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Sorry about the dramatic title but I think this topic deserves something monumental as it has and continues to be a persistent pain in the neck for aquarists of all skill levels. Let’s face it, BBA is a tough algae to get rid of once it settles in. This thread is dedicated to its eradication by showing real life treatments and their effects. The hope is that we, collectively, arrive at a process that works.

This is important because there is just SO MUCH bad information out there. It’s inconsistent and all over the place. It is based on what someone heard or read but not on first hand experience.

For example, I just saw a BBA help question posed in one of the Facebook groups. Within 4 hours, there were 85 comments. People suggesting everything under the sun. Here is a sampling:

• reducing phosphates
• Ottos and amano shrimp
• Siamese Algae Eaters (SAE)
• American Flag Fish
• Hydrogen peroxide
• The One Two Punch
• Algae Fix

And I could continue the list. It’s funny and sad at the same time. Such is a Facebook group. Try to find the diamond in the rough. Not easy for anyone.

So, with this background in mind, I present to you the present state of my aquarium on the left. BBA has taken over and is now firmly entrenched on the plants, the AquaSoil, the circulation pump and even on the internal UV filter in the back. You can just make out on the lower left that it is now also growing as a lawn on the AquaSoil.

Let’s not get lost looking backwards, although some background as to how we got here is important and helpful. The tank was neglected for about two months. It’s an automated tank but the CO2 ran out and the light and fertilizer stayed the same.

Format​

This post is in the form of an article. This means that I will be able to take good discussions from posts below and update the article with them as needed. Feel free to let me know if you feel something from the article merits changing.

Background on BBA - what we know to be true​

To be continued…

@Sb1415 Apologies I totally snagged the format of your journal post for this so thank you!

Many moons ago I was an active and contributing member on plantedtank.net, I think at one point I had around 14 scaped tanks going before burnout and life changes. Instead of weekends consisting of maintenance I transitioned to camping/boating and life has been great. I’ve always missed it. After downsizing and making a move to a new home I kept only a small 12x12 cube tank that started life as an amateur iwagumi layout, Seiryu and hairgrass only. I put it on the nightstand beside my bed and added some of my favorite Anubias and crypts from taken down tanks. Its been sitting there running for 5-6 years now, low light, top offs only w tap. Maintenance when it got out of control. Super old aquasoil now flattened out to a thick 4-5 inch thick layer in a perfect line front to back.

In Aug/Sept 25 had a bit of a health issue that kept me in bed for several weeks recovering while I looked at this sad little cube, mostly healthy but not truly thriving. No fertilizer being added for years, GDA covered anubias leaves that also were many years old and I thought to myself I should make this better… that was the tipping point. OK I’ll do a deep clean on the substrate, get some stems to throw in there, maybe get a carpet going. Tissue cultures/stems ordered and I got to work. No more top offs, 10% water changes instead. TDS ~900 when I started. Ultimately everything melted back and didn’t grow well. I’d been keeping the lighting so dim all these years to maintain just the crypts/epiphytes without it turning into a mess and I was ok with it again. That was the spark.



I decided I wanted to build out a new tank, most of my old hardware/tanks I had let go of in a bulk way so I was going to have to start new with everything sans some 5 gallon buckets of Amazonia that I’d placed in the basement of the new house.. Phoenix rising from the ashes? Most likely more like algae emerging from the depths. I still consider myself a beginner and maybe amateur at best so yeah…

So I got to work again reading, researching, what’s new, what has changed since I’ve been out of the loop for so long? Ooo dark start that sounds much better, in line CO2 diffusers cool! CO2 reactors, pretty awesome sounding, 2Hr aquarist read every article, and I’m back in baby!

Tank inspiration

None really hence no name, it fit right into a slot to occupy my mind from a not so great situation that I was in and I’m ok with that. Ultimately I’d like this to be a low-mid energy tank that can have minimal amounts of weekly maintenance while still looking the part. I’d prefer to keep it as simple as possible while still having some high tech bits. Get all the equipment out of the tank, co2, low-mid level lighting, minimal/simple fertilization. I got busy ordering equipment and started brainstorming layouts and what hardscape materials I could find. Instagram was my friend for a while, seems that everything that kept grabbing my attention were island style layouts with a very thin layer of sand surrounding. I’ve also always been partial to big chonky pieces of driftwood, I thought to go the manzanita route but wysiwyg pieces were fetching stupid prices. I ran across this ironwood in a listing and couldn’t let it go. The deep lines in the bark were just calling me so I quick snap ordered it before my brain could process dimensions, I knew it would fit but didn’t fully visualise how much it would ultimately limit the layout. I wanted to stay mostly inert with stone and eventually/begrudgingly ordered the tumbled lava stone with the intention of keeping it to a island/river layout style and mimicking some of my found instagram muse tanks. It will mostly likely end up more nature style although the start will be more Willy Wonka than anything. Thanks @Burr740 for that, I shopped like a kid in a candy store.

Equipment

Tank

• UNS 90L
• 90 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm
• 79 liters or 21 gallons by volume, 62.5 liters or 16.5 gallons actual w hardscape

Filter

• Oase Thermo 200
• Replaced the charcoal media with more ceramic from Oase
• Replaced w Fzone stainless steel -Fzone glass Lily w skimmer ⅝”
• Replaced tubing with UNS pro tubing ⅝”
• Fzone Quick release ⅝” so Lily pipes can be cleaned without having to reprime filter

CO2

• Gla inline atomizer - replaced Fzone Co2 inline diffuser ⅝”
• GLA dual stage - replaced Fzone pro series dual stage regulator w/ 5lb tank
• Timed on 3 hours before lights on, off 1 hour before lights off

Water

• Using distilled by gallon, remineralized with salty shrimp GH targeting GH around 4-5
• Hoping for 0-1 KH
• Dark start cycled with prime dechlorinated Tap and APT Start

Substrate

• 80% old used ADA Amazonia v1, small bits sifted and bagged to create slight slope
• 2HR Feast topped to around 2 inches
• UNS Bora sand
• UNS Kona pebbles

Lighting

• Fzone Bright 90 - 90CM
• Before hardscape made rough par map using photone with diffuser iPhone 15 Pro
• At 100% top 404, mid 219, base 127 PAR
• At 50% top 190, mid 110, base 62 PAR
• Will be starting tank with 45-50% lighting intensity
• Timed at 3pm-9pm photoperiod with 60 minute ramps
• Current Colorcast LED strip w/frosted background
• Timed scenes for dawn (orange 1 HR during pre-ramp) /daylight (green during ON cycle) /sunset (red 1 HR during post-ramp) /night (indigo 1 HR after lights out)

Hardscape

• Arizona Ironwood
• Black tumbled lava stone

Ferts

• APT 1 and 3 dosed at recommended levels per calculator
• APT Jazz - in 3-4 months as Feast gives out
• Trying to keep it simple with fertilization to start

Current status, ending dark start, overcast next few days so removed the cardboard surround last night. Took today off work and anxiously awaiting a fed ex delivery with a big box o plants. Here it is in “night” scene mode.

Went to Amazon to order a few more of the Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Power Strip, 6-Outlets | HS300, only to find they are not there anymore. Only the 3-outlet strip is available. Using the link in the previous order, the no longer available message appeared. Snooping around, it appears the line is possibly transitioning to the Tapo brand, with its own app. Kasa products are supported in the Tapo app.

The Tapo Smart Wi-Fi Power Strip appears to be the same as the Kasa with different branding, a different app, and a higher price.

I expect that over time the entire line will transition.

Well I’m done talking about it, it’s time to get this journal started.

I have been really out of it the last year or so in terms of maintaining my own tank, mainly out of frustration with time constraints and inconsistency with dosing etc. However, I have now acquired a dream tank, rimless and with low iron glass like I’ve always wanted. While I loved having a sump and prided myself on putting it together, I’m past that desire. The AIO allows the same benefits with hiding equipment, and overall easier maintenance without climbing in and out of cabinets. Now onto the details of this build.

Tank: Planet Aquariums Tideline 62 Gallon AIO Lagoon

Filtration: (2) 250gph pumps on either side of the tank with center overflow into socks (I’m going to punch holes in the socks for now and stuff with polyfill, reviews state the socks clog way too quickly and there is no replacement sock as the insert is not the common round style). The baffles will be stuffed with the poret foam I have already from my sump for extra mechanical/biological.

Substrate: The bottom layer will comprise of bagged pond soil/peat/earthworm castings/ STS. This will be a thin layer and will mainly act as filler to raise up the cap of APT Feast. This is similar to a substrate setup I did when I first started back up in 2020, And that tank did very well. While capping with sand and relying on the dirt to feed the stems worked well, it did require a little more effort on my end with dosing. I don’t trust myself to be as diligent as some members on here are with their inert subs, so I’m taking the mulligan and using aquasoil as a cap, hence, “dirty soil.” This will be another island style layout, and the surrounding substrate will be comprised of Caribsea Carolina Creek Sand.

Hardscape: River rock (local hardscape center sourced) and malaysian driftwood. I have recently acquired another large piece of wood and I’m sourcing new stone this week, as what I have just isn’t meshing with my current vision for the tank.

Plants: …. I have not solidified my vision of what this scape will look like just yet as I haven’t been able to setup the hardscape to outline the island. The plan is to use a good amount of colorful stems, epiphytes, and potentially moss.

Lighting: I will be ordering the Week Aqua Z400 this week and am excited to test it out.

That’s all for now, more pictures and details to come. I should hopefully have the hardscape setup by the end of this coming week after acquiring more stone and wood.

CO2: Almost forgot, for Co2 injection I have made a DIY Yugang with a locking food storage container. It will be stored in the cabinet and the hook will feed into the return pump chamber on the right. I initially was bummed that I had to sacrifice storage to fit a 5lb CO2 tank under the stand, which also meant getting rid of of the 20lb tank I’ve only been having to fill twice a year. @GreggZ Will appreciate this, my awesome father in law suggested that I hide the co2 tank in the pantry closet which is directly behind that wall and just drill a hole for the co2 line. Since my father in laws word is pure gold in my wife’s eyes, that suggestion was approved! He’s just as much my dad too so I appreciated him supporting the project

Well... thats it! Im tired of watching you guys have all the fun so figured it was time to start my own journal to document this new scape Im working on, and also to talk about other plant happenings. So here goes

For this year's AGA Id been planning on using the 75P again. Love the dimensions, 30"x18"18" about 37 gal. Its in the living room along with the 75 gal ex-Dutch.

I try to keep these two a little more display-worthy than the back room back tanks but it doesnt always happen. Here's the 75p currently. Plants closed up its the middle of the night, I just flipped two bulbs on to take a quick pic

Ive been tossing some ideas around but it nothing has really inspired me lately



So I decided to try a couple things in the 75 gal and see if the almighty elusive muse will show up

I rarely have a plan going in, usually just an idea or two like maybe a street or focal points, and from there I just start sticking things around and see how it looks. Usually with just whatever plants I have enough of, even stuff that I know I wont end up using just to plot out general areas and color

So here we go starting about two months ago, with basically two streets and a focal point. Pics are 3-4 weeks apart. I'll spare you the details of every little plant move, basically just adding/moving stuff around between then and now

*ignore the weird color filter on these first few pics




Couple weeks later



Trying to find a place to use this dynamite Blyxa sp Red. Not to be confused with the "sp Red" currently being offered by a couple larger retailers. Those are likely to be other aubertii variants that may or may not actually turn red. A good rule of thumb for blyxa (since most cant grow emersed) is if it aint red when you buy it, dont count on it turning red. This one is like a tall Novoguineensis, tops out around 12"-14" with good vertical leaf formation, and stays red under most light



Added Ludwigia white to the front right corner



Dont like the Blyxa in the focal spot either. It'd need a bright green behind it, which would make all the other background groups need repositioning based on color. Plus the Blyxa is too tall for what Im trying to do here, I want this focal spot low in the tank, not high


**Continued next post, image limit reached

Thought I would go back in time a little and create a journal of my first aquascape. This scape is now at the 7 month mark since first planted. I did a dark start for about a month before planting. I'll start with the current equipment, flora, and fauna list. I started with a few different items as you'll see in the photos.

EQUIPMENT:
Tank - Waterbox 3620
Light – Chihiros WRGB II 90cm
Filter – Oase Biomaster Thermo 600 (heater plugged into Inkbird Temp controller)
CO2 Regulator – GLA (Green Leaf Aquariums)
CO@ Reactor – Aqua Rocks Colorado
Fertilizer Doser – Chihiros

PLANTS:
Monte Carlo
Dwarf Hair Grass
Dwarf Sagittaria
Staurogyne Repens
Cryptocoryne Wendtii Green
Java Moss
Phoenix Moss
Anubias Nana Petite
Anubias Nana Pinto
Various types (at least 6) of Bucephalandra
Alternanthera Reineckii 'Mini'
Rotala Green
Rotala Orange Juice
Ludwigia Natans Super Red
Pogostemon Erectus
Hygrophila Pinnatifida

FISH/INVERTEBRATES:
Cardinal Tetras
Kubotai Rasbora
Honey Gourami
Painted Platy (being rehomed)
Chili Rasbora
Exclamation Point Rasbora
Amano Shrimp
Nerite Snails

Miscellaneous:
Seiryu Stone
Manzanita/Ghost Driftwood
2 HR Aquarist APT 1 and APT 3 Fertilizers
ADA Amazonia 2 Aquasoil with root tabs


First aquarium since the 80s.


Initial scape layout. Decided to go with black background later. Also notice, I started with a Fluval Plant 3.0 light. That didn't last long.


Some initial plans on plant layout. I've since seen how @Jeff Miotke and others use a marker on the front glass for hardscape and plant layout and will be trying that for future scapes.


Initial plant order.


1 day after adding first livestock. About 1.5 weeks after planting.


1 month after planting.


2 months after planting.


3 months after planting.


Most recent photo prior to trimming background and carpeting plants way back. Will post a new photo once things grow back in.


The stuff down below.

Inspiration, Goals, & Considerations

I've had an interest in aquariums since a young age and had my own aquarium with fish like Angelfish and Mollies around middle school. Growing up, my dad had a bigger tank with Blood Parrots and Silver Dollars. Over 10 years ago, I had a low maintenance 55 gallon planted tank. I was pretty proud of it, but always envied the high tech tanks I saw on forums/social media and told myself when I broke that tank down that the next time I set up a tank, it would be like what I envied. At the end of 2024, I set up a small low tech 5 gallon planted tank to help scratch my aquarium itch, which really only reaccelerated my desire for setting up a high tech tank. And now, here we are!

The size of the tank was mostly dictated by the space. I originally planned on something around 30 gallons, but my LFS had the UNS 75P in stock and after measuring and discussing with my wife, we agreed it would work for the space. The tank is between the kitchen and living room, which is essentially a play area for my son, so lighting needs to be adjusted to make sure he's not blinded by the light when looking up at the tank.

Generally, I'd like to have a visually pleasing aquarium with lots of fish and plants that's peaceful to enjoy. I'd like to automate / reduce as much friction as possible and I realize there's still plenty I need to learn, so I'll need to have patience when things go wrong. I want to keep away from anything that's hard to get out of the tank once it's in (duckweed, moss, pest snails, etc). I felt like sharing prices below might give value to anyone in the future that's looking to start where I did with a high tech tank.

Specs (prices include sales tax)
Tank:

Lighting:

Filtration:

Co2:

Inflow & Outflow Pipes:

Substrate & Hardscape:

Fertilization:
Battery Backup & Power

Other Misc Equipment:
Chihiros CO2 Drop Checker
5 x Oase ShutOff Valve 16/22
Inkbird WiFi ITC-308 - $38
SwitchBot Leak Detectors - $15 each

"Stand"
Because the guts are located in a kitchen cabinet, I didn't want to screw directly into it and damage it. I was also concerned silicone would not be able to dry and outgas properly when sealing the edges. I opted to line the cabinet with contact paper. It's essentially a giant sticker, so I lined the sides, bottoms, and a second layer over the bottom edges/joints. I built a 3 panel "stand" inside of the cabinet so I could house everything and screw into the plywood without any concerns. I used 1 sheet of 3/4" Maple plywood and coated 1 side with a latex primer followed by a layer of latex white paint. This is mostly for water resistance and not necessarily water proof. I placed a silicone cabinet liner under the right side equipment. I made a shelf to place the EcoFlow on so if there's a catastrophic leak it's off the bottom.

One consideration I hadn't thought about was how "cramped" the cabinet would be since I placed the EcoFlow on a shelf with a "wall", which essentially made the work area much tighter.

Cable Management: Raceway and cable clips
Water
Express Water RO5DX - $160
55 Gallon Brute Trash Can, 44 Gallon Brute Trash Can, 32 Gallon Greenmade Trash Can, and 2x dollys.
Plants (all UNS TC)

• Homalomena Sp Sekadau South (babysitter)
• Hydrocotyle Tripartita (potentially babysitter)
• Alternanthera Reineckii Rosanervig (initially planned as babysitter, but may keep some in long term)
• Hemianthus Callitrichoides 'Cuba'
• Rotala Rotundifolia Blood Red
• Anubias Nana Petite
• Micranthemum 'Monte Carlo'
• Alternanthera Reineckii 'Mini'
• Echinodorus Rose

Livestock:

Coming soon

• 25x Red Neon Blue Eye Rainbow
• 7x C005 Corydoras pantanalensis
• 3x C123 Yellow Cory 'Rio Nanay'
• Aphyosemion bivittatum 'Funge' Pair
• 5x Stiphodon rutilaureus Goby
• 1x True Siamese Algae Eaters
• 1x Bamboo Shrimp
• 8x Amano Shrimp

Had a BBA breakout, likely culprit of system shock with a rescape and being out on vacation.

Anyways got most of it under control but this trident microsorum got hit really bad with BBA; soaked it in diluted APT fix and I think most of the BBA is dead. But it has been like this for a week. I have seen people commenting on how an algae eating crew would eat these. But I don’t have any other than couple of cherries. What are my options ? Do I just let it be, snip the leaves or is there a way to remove these.

Does someone have an idea about what could it be?

This is the future home for the announcements when someone obtains an achievement badge. Let the games begin!