Hi folks,
I’ve been running my upflow algae scrubber for about six months now. The thing has really dropped the nitrates level in my tank (usually .05 ppm even after about 10 days between a water changes). The problem is that anything that is near the scrubber also has been growing Blackbeard algae.
The algae is on the rocks now. It’s also on the plants. I’ve been bleaching the plants but it’s not a really good solution because it harms them and the algae eventually grows back. Now, I’m thinking of taking the rocks out and soaking them in pure hydrogen peroxide while I clean the tank, but I suspect the BBA will return as long as I’m running the scrubber.
I’ve read about people taking everything out of their tank (including the fish) and bleaching the whole tank. Problem I see is that I can’t bleach the filter sponges. I can’t bleach the scrubber. It would kill the biological filter and algae.
It’s a 20 gallon tank.
Light –
The overhead plant bulb I’m using is - 150W Equivalent Daylight (6500K) Spiral CFL Light Bulb. Model number Feit - ESL40TN/D
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Feit-Elec...TN-D/203252142
Algae scrubber bulb Philips - 100W Equivalent Soft White (2700K) T2 Spiral CFL Light Bulb. Actual wattage is 13watts. Model # 434738.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Philips-1...4738/202827179
I’m dosing the tank with Seachem Flourish excel. Less than a quarter of a cap daily. One cap during a major water change.
Air pump - Aqua Culture: 20-60 Gallon, Double Outlet Aquarium Air Pump
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Aqua-Cult...-Pets/10532634
Probably running the scrubber from around 3pm – 10 pm. It goes off at night because of the noise of the pump keeping people up.
The algae on the edge of the scrubber is black. However, the algae in the middle of the scrubber is green. I used to brush the scrubber clean but now I just scrape both sides with a credit card and rinse it with a sprayer. I do it about every 10 days.
So basically I’m at a loss on what to do here. The plants slowly get the BBA and now the rocks have it. The stuff is evil. Is it being caused by the algae scrubber? Is there something I’m doing incorrectly? Does the scrubber need to be encased in plastic container? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Here is a link to what the scrubber looks like and the algae:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3...Ho3RlZlbmQ2TkE
Thanks!