# Black brush algae situation



## Guest (May 20, 2010)

i have a problem with black brush algae and i can not get rid of it ... my tank is 30 gallons, was heavily planted with four dwarf puffers, 4 otos, a bristlenose catfish and 11 amano shrimp ... i used to keep the lights on for 12 hours a day (low light tank and low light plants), now it is more like 6 to 8 hours ... i change the water 25 to 50% per week and no CO2 ... for the first year this tank was running there was no algae ever visible, the plants thrived, no death, all was well ... until i bought a plant at a local fish store and i did see some black stuff on it but the guy told me it was because the plant was not getting enough light ... i kept the plant in a bucket for a few days and then put in my tank which started it all ... i noticed the black stuff was harming my other plants so i removed the original plant but it kept growing ... here is what i have tried to far ... dosing with flourish excel, i kept the lights off for two weeks, i then took the tank down completely and dipped all plants and decorations in a diluted bleach solution (which killed most of my plants) ... and it still came back ... i have taken the tank down again and cleaned everything again included the plastic plants i added for the time being ... i finally bought new live plants (safe from a member here) and i look in the tank and there it is again starting up ... i do not know what do to ... i have read that siamese algae eaters will eat the stuff but i am worried it may be too aggressive of a fish for my current finny friends ... any suggestions ?


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Is your tank big enough to house a (true) Siamese algae eater or two?


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## Guest (May 20, 2010)

well i have heard they can grow up to 6 inches which seems big for my tank and would definitely be big enough to eat the current residents ...


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## Nicklfire (Apr 21, 2010)

ok,

I'm assuming that you didnt do the excel overdosing properly because that usually does the trick. Do you have a picture of the algae so we are on the right page?

This is what i am referring to, is that what you have?









Also what Watts is your light right now, and how long are they on daily.

Tell me how you did the flourish excel dosing last time. how many ml did you add, how often, and for how long. Also did you just pour it into the tank, or did you take a syringe and turn off all the filters and flow and dose it directly onto the algae.

Shawn


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Do a big water change, and while the water level is down, mix a 10:1 solution of water with Excel and mist it over everything. Then fill the tank back up. From then on, follow the dosing routine in the instructions for Excel. You may have to repeat the misting one more time, but after that, with regular Excel dosing, you should never see it again.


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## lawdan (Apr 26, 2010)

I've used the same method that that 2wheels used and it works perfectly, its a shame we lose the post on metricide from the last website which had an abundance of information on this topic


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## Rastapus (Apr 21, 2010)

Dosing the aquarium with Erythromycin can work as well. Perhaps the Amano Shrimp are not doing their job because of the puffers. Amano shrimp should be able to take care of this problem.


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## Blackbar (Apr 23, 2010)

True SAE's won't eat any fish, unless they are already dead. Just don't get "Chinese algae eaters", or "flying foxes". They look very similar and many retailers don't know the difference.


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## Guest (May 20, 2010)

Shaun - that is what it looks like except not green, black ... i am not sure of the watts of my lights but i do know they are low light bulbs and i am currently leaving them on between 6 and 8 hours ... when i add flourish, i normally would add half a capful every week after a water change, but this time i added a cap and a half to the water, i did not turn off the filter or target the algae itself which is sounding like what i need to do 

2wheelsx2 - is that 10 parts water to 1 part excel ???

Rastapus - from the information i have found, shrimps will not eat black brush algae ... but i could be wrong ... i know shrimps will eat other types of algae but everything i have read is the only living thing to eat it would be the siamese algae eater which i think is probably too big for my tank and would eat the inhabitants ... the puffers and amanos are very peaceful with each other ... even when the shrimps start swimming crazy all over the tank the puffers just ignore them ... and when i took down the tank i counted the shrimp and there are 11 which is how many i put in almost a year ago 

should i change my filter cartridge ??? i am going to try doing the water change and use a pipette to put the solution right where the stuff is ...


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Yes, that's 10 water to 1 Excel. Amano shrimps should eat BBA, but will not come out if they are threatened, and will not eat algae if there is too much food around.

Adult SAE's are not very good algae eaters, and will sometimes bully smaller fish, but since they have small mouths, should not be a threat.


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## Guest (May 20, 2010)

sadly my shrimp are very well fed ... i put in algae wafers for the otos and catfish and any bloodworms that hit the ground from feeding the puffers, they are always running off with a worm or two  

i am going to try the flourish thing now and try to apply it wherever i see it


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## keitarosan (Apr 21, 2010)

spot dose of flourish excel works best for me. in just 3 days, the BBA's are gone. it turns white and shrimps munch on them. even without the shrimps. they turn white and disappears. i guess they melt and dissolves in the tank.


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## Guest (May 21, 2010)

I had the same problem a few years ago but I got rid of it:

I use Seachem Flourish Excel (in addition to a regular plant fertilizer) at the rate of 1mL/gallon once a week after a big water change (50%). Then I just keep doing it...every week... The algae didn't disappear suddenly but it got shorter and shorter, and eventually it was gone for good; it takes a few weeks. I also noticed that my plants now grow better and bigger as well, since Excel provides them with carbon (like injecting CO2 would). 

The only problem with using that much Excel is that it is not good for shrimps; they tend to die... So you might want to keep them in a separate tank. Snails are OK.


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Corey, why does Excel kill shrimp? And, would it kill shrimp if used in regular or light doses? I use Excel lightly in the tank that I've just added 4 shrimp to. (I don't mean to derail this thread about algae, so if you have information about shrimp and Excel, could you send me it by PM?)


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## Nicklfire (Apr 21, 2010)

You cannot Beat BBA without OVERDOSING excel in a certain amount. And you must do it for the full 10 days. Eventually the bba will turn RED then die off. Within 10 days it will be gone but you have to be on top of it every day.

If you dose the excel as normal it wont do much.

Too bad my BBA thread went mia.

Excel (may) kill shrimp because it has copper in it i believe is the reason, i have done it lots and it never hurt my shrimp.


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## ibenu (Apr 21, 2010)

Sean when you did it what was the dosage?? Im gotta start forwarding PM's I get on the topic to yOU!!

seriously I cant recall dosage and you had the best outline, I think 1ML per gallon only weekly as apposed to a daily amount might be harmful to inhabitants,.

Lisa


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

I believe the overdosage is 5x. You would dose it based on the directions on initial dose, which is 5 ml every 10 gallons (or 1 every 2 gallons), instead of the normal dosage of 5 ml every 50 gallons (or 1 ml every 10 gallons).

That method is over dosing the whole tank. Misting directly on the leaves out of water, or spot dosing full strength is local over dosing, and works well unless you got it over everything, in which case it only makes sense to treat everything at once.


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## Guest (May 21, 2010)

okay, i took 50% of the water out, used 2wheelsx2 misting instructions on all the plastic plants that i saw it starting again on ... i took out the driftwood and sprizted it too ... let everything sit and percolate for a bit ... refilled with fresh water (seachem prime added) ... then i added 2.5 capfuls of flourish which is 5 x what i would normally add ... someone else (on another forum - don't tell anyone) said 5 x normally was correct too ... the only thing is, do i add that much daily, every three days, with the next weekly water change ??? i am feeling hopeful i can beat this ... it is hard going from a lush green tank to a tank full of plastic plants !!!


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## fish dork (Apr 21, 2010)

I've used metricide (the excel alternative) at the regular excel doses and it has worked well. The metricide is almost 2x the strength of excel, so dosing excel at 2X reg. strength should work.


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## Ra's al Ghul (Apr 28, 2010)

I would check your tank for phosphates and nitrates. Most black brush algae or algae is caused by high phosphates or nitrates.


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## Guest (May 21, 2010)

i do not have a test kit for phosphates but my nitrates have always been below 10 ppm and since my plastic plant situation they measured under the next colour up which i think was 20 or 25 ... i am pretty sure this algae was caused by the plant i brought in because for a year prior to that there was no algae whatsoever ... and the plant i bought had black fuzzy stuff on it but the guy said it was just due to lack of light and not an issue and me not knowing anything about algae i believed him


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## Nicklfire (Apr 21, 2010)

I will have to try and dig up my previous thread on beating BGA because everyone that used my routine seemed to beat it out.

I cannot remember if it's 5x or 3x, or 5x initially then 3 times every day after the first day. But i know you dose every day for the 10 days, i just forget the amount per gal

I'll have to try to remember or dig it up somehow


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

I wouldn't worry about the nitrates and phosphates. In a planted tank, it's almost always caused by lack/fluctuating CO2 levels. Just keep up with the Excel and you'll eventually win out.


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## alym (Apr 21, 2010)

I've regularly used metricide spray with success!!


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

any early updates? i got an outbreak so i upped the diy co2 (3 L jello) but will need to excel treat soon to get on top of it


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## Bien Lim (Apr 21, 2010)

you can use Excel like everyone else suggested but after that consistent co2 is a must, keep in mind that the more plants grow the more co2 you will need so you consistently adjusting it. thanks


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Bien Lim said:


> you can use Excel like everyone else suggested but after that consistent co2 is a must, keep in mind that the more plants grow the more co2 you will need so you consistently adjusting it. thanks


Very good point, Bien. Many of us forget to mention that as growth and density of the plants change, the CO2 needs to change, and if you don't have a drop checker, it's hard to tell if more or less CO2 is needed. My personal experience in my higher light 20 gallon is that as I get lazy with the pruning, I get outbreaks of BBA. Once I clean that up with a bit of Excel and prune the plants back, the problem goes away. But there is some adjustment of the CO2 necessary. And to dial in your pressurized Co2 properly, a good needle valve is must.


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Corey Doras said:


> I had the same problem a few years ago but I got rid of it:
> 
> I use Seachem Flourish Excel (in addition to a regular plant fertilizer) at the rate of 1mL/gallon once a week after a big water change (50%). Then I just keep doing it...every week... The algae didn't disappear suddenly but it got shorter and shorter, and eventually it was gone for good; it takes a few weeks. I also noticed that my plants now grow better and bigger as well, since Excel provides them with carbon (like injecting CO2 would).
> 
> The only problem with using that much Excel is that it is not good for shrimps; they tend to die... So you might want to keep them in a separate tank. Snails are OK.


Amanos are fine wih Excel overdose quantities. I have done it many times in several of my tanks. I do it semi-regularly and I have not seen BBA for months. I find it keeps algae at bay even with pressurized CO2 running.

Let me know if you need a starter amount of Excel. I have no issue giving you 250ml for free as a starter. Just bring an empty and clean 250 ml bottle.

Feel free to PM or call me Cheryl.

Stuart


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## Guest (May 29, 2010)

okay, i did do the 5x the first day and i have been adding 1 ml/gallon every night ... no shrimp have died that i can see but i will be able to tell tomorrow as my new PINK stand is being delivered and i am taking the entire tank down to put sand as the substrate ... so i am not sure how this will affect the algae situation ... the guy at the store told me to dip everything in a mixture of 1 part bleach and 20 parts water, then rinse in clean water ... anyone heard of that ??? so far i have done the overdose plus dosing every night for three nights, tonight will be the fourth ...

and thank you Stuart, i actually went out and got the big bottle, i think i am going to need it


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Plastic plants, glazed ceramic ornaments, and non-porous rocks can be bleaced overnight and then dechlorinated the following day using enough dechlorinator to dissipate any bleach odor.

You can also do the bleach dilution at 1 part bleach and 20 parts bleach. I've never done it myself but I heard this through several forums.

Best Regards,

Stuart


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

If you are going to bleach non porous material (ornaments, plastic plants), I would actually use much stronger bleach and then rinse and dechlorinate. I would use 1:10 or stronger and do it for a couple of minutes and scrub it right off.


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## fenster58 (Apr 23, 2010)

anyone know where to get metricide?


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

*Public Enemy #1 - Black brush Algae and how to fight it*

posted this here by mistake


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## Guest (May 31, 2010)

that's okay, i already saw your post and have printed it out in case the bbs comes back


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