Cold Thursday

[wsantia1]

Good morning everyone. Let me say it is icy cold here today. The temp is 26 degrees and the sidewalks and streets are very icy. I know first hand because while I was walking Kobe this morning I slipped and fell. I was not hurt but I was embarrassed even though no one saw me fall. While I was on the ground my trusty partner tried to hump me.  

The temps will get up to 39 degrees the afternoon and all of the ice will melt but whatever doesn't drain will refreeze and we will be icy again tomorrow morning. The best thing that I can say about this event was that we got zero accumulated snow.

Today will be another indoor day so I will be doing more fishroom stuff. I need to start setting up the ten gallon tanks for the shrimp because it is time to upgrade from the 5s.

[Barb]

Willie I am so glad you aren't hurt!  And shame on Kobe for doing that, at first glance I thought you were going to say he tried to help you up.  You take it real easy for awhile, and hope no new pains happen.  I am healed up from falling over one of my cats Oct. 11 but I could have been hurt way worse than I was.  You take care of yourself real well. It is cold here but no precip.  I am very ready for Spring!
Barb

[wsantia1]

Willie I am so glad you aren't hurt!  And shame on Kobe for doing that, at first glance I thought you were going to say he tried to help you up.  You take it real easy for awhile, and hope no new pains happen.  I am healed up from falling over one of my cats Oct. 11 but I could have been hurt way worse than I was.  You take care of yourself real well. It is cold here but no precip.  I am very ready for Spring!
Barb

Thanks Barb. So far no aches or pains. I also am very ready for Spring. lol

[Ron Sower]

...good morning guys and gals!...

>...Liz, sorry I didn't get to your question yesterday...it was finish the cart decorations day...so didn't see your post til today...But I just finished watching the video...You probably have already gone to the store and back...couple things I do know about the BBA treatment...Vals do not do well with Excel....I have used both 3% H2O2 and Excel separately...I would take the water level down about half, turn off any filtration/air bubblers, and dose the BBA directly, using a syringe, with either product and let it sit for 15-30 minutes before I refilled the tank...usually within hours the BBA turned red and in a day or so, white....much like what Mass describes in the video... I'm glad to have seen the video testing both products together...I may try it if I need to....When I've treated it in the past, the BBA eventually comes back...I really prefer in my big tanks to have SAEs or Reticulated Algae Eaters...My sponge filter in the Congo tank was covered completely with BBA until I got one of each fish in with a bunch of cichlids...didn't really want them and had planned to take them to the next swap...that is, until 2 days later when I noticed the entire surface of the sponge was completely clear of the BBA...to this day that tank is devoid of any visible BBA...

...The real crux of BBA is the water chemistry of the tank....we read a lot about too much nitrogen, not enough circulation, etc....I don't spend a lot of time or concern with getting every parameter of my tanks "perfect"...aquatic habitats aren't that way in nature...naturally, rains (water changes), dry spells (water levels dropping), decaying organisms (plants, fish, invertebrates in my tanks), etc., all are constantly changing the water chemistry of the natural and manmade water features of the planet...Actually I prefer to use a natural means of removal with fish that eat it...it's going to turn up in your tanks when you introduce other plants and fish from hobbyists anyway...  SORRY...I'M PROBABLY PREACHING TO THE CHOIR HERE...!
    Side Note: I have seen BBA completely covering a large piece of wood in a display aquarium at Aquarium Zen in Seattle that was absolutely beautiful to me...as the water current from the filter moved over it the waves of the BBA reminded me of visions of wind blowing across a field of wheat...beautiful!

...Willie, i hope you don't feel anything from the fall yesterday...sometimes it's the 2nd day that pain shows up...glad you're okay...I guess yesterday was truly a hump day for you and Kobe

...and Barb, glad to hear your good news...the cat fall and the C-19...

...I'm preparing for our swap the next Saturday...currently I have 96 bags of plants ready to go...today I will probably do close to that many more...Most I've ever had...then tonight I'm going to pick up 53 fish that a guy is getting rid of as he downsizes...I will keep the Rummy noses and take most of the rest to the swap...I just want to get my money back on them...not after much profit...one of our other sponsor stores decided to run a swap later in the day after ours, so if I have any left over, I'll move over there...

...have a good day, all...

[LizStreithorst]

Thanks, Ron.  Yes, I have already been to the fish store but I bought a small bottle of Flourish Excel anyway.  Like you said, it's worth a try.  I have SAE's in my planted 125 and 100 where the BHA was really bad.  They have done an amazing job.  I don't know how well they'd get along with my 2 beta tanks, though.  Those 2 tanks are full of the darned stuff.  I must do something, soon!

Willie, I'm glad you didn't hurt yourself.  Kobe was either showing his undying love for you or telling you f*** you.  (sorry, I couldn't resist).

The sun is out today so at least it's tolerable.  But the breeze from the north doesn't help any.  Now that I'm back home, I'll stay home.

[LizStreithorst]

It's been 8 days.  The treatment is working.  Today I did another 80% WC on the two tanks and stirred up the sand again.  I picked up a ton of old dead stuff that I stirred up in the water.  I nuked the plants with the H2O2/Seachem Excel mixture, There was a lot of clumps of dead BHA that had died and turned red.  A lot of my leaves were so covered that I'm not sure the leaves on the Anubius will survive.  But the rhizome is intact so it should grow back.  The Java Fern wasn't bothered by the treatment.  I worry about my poor Miniature Sword.  I'll do one more big WC in another several days before I put the Bettas back in.  They are miserable in the BB tank they are in now, and I have a Black Ram pair that I need one of their tanks for.