Battling Beard Algae?

[Gundy]

Ok, I have started a small project in my 10gal to setup a planted tank and see how well it goes. If all goes good, I am planning on setting up a dedicated 20gal long planted.

Anyways, I've had this 10gal setup for several months and had just 5 tiger barbs in it. I recently aquired a 20gal High, and after letting it cycle I transfered over the barbs into the tank and decided to use the old 10gal as planted.

Right now its got like a velvet wall covered with beard algae. I have 4 ADF I recently threw in the tank just for some looks and they are some near little guys. Anyways, what are my options for removing the algae? I was looking at SAE and CAE but some of them are aggressive as they get older? And I need something that won't harm my plants. From my reading, not many algae eaters eat beard algae.

The only other thing that cought my eye was Red Cherry Shrimp. How well would these do on the algae?

EDIT: I've also read something about dosing with Flourish Excel can eliminate it.. I've got a bottle right infront of me. Only thing is, I am not sure how much to use..

 

[theotheragentm]

True SAEs do not get aggressive when older. Check out this page to see the differences in identifying them. If it is indeed BBA, the SAE might be a good choice, although curbing the algae's source is the best idea. Cut back on light and feedings in the tank.

For Excel dosing, you would want to target dose, meaning getting a syringe and spraying on the problem areas. There are directions on the bottle of Excel as to how much you can dose. From my experience, if you double it once a day, you should have no problems. I am liberal with my Excel dosing. If you go much higher than that you might see your water turn cloudy.

Taking a razor blade to the wall of the tank if it's glass would work decently too.

 

[gheitman]

The SAE is the only fish in my experience that will eat BBA and I've never had it get aggressive as it got older. The only other way I've successfully removed BBA is by dosing with Flourish Excel. In my case I had some Anubias that were heavily covered so I applied five times the recommended dose every three days until it was eliminated.

 

[jsoong]

If you go the Excel route, make sure you don't have plants (eg Vals) that will be killed with Excel. if there is no fish in the tank, treating with H2O2 (or more aggressively - Chlorine bleach) is another option. A 5 day total blackout will knock backe BBA as well.

However, Excel or H2O2 are both temporary solutions. If your tank has conditions favouring BBA, it will be back, sometimes within days. So after you got rid of the bulk of the stuff, you'll need to tackle the root cause. Generally, it means balancing light, & fertilizers, or adding CO2.

 

[Gundy]

Yeah I've got a co2 system im going to hook up. And I've picked up some root tabs. I just was curious on the best way to get rid of it so I can get my plants ahead..

I've got quite abit of anacharis though and one or two crypts which I've heard will wilt when using flourish excel even the slightest.. is this true?

 

[gheitman]

Anachris is definitely sensitive to Excel although I'm not aware of any crypts that are.

 

[Gundy]

Well I was reading and it may just be beard algae?

There are abunch of pictures of my tank here : http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?p=843683#843683

Basically its like a velvet covering over the backwall of the tank.. which isn't a bad thing I just don't want it to spread. Its really BRIGHT green to, not black or dark green.

 

[jsoong]

That doesn't look like BBA at all.... BBA will cover your plants, rocks, everything .... and it is dark green to black.

This is more than likely soft green algae (it should come off the glass easily with a scrubbie) .... pretty desirable (as far as algae goes) ... good food for a lot of vegeterian fish. You can kept this in check with pretty much any algae eating fish (otos, pleco, etc). Even my goldies will keep that stuff mowed down to just short stubbles.

 

[Gundy]

Great! Yes it comes off rather easily, the only thing is it is messy leaving the water cloudy and crap all over.

 

[theotheragentm]

Scrape it and do a water change after all your scraping. That will also help anything from reattaching itself anywhere else.