Beard algae in tank need help

[nd90]

I have a 90 cichlid tank set up that has developed beard algae on the drift wood in the tank it seems to be getting worse everyday and I don't know what to due I have put phosphate pads in my filters cut all the lights in the room and its still growing. Should I remove the wood from the tank and try to scrub it?

 

[Rivercats]

How long do you leave the actual tank lights on for? Do you have good water flow in the tank? You can spot treat the BBA with Excel. Pull up 20ml of Excel in a needless syringe, put the syringe right up to the BBA and slowly squirt the algae. If you have alot you will have to do an area a day until it's all treated. It will turn pink/red/or white when it begins to die.

 

[nd90]

I maybe have the lights on 4 hours but not everyday and the room it's in I shut all the blinds cause I thought it was from sun light that was the main light source but it was not direct as far as water flow I have a aqua clear 110 and a fluval 405 the beard algae is growing on the drift wood right under the 110 if it makes a difference .

 

[Rivercats]

Usually less light and good water circulation does the trick. You need to do the spot treating with Excel. My 220g gets alot of direct sunlight and it doesn't cause algae issues but I run a planted tank. Have you actually tested your phosphate levels? Also what is your nitrate running at?

 

[nd90]

No I have not measured my phosphate levels I have to buy the kit. last week when I tested my water my nitrate was about 20 ppm I will check it tomorrow and see if it has changed the algae just was there one day never saw it and then it's all over the wood . Where can I buy the excel and will it harm my fish ?

 

[Rivercats]

You can get excel at most fish stores but it will be much cheaper on line. It's perfectly safe for fish/shrimp/snails as long as you use the proper amounts. It's used in planted tanks to aid in plant photosynthesis so it's made to use with fish. I use a high dose in my planted 220g daily with no ill effects in over a year.

 

[nd90]

Should the whole tank be treated or use a syringe like you had said and is this going to have to be done daily ? What does the excel really do when it's added to the tank ?

 

[Rivercats]

When treating for algae you need to spot treat with a syringe. Liquid carbon such as Excel is used in planted tanks to aid in photosynthesis and plant growth. It's a step under CO2 use and is great for those who don't want to use CO2. The bonus of it is it acts as an algacide but that is not what it is intended for.

 

[Fresh2o]

When treating for algae you need to spot treat with a syringe. Liquid carbon such as Excel is used in planted tanks to aid in photosynthesis and plant growth. It's a step under CO2 use and is great for those who don't want to use CO2. The bonus of it is it acts as an algacide but that is not what it is intended for.

I've recently noticed BBA on moss tied to driftwood. Would physical remove of the BBA (and portions of moss) followed by spot treating with Excel be a way to go? I don't mind losing some moss if it means good riddance to the BBA. In fact, if removal of all of the moss on the right side of the DW occurs then that would be okay (I have more). Here is a shot of the moss + DW



And a close up

 

[DavidAl]

The Excel option works great. Been there, done that.

You may also want to try algae eating fish that consume hair algae. Two options are: Florida flagfish and Siamese algae eater. Some shrimps will go for this stuff, but whatever live option you choose make sure it is compatible with what you already have in the tank. If you join a fish club you will find that algae eating crews are shared among club members.

David

 

[Ilminded]

I am currently deal with BBA and I've done some research about it. Tons of people think its due to a iron deficiency and also to poor water circulation. The amount time the lights are on does not inhibit growth or decrease growth substantially, more so that if you have the lights on normally and dose trace elements. If you start seeing it slow down in growth it means it working. I recently starting adding iron supplements and increasing water changes to once every week in addition on Carbon supplement 5 times per week and trace elements twice a week.

 

[Fresh2o]

Got my hands wet and ripped out as much BBA (actually ripped out moss with BBA attached) as I could. Moss looks tattered and there are spots where the DW is somewhat visible. Interestingly, a long fin bike danio has been nipping at the moss prior to me weeding out the algae. Can't tell if it was tearing at the moss/BBA or checking for eggs (they breed frequently in the moss). Tank is 20g long with an AC 50 which gives okay circulation. recently switched from API leaf zone to Seachem Flourish Comprehensive / Excel and using aquaplant root tabs (iron, phosphate, total).

Here is an after pic. Why is it that fish manage to swim in the way when trying NOT to take pictures of them?



Going to keep an eye on it and spot treat as needed with Excel.

 

[Fresh2o]

The Excel option works great. Been there, done that.

You may also want to try algae eating fish that consume hair algae. Two options are: Florida flagfish and Siamese algae eater. Some shrimps will go for this stuff, but whatever live option you choose make sure it is compatible with what you already have in the tank. If you join a fish club you will find that algae eating crews are shared among club members.

David

Not sure if either fish are okay with my stock: 6 longfin blue danios + 6 gold tetras.
Is the best algae eat shrimp the Amano shrimp?

 

[Rivercats]

The only option IMO would be amano shrimp with your stock. The moss will grow back, no problem there. Long light hours does in fact help BBA so limiting your photoperiod to 6-8 hours helps alot. If you already dose Excel daily you can just spot treat with Excel to get your daily dose in. Also you can consider upping your daily dose of Excel to 1ml per 5 gals. I use a high daily dose and it even says increased dosage can be used on the bottle. Also do you know your phosphate level? Often times when phosphates go much over .5ppm and you don't have alot of plants that like high phosphates (red/pink/yellow plants) you will find BBA often growing in a tank.

 

[Borderlesscott]

I used Hydrogen Peroxide at 3% to spot treat my BBA, totally gone in 2 weeks and thus far no more in 3-4 months. Couldn't use excel as it wasn't agreeing with my Vallisneria.

 

[Amicus]

Just my two cents. I had a bad case of BBA in my planted 72. I dosed with excel and it started to recede. I stopped dosing and then started again and I had to dose more excel for it to work, but it did. I called Seachem and spoke with a technical guy there and he hinted that the algae can build a tolerance to the Excel. Not sure if that's true or not.
I still have it in my tank but I was able to knock it back significantly in two ways. The first was to make sure that I circulated all the water I could, I added two circulation pumps to my tank and that helped. The second was I added some SAEs, I had four but one jumped. This may sound weird but they weren't doing much and when I fed my plecos some zucchini I saw the SAEs munching on it too. The next day I found that some rocks I had in my tank that were covered with BBA were almost clean. After a few days I noticed the SAEs eating the stuff off of the rocks and plants. I think the zucchini might have jump started them in eating the BBA.
I think water circulation helps a lot. If you do get some SAEs just make sure they are real ones and not Chinese Algae Eaterss.