# First tank, first algae



## canbc (Aug 30, 2012)

Hi this is my first aquarium and I have some planted anubias. Wondering if someone can help me identify this algae growing on the leaves and what I can do about it? It looks like brownish gray spots on the leaves.















I have a fluval spec v 5 gallon. It's been set up for about 2 months now with the anubias added about a month ago. I also have 5 small marimo moss balls.


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## Momobobo (Sep 28, 2010)

Looks like BBA to me. Research on google methods to counter it.


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## sunshine_1965 (Aug 16, 2011)

BBA stands for black beard algae just in case you did not know. Is this a plant only tank?


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## canbc (Aug 30, 2012)

Thanks for the quick replies. I have a betta living in it. From what I'm reading about BBA, adding seachem excel with a syringe should help? Here's a pic of the entire tank:









This is my first aquarium so everything is new to me. I have a timer for the light but not sure what kind of lighting schedule I should use.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Its all part of the process. Read up on bba. Try whats suggested. Anubias is a slow growing species so algea growing on it tends to happen. If you are gentle you can probably rub most of it of with your finger. How often are you doing water changes, feeding, filtration, lighting??? More information needed if you want people to give you advice.

I didnt realize all you had was a betta. Your tank looks good. I wouldnt worry too much about the algea. A faster growing plants might help because it will out compete the algea for nutrients.


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

some good info: http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/plan...-black-brush-algae-how-fight-2286/index2.html


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## canbc (Aug 30, 2012)

I've been doing 1 gallon (20%) water changes about twice a week. The reason why I change water so often is because I've been making adjustments to the tank like putting in plants, moving decorations around, adjusting the filter and flow, etc. Now that the tank is set up the way I like, I'm thinking of changing 1 gallon per week. 

My test kit shows 0 ammonia, ~0 nitrites and somewhere around 2.5 - 5ppm nitrates. pH is stable at 7. Water out of my tap is around 6.5 and goes down to 5.5 over time so I add alkaline buffer to keep it stable. I also add seachem equilibrium. Temperature is about 79 degrees.

The betta is fed once per day. We feed him as he eats. No excess food is left in the tank.

The filtration is sponge and biomax. There was a carbon bag but I removed it after the first couple weeks. My water looks nice and clear.

The fluval spec comes with LED lighting. I had it on from 4pm to 9pm each day. I've turned it off for now as I'm figuring out this algae. 

The tank substrate is just normal aquarium gravel. When I first set up the tank I didn't plan on having live plants. I think my betta was tearing his fins on the plastic plants so I replaced them with anubias. It seemed like an easy plant to take care of and didn't need any fancy substrate.

I think I'll try adding seachem excel.


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

I think I posted this in another thread but this helped me a lot: James' Planted Tank - Algae Guide
Also, welcome to BCA! The plants still look great, but show us a full pic of your whole tank!


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## canbc (Aug 30, 2012)

I bought some excel on the weekend. I'll go to the drug store today and look for 1cc syringes to dose the excel directly on the leaves. Hoping Shopper's or Pharmasave will have them downtown.

From the links everyone gave me, it seems like the algae could be a CO2 problem caused by too frequent water changes. I'm planning to reduce water changes to once per week or so (I'll test for ammonia and nitrates).

I'll keep you all posted on how the spot dosing with excel goes.


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

Are those marimo moss balls in there? Spot treatment should be ok, but make sure you don't have moss balls in there if you are dosing the whole tank.

Very nice home for the betta btw


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