How do I remove algae form plants

[rstampa]

I have several bunches of Tall Hairgrass plants in my 65 gal aquarium.
There's BBA covering the leaves. They seem to stop growing and the leaf blades are covered with the stuff. It would be impossible for me to pull them out and try to bleach out the leafs.
Do you think I should just trim (cut) them down and let them start over?
Please advise.

 

[stevenht]

I'm having the same BBA problem with my Crypts. I was advised to reduce feeding & reduce lighting to no more than 6 hours a day for a couple of days. I've spot treated algae with Hydrogen Peroxide and it's slowly dying off.

If you have a high powered GPH powerhead, you could try the 1-2 punch method. It seems to be the most effective from what I've read and from word of mouth.

I believe Bert and coralbandit were the 2 that helped me out. I know Bert is pretty active throughout the day so maybe he can chime in.

 

[stevenht]

If the BBA isn't overwhelming in your tank, people say SAE are very effective. That's if it's not out of control already. They can't eat it all

 

[rstampa]

Thanks for your valued suggestions. I have tried no lights for a week and spot sprayed with both Excel and H2O2 every day with very little effect. It's not wide spread or out of but it's annoying to say the less. I took out all my rocks and beached them. BBA comes back in a week or so. I have 6 SAE, 2 Plecostomus and a few Mollies but they don't seem to interested in the BBA. I feed my fish sparingly very day or two. Feed the plants after every 50% water change weekly.
I've trimmed off some effected leaves from most of my plants. However, I'm not sure what to do with the Tall Hairgrass. Should I trim them down to the base of the plant?

 

[stevenht]

This is above my pay grade and knowledge. I'll probably have to back off and let somebody else take over with this one.

They say worse case scenario, you remove all the affected plants and tear your tank down if you hate it that bad. Should be a last resort though.

 

[Bert2oo1]

Hey mate, you can pull it out and bleach them but it's not the best way to go about it. Easiest way is to do what you have been doing (excel and h202) however you'll be chasing the issue forever if you don't find the main cause of the outbreak.

BBA can be caused by many different things from build up of organics to a lack of co2. Any plants that are struggling abit tend to get destroyed by the stuff! If you have preasurised co2 is increase your bubble rate abit more. You want a ph drop of 1.0 at the height of your co2. For example my ph goes from 7.6 to 6.4 at the height of co2.

I recently got rid of the BBA in one of my tanks, I spot treated with excel daily with the filter turned off for 10 minutes to let it do its thing. Also it's a good idea to clean your filter and pipes to get it of any organic build up.

I'd vac all your plants and wave it above your substrate all around the tank to stir up any loose debris. Keep up with the daily doses of excel or h2o2. Plants that are really badly effected I would either bleach or just ditch them completely. You could try trimming but make sure you water change straight after to remove any bits that become free floating.

BBA will hide everywhere so make sure u keep an eye out for any little bits around the tank and remove the ASAP. It's a long battle but you can eventually get on top of it [emoji106]

Hope this helps [emoji16]