black beard help!

[Cliffz]

Folks,
Capt Black Beard algae has invaded my driftwood and deep green species plants only. I understand that I can spot treat with Florish Excel?

Can I pull plants from tank and dip in Excel? I cant pull the driftwood so I understand I can use an eye dropper to spot treat?

Do I dose afterwards the entire tank? How many capfuls for a 55gal? How often?
Thanks!
Cliff NY

 

[Purrbox]

Many people have used Excel to treat algae effectively. When dosing a tank, the traditional method is to dose 2-3x the recommended dose. Most have not had any problems with fish or plants (except plants like Vals and Anacharis which are sensitive to it).

With a dip I believe that the recommended amount is 10 parts water to 1 part Flourish Excel. I haven't done this myself, so you'll want to wait for those with experiance to chime in.

When dealing with hardier species like Anubias you can use brush to apply the Flourish Excel directly on the plants. Seems to work very well with little to no damage to the plant.

When spot treating you use the standard amount that you would be dosing that day, and just use a dropper/shringe to direct it to the area that needs the spot treatment. It'll get a concentrated dose while you're applying it and the tank will get its daily treatment at the same time.

The important thing to remember is that like any other treatment, this will only treat the symptoms and not the cause. As soon as treatment is stopped the algae will probably come back again if the conditions that caused it to appear in the first place haven't been corrected.

 

[Cliffz]

Joy-Thanks
Any suggestions on the cause?

55gal
Injected co2-20-30ppm-(varies)
2x65w 6hrs
greg watson ferts
eco complete
6.6 PH

thanks

 

[Jchillin]

Most likely fluctuating CO2 levels.

 

[Purrbox]

If it is indeed BBA, then the probable cause is your CO2 levels. Try bumping it up so that it never dips below 30ppm and you should be good to go. When CO2 is low and varies, this is when BBA tends to crop up.

 

[Cliffz]

Sounds like a plan--thank you

 

[rkilling1]

Just want to chime in on the low CO2 comment. I had BBA for a while and everytime I increased my CO2 it would get worse. I had the CO2 up to 100 PPM for months and it still didn't stop the BBA. I believe once you get too high in CO2 concentration, it becomes almost impossible to maintain it very steady. So no matter what CO2 concentration you have, it's all about being steady and not fluctuating.

I found that setting the CO2 in the 30 PPM ballpark and then not touching it was best. DO NOT continuously adjust your CO2 to try and maintain exactly 30 PPM is what I am trying to say. Just get it in the ballpark and leave it alone.

That doesn't mean just set the CO2 injection and bam the BBA is gone. You have to look into anything that could change the concentration during the day. For example: My reactor was becoming so overwhelmed by O2 late in the photo period that it was almost impossible to dissolve additional CO2 into the water column. This in turn made my CO2 levels fluctuate and would cause the BBA to spread. Even though I maintained the CO2 in the 30 PPM range, it still spread.

The answer in my case was to agitate the surface of the water(changed the spray bar direction) inorder to release the O2 during the day.

(I have been fighting this battle for a long time!)

PS. excel is a great cleanup tool. Dose it just like Joy has said. I would use 20mls daily for atleast a week.

 

[Cliffz]

rkilling,
Thanks for sharing your experience. I am about to install an inn line reactor which should help stabilize my levels. Currently using a Red Sea 500 Reactor. Thanks

 

[Jchillin]

So no matter what CO2 concentration you have, it's all about being steady and not fluctuating.

I thought I said that?

Most likely fluctuating CO2 levels.

 

[sherry]

he just said it in more detail.

btw, consider the mist method. I find it much more effective (and cheaper to implement).

 

[Cliffz]

Folks,
I put in the Florish Excel. all the black beard algae turned reddish in color. Now I have Capt Red beard in my tank! I assume the red indicates start of death cycle? Should I keep dosing Excel? Thanks

 

[rich311k]

The red means it is dying just keep up the dosing.

 

[rkilling1]

I thought I said that?

Did you?

The red means it is dying just keep up the dosing.

I totally agree. I would continue to dose for atleast a week.

 

[kaz]

I have BBA too should I dose this everyday just poor in the tank or spot it directly into the plant?

 

[rkilling1]

I have BBA too should I dose this everyday just poor in the tank or spot it directly into the plant?

IMO it all depends on how bad you have it. If you only have a couple of spots on some leaves, then just remove the leaves. If you have it on equipment, then I would spot clean with Excel or remove the equipment and bleach it. If you have it everywhere, then I would dose the whole tank.

I haven't heard of that many horror storys about dosing Excel as long as you dose within reason. ie 2 to 3 times the normal dose, not the first one.

It's one of the best products I have used in any of my aquariums! It helps with the algae and the plants love it.

As already mentioned by Joy, you still have to solve the problem behind getting BBA.

 

[Cliffz]

folks,
How long until the now red coloered algae decomposes? Thanks

 

[ikon]

I have BBA too should I dose this everyday just poor in the tank or spot it directly into the plant?

IMO it all depends on how bad you have it. If you only have a couple of spots on some leaves, then just remove the leaves. If you have it on equipment, then I would spot clean with Excel or remove the equipment and bleach it. If you have it everywhere, then I would dose the whole tank.

I haven't heard of that many horror storys about dosing Excel as long as you dose within reason. ie 2 to 3 times the normal dose, not the first one.

It's one of the best products I have used in any of my aquariums! It helps with the algae and the plants love it.

As already mentioned by Joy, you still have to solve the problem behind getting BBA.

i have the bba on ALL the plants in my tank .. so should I use a excel dip for them ??

 

[Cliffz]

folks,
Capt Black /Red beard is all gone! took only a week for it to die off. Thank you all for your suggestion and guidance.