Can you outcompete BGA?

[Yoemen]

I have BGA due to not adequately compensating for the increase in lights by dosing more nitrate. My question is, do I have to black out, or can I outcompete BGA?

Don't have a problem with blackout, just want to know if it can be outcompeted?

 

[mellowvision]

I think once you have BGA, you need meds. it's not algae.

 

[midiamin]

If BGA is blue green algae than I suggest a thorough cleaning and scraping of the BGA. Do a water change after and add large leaf plants. Are you overfeeding or using too much fert? Black out is last resort.

 

[Yoemen]

BGA is caused by not enough Nitrate is my understanding. I recently upgraded my lighting by about 80 watts and began having BGA. Overfeeding is a possibility, I am reining in how much I feed my Angels, but I understood BGA to be caused by not enough ferts, not too much.

 

[rich311k]

Remove as much as you can. Keep your nitrates up and your flow good and it will recede on its own. Antibiotics or a black will kill the stuff.

 

[phanmc]

Yes, plants can outcompete BGA over time, you just need to ensure your plants are growing well. In heavily infested tanks manually remove as much as you can and add more water circulation if you have dead spots so nutrients gets dispersed properly.

A reasonable amount of excess nitrates, phosphates, potassium, and traces will not cause more algae and will help plants grow, so keep your levels up and you should see improvements.