you usually reduce the intensity of the lights after removing so much plant mass? Cheers Keith

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

Not usually, but it’s not a bad idea.

[@3runinsweden]

Great vid George! It’s nice to see a stunning non-CO2 tank, planning to set up a freshwater next to my saltwater in my tiny college dorm soon :) greetings from Sweden!

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

Thanks ! 🙏

[@stevewarlow]

Hi George. Only just viewed this vid from your now extensive list. Do you still subscribe to cleaning bba from wood using a bleach mix? Just asking as it’s a consideration for me and seeing lots of views for and against. Cheers

[@paesanng]

When you say water change, do you refill the tank with just tap water or dechlorinated tap water?

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

Dechlorinated tap usually

[@WWylie91]

Great video George!

[@kingprawno]

Hi, I’m a total noob to the hobby and am dreading this happening to my 20ltr aquarium (although now at least I know how to combat it - thanks, George). I’m no scientist but surely BBA is introduced and then thrives in a tank - it doesn’t just materialise out of nowhere? Any ideas how it got in there is the first place? Great vid, George - looking forward to seeing an update soon :)

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

No idea how it originates! It’s evil 😂

[@fisharefriends598]

I don’t even see a problem, George farmer is a total perfectionist, single blade facing the wrong way ... Noooooo This is why his tanks are so stunning

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

😂

[@robbierobb6905]

What advice could you give if your aquarium is facing natural light?

[@drunkenmaster9522]

Forgot to ad. Direct sunlight is main cause of bba

[@BaadMotorFinger]

If that were the case, every natural body of water would be full of bba, which it isn't.

[@bigbadelectriccow2010]

i am glad you show the planted hobby how it is. algae, be it different green algae, bba, cyano (not really an algae i know!), diatoms are an integral part of the fish keeping hobby and IMHO you cannot call yourself an experienced aquarist if you have not successfully fought each one of them ( in all the fairness you never stop fighting!)

[@vulcano9200]

Someone told me, after i made something like that with bleach, that i was insane cause the residue of that stuff would increase immensely the PH of the water. Turns out that they were right...i tried to reduce the PHs water changing the water several times or adding products to reduce it but non of those worked...finely i had to trow away all the landscape components and buy or find new ones.

[@tvaliulis]

George, regarding sponge have you tried "Melamine Sponge"?

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

No. Never heard of it 😊

[@Luke-J]

Good decision to battle the BBA war, as you say you will always win in the end with regular maintenance and a cheeky bit of 'liquid carbon' here and there. You could nick a few amano shrimp from another tank to help. I always find it hard to get the hard scape back as it was after removing it, it always seems to 'settle' after being moved and its impossible to put it back in exactly the same place.

[@kimberlykitzmiller5042]

I use bleach to get rid of bad bba algae myself. From what I've read and been told, bleach should never come directly in contact with the tank. Did I see you put your hand into the bleach water and then directly back in the tank to grab another piece of hardscape? I honestly had a moment of panic ... sure all your fish were about to drop dead. How did that not cause harm to the fish and shrimp?

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

It was an accident but thankfully all livestock are fine 24hrs after the event. The bleach was diluted 10:1 and there was only a small residual amount on the glove. I also did 2x large water changes post event. 👍

[@kimberlykitzmiller5042]

Glad to hear all is well! Shew...

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

Thanks Kimberly 😊

[@tamarothA]

Sorry, did you really dip your gloved hand into the bleach mixture (while putting the hardscape there) and then right to the aquarium?? Won't that contaminate your tank with chlorine?

[@amenrx1]

You mentioned fertilizer as part of the maintenance routine, can you please tell us what type of ferts a non co2 tank would need,no need to elaborate. thanks!

[@rifraf6135]

Liquid co2, root tabs, liquid carbon.

[@agathish]

Is there an update video to this?

[@bhillson]

Are they green neons? How do they get on with the shrimp

[@GeorgeFarmerStudios]

Yes, fine 👍

[@matthewsmith22]

Great stuff as usual George, how did you manage to get it looking so good so quickly! Purely anecdotal from me but I've always experienced bba when there has been issues with flow in my tank