Chemical algae remover

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Fisherjoe

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Feb 16, 2011
Messages
37
Hello all,

I was just wondering if there was as chemical on the market that would remove unsightly algae in a planted tank, but not harm the plants themselves.

I am having a horrible problem with what I think is black beard algae. It looks like little black pom poms that are covering the leaves of my swords, my driftwood, fluval hoses, heater...yuck.

I did a 50% water change last sunday and since then have cut my lighting in half and this stuff still seems to be growing!

Any suggestions would be appreciated :) What do I Do...I would really prefer not to have to strip the tank, its 75 gallons and would be quite the job.

Will this black algae die off and remove itself from the plant leaves or is this a manual removal job?

Thanks all!
 
I don't think a chemical solution is the way to go. Rather, you need to find the underlying cause of the excess algae you are experiencing. An explosion of algae is usually caused by bottoming out or an excess of one of the nutrients needed for plant growth. More specifically, the areas of concern to look at are: Light, CO2, Nitrogen (nitrates), Phosphorus (phosphates).

For BBA... it can be a big time hassle to get rid of it. Are you injecting CO2 at all? I have found increased and steady CO2 injection is a great prophylaxis for BBA.

There is one chemical I would suggest for ridding your tank of it, since it is already present: Seachem excel. You can put it in a medicine dropper and inject it right over the plant leaves that have the growth. After a few doses (over a couple of days), it will turn pink and die back. The other alternative is to use H2O2. It can be very effective for killing BBA.

In the mean time, we can help determine the underlying cause if you post your current fert dosing regiment, the type of lighting (and duration), and whether you are injecting CO2 (and how are you doing it if you are?).
 
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