Hello All,
I've been struggling with BBA for weeks now and getting quite discouraged. To keep it short, tried everything I could think of except increasing the CO2. Why? I was already at 2 bps and couldn't imagine going any higher. Then I read that BBA can be caused by CO2 fluctuations (something I used to know!), and started to reconsider.
I recalled that in years past, the tank was at it's best when filter outflow and diffuser location were such that the bubble mist was sent on a long ride down and across the bottom of the tank, after which the bubbles would float lazily to the surface, a journey which took some of them 6-7 seconds before surfacing.
My present tank is more heavily planted and it's simply not possible to route the CO2 as effectively. No matter how I positioned the spraybar and diffuser, , plants blocked the flow and prevented effective CO2 distribution. With little to lose, I stuck the CO2 line into the filter intake tube and hoped for the best.
Now I wish I'd done this long ago! Plants are happier and the BBA is now on it's way out. It has also been an interesting learning experience, not only in the importance of CO2 distribution as well as bubble rate, but also the importance of identifying and questioning long held assumptions, which in my particular instance was the assumption that I couldn't possibly have a CO2 problem.
As everyone knows, much is written on the pros and cons of injecting CO2 into a cannister filter. For some it works just fine, while others report noise and burping problems. The most interesting comment I came across was that, despite warnings of such severe problems as overheating motors and/or biological filter collapse, there seemed to be no posts from anyone who had actually experienced either of these. My Cascade filter is quite happy with CO2 injection, so much so that I might not unpack the inline diffuser I've ordered when it arrives.
I've been struggling with BBA for weeks now and getting quite discouraged. To keep it short, tried everything I could think of except increasing the CO2. Why? I was already at 2 bps and couldn't imagine going any higher. Then I read that BBA can be caused by CO2 fluctuations (something I used to know!), and started to reconsider.
I recalled that in years past, the tank was at it's best when filter outflow and diffuser location were such that the bubble mist was sent on a long ride down and across the bottom of the tank, after which the bubbles would float lazily to the surface, a journey which took some of them 6-7 seconds before surfacing.
My present tank is more heavily planted and it's simply not possible to route the CO2 as effectively. No matter how I positioned the spraybar and diffuser, , plants blocked the flow and prevented effective CO2 distribution. With little to lose, I stuck the CO2 line into the filter intake tube and hoped for the best.
Now I wish I'd done this long ago! Plants are happier and the BBA is now on it's way out. It has also been an interesting learning experience, not only in the importance of CO2 distribution as well as bubble rate, but also the importance of identifying and questioning long held assumptions, which in my particular instance was the assumption that I couldn't possibly have a CO2 problem.
As everyone knows, much is written on the pros and cons of injecting CO2 into a cannister filter. For some it works just fine, while others report noise and burping problems. The most interesting comment I came across was that, despite warnings of such severe problems as overheating motors and/or biological filter collapse, there seemed to be no posts from anyone who had actually experienced either of these. My Cascade filter is quite happy with CO2 injection, so much so that I might not unpack the inline diffuser I've ordered when it arrives.
