Black Beard algae..

[candymancan]

So all 3 of my big tanks have hair or black beard algae.. The 55G has some roung fuzzy algae growing on the driftwood.. The 27g and 30g have stringy black beard algae.. I don't use CO2 I cut off my ferts months ago.. I don't leave the lights on very long.. I do lots of water changes.. I've heard low nitrates can cause it.. well mine are high most of the time until I do water changes.. All 3 tanks are really heavily planted.. Basically have 0 room to put anymore plants.. I have a mix of fast and slow growing plants.. Fast would be like water sprite.. slow would be like Anubias..

So I have tried using co2 once before doing water and sugar but I just dun care to mess with that as I have no time to maintain 5 tanks and also mess with co2.. I heard CO2 can fix the problem... I decided to try using seachem flourish excel.. I did 2-3x the normal dosage in all my tanks.. Its been a week now and my 27g like ALL the black beard algae is dead.. its all red and starting to turn white.. yay ! So im only dosing the normal dosage for a 27g tank starting today..

The 30g tank though none of the black beard algae is red its still black.. The fuzzy algae in the 55g only 1 or 2 of the fuzz balls out of the like 100 of them turned red.. So im not sure how to approach this.. Im thinking of upping the dosage even higher from 2-3x to 4-5x the amount. Its starting to get out of control in both of those tanks.

I should note I haven't had any fish or snails affected by using this much excel

 

[Delapool]

Do you have to dose daily? I have been using API CO2 Boost which I think is similar and thinking of trying a stronger dose but it would hurt the wallet to do it for a week. At the moment I only lightly dose a couple of times a week.

 

[ScotJudd]

My understanding of Excel, Glut and other carbon sources is that they break down after about 24 hours. Therefore, a daily dose should be used, especially for algae control and ideally in the morning so that the plants can take the best advantage of the carbon whilst it's at its strongest.

 

[ArtistGardener]

I dose daily with Excel or API CO2 Boost (same thing--glut) first thing in the morning so that it doesn't break down too quickly when the lights come on around noon. To combat BBA, try dosing right at the source. When I have a problem with BBA or thread algaes, I turn off the filter and inject the normal amount of glut right on the problem areas (rather than resorting to high doses). Wait about 15 minutes before turning the filter on again. I bought one of those syringes people use to give liguid medicines to their babies (not a needle syringe). After a few days of this treatment, it dies off. You can then move on to other problem areas if you have them. It will cost less and is less toxic for your critters. Thereafter, maintaining a daily regimen of the recommended amount of glut and not overdoing it with light should keep algae under control. Good luck!

 

[reefdiver]

If you can take it out use hydrogen peroxide it will work too. Not fast if you use it underwater.

 

[Delapool]

Many thanks for the information, I'll check out online stores as I would like to give it a more serious go. Will also see if I can find somewhere cheaper than the chemist for peroxide