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The "One-Two Punch" Whole Tank Algae Treatment

412K views 546 replies 219 participants last post by  Dallascowboys16 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
NOTE: Others have reported deaths of shrimp, snails, and fish - particularly known sensitive ones. Please read the entire thread for details before experimenting. For anyone who wishes to try this, I am changing my initial recommendation for H2O2 to 2 tbsp. per 10G, down from 4 tbsp. This treatment seems especially hit-and-miss with shrimp, so for them, I do not recommend this treatment AT ALL - unless you consider them expendable.


PREFACE:


This is a technique I've developed. While I've provided this info in several threads now as personalized help, I feel it deserves a full write-up in its own thread.

In brief: It uses a properly executed H2O2 whole tank treatment, followed by a whole tank Excel treatment, to provide a much greater algicidal effect than either alone; without noticeably increased risk to fauna or plants.

This has been performed by me many times, and by others only a few. While in all cases no adverse effects were observed, I cannot guarantee it to be 100% safe. Only through many more tests in a wide variety of tanks can that be established. Keep that in mind should you decide to try it, and if you do, please share your results in this thread.

Even if you don't try this, you may still find some of it informative.


FIRST PUNCH: H2O2

Whole tank H2O2 treatments don't get much attention. The results are typically very poor, at least until you get into such doses that fauna are at risk; and after a few failed attempts, most folks understandably write this option off.

But the truth is, most people perform this treatment completely wrong.

The WRONG Way:

Typically, the first thing done is to turn off the filters and lights. Already, one mistake has potentially been made, and a path paved to another.

Turning off the filters does prevent H2O2 from flowing through the biomedia. That's good, because we don't want the H2O2 to kill too much nitrifying bacteria, nor want the H2O2 depleted at this point in reaction with these bacteria. But often, this leaves little or no flow in the tank.

The effect of any chemical is determined by: Concentration * Flow * Time.

A H2O2 spot treatment works with no flow, solely because of the incredibly high concentration at the location where it's applied. But in a whole tank treatment, it's far more dilute. So instead, high flow is required to carry it around the tank, to contact the algae and have some positive effect.

Without that, there is only one place where high flow is occurring. Fish gills. And that is the one thing we don't want the H2O2 reacting with!

Moving on now. The H2O2 is added. Some amount of time is allowed to elapse, a half hour or so. Then the treatment is "terminated", by turning filters and lights back on. This is the next mistake.

Virtually all of the H2O2 still exists in the tank, because without flow, very little of it has reacted with anything. While light does break down H2O2, this is measured in days - even in direct sunlight. Not minutes. So the light has no effect, in the time scales we're working with.

The biofilter at least is now reducing the H2O2. And with flow restored, the H2O2 is at last starting to have some effect on the algae. But the fish are already getting close to suffering noticeable stress. The full concentration of H2O2 has been flowing through their gills for a half hour, completely without reason since this time did nothing to kill the algae. And they will continue to be exposed to gradually lessening concentrations, further increasing the stress, as the filter slowly removes it. It may take another half hour before H2O2 is sufficiently reduced.

The RIGHT Way:

As I said before, Concentration * Flow * Time.

So if you want an effective treatment, provide massive flow during the entire treatment period. Since flow is constant through fish gills, to protect them you shorten the time, by wasting none of it with periods where the algae isn't affected, and correctly terminating the treatment. If this is done, the increase in safety is actually enough that concentration can be increased.

First, prepare the tank. You want as much flow as possible. If you have extra powerheads, add them. If your sole source of flow is your filters, you'll have to temporarily remove the filter media to a bucket of tank water, and leave the filters on. Otherwise, this is optional but still beneficial. I have a cheap Koralia clone that with 1,320GPH flow, turned out to be too much for any of my tanks; but I keep it around because it's ideal for this treatment.

If you have Marimo balls, temporarily remove them to a bucket of tank water as well. Cladophora is very hardy, and normally not affected by whole tank H2O2 treatments. But this treatment can burn them badly, especially on sides exposed to direct flow. If they're also infested with undesirable algae, they can be treated simply by keeping them in the bucket in a dark place for a week. They can tolerate extremely long blackouts without harm, unlike other algae.

Keep the lights on. Light has no effect on the H2O2, only your ability to see what's going on.

Now add 3% H2O2, at a dosage of 4 tbsp. per 10G of actual tank water volume (excluding substrate, plants, etc.). Yes, that's double what's typically used; as explained previously we can use a higher concentration.

Allow to circulate for 15 minutes. During this time, redirect flow a few times if possible, to make sure all areas get covered. If you have particular trouble spots, try to ensure they get direct flow during part of the treatment.

Now terminate the treatment. Do a 50% water change, or more if you know it's well tolerated. Return the tank to its normal configuration, including replacing filter media if it was removed.

Less hardy algae may be effectively killed by this alone, especially if flow was good. But all algae will be weakened, and now it's time for:


SECOND PUNCH: EXCEL

Any remaining algae not killed by the H2O2 is now extremely susceptible to Excel.

If you weren't already using Excel, or were using it at the recommended dose, add Seachem's recommended initial dose of 5ml per 10G. No further large doses are necessary in this case. Algae builds up some tolerance to Excel, similar to sensitive plants like Vals. In this case, the H2O2 treatment followed by a single, sudden Excel spike is enough to quickly finish algae off.

If you were already using Excel overdoses, continue using the previous dose.

Enjoy your algae-free tank. If there are any underlying problems that caused the algae outbreak in the first place, correct them so your tank stays algae-free. In some cases, a thorough algae removal like this is enough to improve plant health to the point where algae will not return.


CLOSING NOTES:

I've used this treatment many times over the course of the last year.

It was originally developed to deal with what I call my SOS, "Staghorn On Steroids", as featured in my signature. SOS doesn't behave quite according to the rules. Like most algae it likes high light, but will thrive in medium light if flow is high. It laughs at high CO2, H2O2 spot treatments, and Excel spot/tank treatments. But it falls hard to the "One-Two Punch", and I relied on this treatment heavily when trying to figure out how to keep it from growing. Which took a while, during which time I probably would have given up in frustration if I hadn't found a way to periodically eliminate it, without ripping out half my plants after each failed tank parameter adjustment.

I've tried it on other algae too, mostly out of curiosity rather than necessity. Works great. Burning my Marimo balls was a nasty surprise, but certainly showed how effective it is, as they've never been affected by any other algicidal treatment. Should I ever have an invasive clado problem, I expect this might be able to eliminate it.

I've never seen any adverse effect on the more sensitive inhabitants of my tank; including otos, cories, bamboo shrimp, ramshorn and pond snails. No idea if it's safe for other shrimp, as I keep no other varieties. I'd like to see someone try it on a tank with a few expendable cherries. Java moss was unaffected. I have some anacharis, which is particularly sensitive to Excel, but which I've gradually acclimated to a normal dose; it too is unharmed by this treatment. Hopefully others can soon add their experiences.

Off-topic but related. Recently I see the use of AlgaeFix being more freely discussed, now that certain people have finally softened their views on it, and mentioning it no longer results in guaranteed chastisement. Yes, it works, I've used it, and it's certainly easier than my method. But it isn't safe for invertebrates. Several times I've also had fish severely stressed or killed by AlgaeFix, and although in the majority of cases this doesn't happen, I consider it a gamble. I have an idea why this occurs different from other hypothesis I've seen, and how it might be avoided, but that's a topic for another thread I'll soon post. At this time I consider my treatment possibly safer than AlgaeFix when a powerful full tank treatment is required, and certainly usable in more circumstances.

Hope this proves useful to you!
 
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#159 ·
The reason you do not see my posting is because it got deleted! Got a private message today from lauraleellbp saying my posts will be deleted from now on if there is "text speak" in them... Anyways, it is definitely an ammonia spike. I dosed Prime & will do a water change in the morning.
Any thoughts as to why the spike may have occurred? Media dry out, dead snails etc...?

Also, after 3 days all the diatom algae seems gone, though I still have misc other thread like algae and what not. Can't figure out why as one of the worse spots is right in front of the powerhead where the H2O2 and excel would have had the most exposure I would have thought.
 
#162 ·
Zlookup: Thread algae, if killed, takes longer to decompose on its own. You can try a bit of manual removal to test - if it's dead, you'll find it fragile by now, and separates more easily from plants.

Stevekx500: Yep, red BBA is dead BBA. :) And glad you're comfortably dealing with an ammonia spike. If you should later figure out what caused it, let us know.
 
#163 ·
Did another WC and a lot of the algae did come off fairly easily with siphoning. Riccia is starting to look bleached out a bit so not sure if it'll survive and some Vals were melting at the base. Not all. They should survive but definitely was impacted. Overall, I'd say I'd be ok with doing it again though probably with half strength since I have moved the shrimp in and don't want to take the chance ( even though the snails seemed ok and even laid eggs ).
 
#164 ·
Stevekx500: Yep, red BBA is dead BBA. :) And glad you're comfortably dealing with an ammonia spike. If you should later figure out what caused it, let us know.[/QUOTE]

AWESOME!!! As far as dealing w/ ammonia spike - no biggie. I have been into aquariums for 16 yrs so it doesn't bother me to much because I know how to deal w/ it :) & thank you to everyone on here that has helped me thru this new way of dealing w/ BBA! Best of luck to everyone that comes across this thread & decides to use it! I can honestly say it works wonders!!! :proud:
 
#166 ·
Denske: I haven't had a serious and persistent diatom bloom to try it on, but it's eliminated any small traces, and several others reported the treatment wipes larger quantities out effectively. I also took a peek at the subject lines for your posts within the past two months. Unless I missed something in that brief check, you haven't posted up a thread providing tank details and requesting help for the diatom issue. It's always a good idea to try and diagnose any underlying problem prior to trying a chemical treatment. Or at least at the same time you start the treatment, if the algae has gotten so bad that you need to buy some time.
 
#171 ·
OK, so I followed the directions in the original post and this is the pictures 2 days after the treatment. The aquarium on the left was the one covered in green algae. The one on the right has minimal black algae and hair algae, which has slowed down since the treatment. I just wanted to say that all the fish and plants are alive and well :)

 
#172 ·
Completed the "1-2" yesterday. Went exactly as described in DC's instructions. Calculated to use 40 gallons of my 50. After removing canister media, H2O2 was introduced. Used the revised 2 tablespoon/10 gallon ratio. Introduced 8 tablespoons to tank while running medialess filter and Koralia pump. Plenty of circulation. Went for the prescribed 15 minute circulation time. At end, I pulled 50% out and started the refill. Checked the transfer hoses and found that they were coated in several kinds of algae. Used the MagFox cleaner. It worked ok, after a lot of elbow grease. Literally fell apart after two hoses and scratched the crap out of the exterior of the hoses. Will use brush/trimmer string method next time... As water was coming back up, added Excel as directed. Stood back and watched the gorgeous pearling on the plants. This morning, everyone is there. Plants ok. Fish ok. I'd have to say it was a successful operation!
 
#173 ·
Been battling green water algae since I so brilliantly cultivated it a couple of months ago with a total tank replant, practically turning the substrate upside down plus leaving 4 39w T5s on for nearly 30 hours when I fell asleep for 12 hours during a little "break" in the new planting. Luckily, I had placed the light fixture back on the tank before my nap to admire my progress or else the green water algae might not have flourished so.

I tried the "one-two" punch as soon as I finished reading the OP yesterday: 16 tbsp (250ml/9oz) of H202 in my 55 allowing about 40+ gallons since I have rocks and also elevated substrate as a couple of "hills" on the sides. Ran my Eheim Ecco Pro Easy 80 empty of media baskets plus my Rio 400 full blast with the duck bill super thrust nozzle for crazy circulation. After 15 minutes I used both of my siphon vacuums to do a 50% water change with pristine RO water. I added the Excel when the tank was half empty and had it filled within 5 minutes - total water change was less than 20 minutes since I had 4 5 gallon jugs of water ready and so only had to fill one from my holding tank which is only about 30 steps away.

My 50 neon tetras, 8 Coreys, 5 green tiger barbs and 2 Thai algae eaters did not seem to dig it not one iota. Upon the shock of the H202 dump the barbs immediately quit pestering each other, the neons balled up into a still life of a school in the center of the tank, the algae eaters immediately quit begging for food and dashed into a thicket and all the coreys stopped wriggling around on the bottom and just froze where they were. I forgot to check out my assassins at the time to see how they were doing but they're here today along with all the others.

Today I have recharged my Vortex D-1 and will run it while scrubbing all the remnants of the (DEAD?) GWA from the glass and rocks. So we'll see.
 
#174 ·
It worked!!!! Almost all of my dark brown algae is gone and now my plants are starting to grow fast and bright green again. I did one treatment of 9 tbsp for th 72 gallons without fish and then 10 tbsp with the discus and cardinals and plecos. Low and behold no deaths! Untile a couple of days later and then one cardinal vanished?! Not sure if the H2O2 killed him off or the discus wanted a midnight snack. Anyway, thanks a bunch for turning my tank around!
 
#175 ·
Just tried this in my 150 gallon to combat the start of a hair algae outbreak. Tank has everything from shrimp and micro crabs to zebra plecos and nerite snails and nothing seemed to be even slighty stressed from the H2O2 and i added more then recommended. Will chime back in after a few days with updates
 
#177 ·
I performed the "One - Two Punch" on my tank last week. I had an abundance of BBA and other types of algae that were wreaking havoc in my tank, hence the need for treatment.
I'm happy to report that it worked for me. The BBA and other Algae are dead and I didn't lose any fish during the treatment.
 
#178 ·
I've done this on my tank due to having a tonne of GHA and Cyano and a patch of BBA. Unfortunately I don't have any Excel so I just did the H2O2 part @ 3TBS per 10G. After a couple days it was all gone. However I had a bunch of healthy, propagating spiral val that all melted away after this treatment. Funny thing is they were the most healthy plant in the tank. I guess vals just don't respond well to this.
 
#183 ·
I tried this three days ago with limited results, yet no deaths. I used 2 tbls per 10 gallons calculating for 45 gallons in a 55 gallon tank. Removed bio-media fro my canister and added an old power head to increase flow. Ran for 15 minutes then did a quick 50% water change followed by an excel dose.

The only reaction I saw was from nerites which made a break for the top of the tank but are now fine. All other fish seemed ok (Bolivian Rams, Hatchet Fish, Upside down catfish, glass catfish, oto's). Plant wise there has been some melting on the vals, but that’s all.

Some of the staghorn turned red while the rest seemed unaffected. Other algae did not appear effected. No noticeable algae die off.

I will continue treating with excel at normal dosage and give it till this weekend when I do another water change till I decide whether to try again with a slightly higher dose. Hoping it hurt it enough at least for the plants to now out compete it (algae). Will update if there is any changes or if I choose to try this method again.
 
#184 ·
Update: It's been one week and I have noticed a decrease in algae, with most of it dying or dead. Since I was already dosing excel daily I would have to attribute this to the H2O2 helping out. I've continued dosing excel as well as increased flourish comprehensive to twice a week. I did a water change this weekend and now see oto's on the leaves attacking the dead algae. In my case I think the H2O2 weakened the algae and the increased cleaning with extra ferts is helping the plants out compete it now. The only loss I had was my vals melting, but I already see new shoots sprouting from the sand so they are coming back fast.
 
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