The "One-Two Punch" Whole Tank Algae Treatment

[freph]

Haven't tried this method per-se, but the peroxide and excel combo does work quite well. Thanks for the idea. I've used it the past two water changes on my mini and have noticed a good deal of change in algae levels.

[DarkCobra]

Originally Posted by 13B-RX3

Well, the deed is done, here are the results.

Sounds like everything went well, excellent!

Originally Posted by 13B-RX3

I added the Acurel thinking it would be better to have the dead algae in the filter floss where i could dispose of it rather than having it decompose in the tank.

Given the kind of algae you have, I think this was a great idea.

Originally Posted by 13B-RX3

One thing worth mentioning is after the dose of Acurel F, as the water cleared, my neon tetras all shot into the DHG and buried themselves. At first i thought they had all lost their mind but then i realized that they had been at the bottom of a very dark and murky aquarium for the last two weeks. I am thinking that the light is much brighter and they are hiding from it.

LOL!

Originally Posted by 13B-RX3

Thank you darkcobra for taking the time to develop this method and if nothing changes it was very successful.

You're welcome! Thanks for the detailed report, and pleast post back if you have any thoughts or new developments.

[13B-RX3]

Originally Posted by DarkCobra

You're welcome! Thanks for the detailed report, and pleast post back if you have any thoughts or new developments.

I just picked up the largest of the ramshorn snails and kind of swished him about a little. After i set him down he slowly started to come out of his shell so they may be ok. Hopefully with all the changes i have made i will not have to use this treatment again, but it's good to know it works if i have to!


Just in case anyone is wondering about water flow my HOB filter is 400gph (if you believe it) and the powerhead is 266 gph.

[houseofcards]

Originally Posted by 13B-RX3

Going to give this a shot tomorrow. I had things under control after algaefix dosing but a neglected DIY co2 bottle and removing some plant mass caused a major algae bloom. I have ordered my pressurized co2 setup and am planning on adding quite a few new plants in the next few days. I can't use the algaefix now because i have stocked the tank. I currently have 16 neon tetras, 7 Harlequin Rasboras, three amano shrimp, and a ton of ramshorn snails. I will get some before and after pictures and let everyone know how it turns out.


Any last minute advise?

If it's mostly an algae bloom, you could have just hooked up a UV. Not only will it clear the algae bloom forever with no risk to livestock it will also remove parasites, etc from the water column. Makes acclimating fish like Cardinals much easier.

[aokashi]

I'm used metrcide and h2o2 in on my green hair algae.

Im on day 3 of treatment on a 1 gallon tank.
I've been doing metrcide 3drops/day
and a capful of h2o2 on day 2.
My stargrass has black tinges but otherwise everything else seems fine.
some green hair algae have turned white and died

i have a bit of bga in the substrate, between the glass, any ideas on how to treat that...?

[DarkCobra]

Originally Posted by aokashi

i have a bit of bga in the substrate, between the glass, any ideas on how to treat that...?

Take either the amount of H2O2 or Metricide you're already using. Add water to it to increase the volume - the reason, and amount of water, will become evident shortly.

Turn off filters. Suck up your H2O2/Metricide solution into a syringe with a needle. Inject it right into the substrate in the middle of the BGA patch, up against the glass.

The substrate tends to hold the chemical right up against the BGA, so it won't dissipate as fast as in a normal spot treatment. As long as you have enough volume to fill this area of the substrate, even a diluted solution will have a powerful effect due to this prolonged contact.

Wait 15 minutes and turn the filter back on. Done.

If the BGA extends up the glass above the substrate line, you can also "tent" that area. Use rocks, plastic, or whatever is handy to make a temporary cover. It doesn't have to be perfect. As the treatment seeps out of the substrate, it will be somewhat trapped in this area, ensuring the BGA on the glass gets a good dose too.

In the ocean, there's a seaweed called Caulerpa. It's an invasive species which grows on the ocean floor. Nothing eats it except one species of slug, which does so only grudgingly. And it crowds out all other plants and corals. So once it becomes established in an area, nothing else remains. It's sometimes eliminated by laying tarps over the ocean floor, then pumping chlorine under the tarps. So I didn't invent "tenting", just borrowed the technique.

You can get creative with it. For example, you might "tent" a plant by putting an inverted plastic bag over it, adding a treatment with a syringe, and then loosely tying off the bottom of the bag. Kind of like a dip, but inside the tank. You still have to limit the amount of chemical, as once you remove the bag, anything that remains is dispersed into the water and becomes a full tank treatment; but holding the chemical in the bag, and the more limited amount of water within it for as long as you like, would make this a powerful treatment. I haven't done it, and can't imagine why anyone would. But who knows, it might inspire someone.

[13B-RX3]

Originally Posted by houseofcards

If it's mostly an algae bloom, you could have just hooked up a UV. Not only will it clear the algae bloom forever with no risk to livestock it will also remove parasites, etc from the water column. Makes acclimating fish like Cardinals much easier.

The algae bloom was just one type of algae i was battling. I just got my sunsun 304b with a UV light and hopefully it will keep the blooms at bay.


Everything looks good today! The ramshorns are up and doing their thing. All is well!

[balutpenoy2oy]

My faunas are;

cardinal , neon and serpae tetra
SAE
boesemani rainbow
Emerald corydoras
bushynose pleco


And my floras are;

Riccia
Java fern and moss
anubias nana
crypto ( parva, undulata,...)
red tiger lotus
blyxa japonica
pygmy chain sword
pogostemon stellata
hygrophila ( sunset,polysperma )
limnophila aromatica
Micranthemum Umbrosum
bacopa caroliniana
rotala wallichii red
Ammania Sp gracilis
snail ( nerite and MTS )

My question is which of them are susceptible to " one two punch algae treatment " ? I want to try this on my BBA . Thanks

[aokashi]

Originally Posted by DarkCobra

Take either the amount of H2O2 or Metricide you're already using. Add water to it to increase the volume - the reason, and amount of water, will become evident shortly. I haven't done it, and can't imagine why anyone would. But who knows, it might inspire someone.

Great info but a little too complicated for a 1 gallon tank XD
I'm just slowly dosing a bit of h2o2 in ther entire tank and i can see it fading slowly... I'll keep the info in mind for future infestations

Thank you as always

[aokashi]

Originally Posted by balutpenoy2oy

My question is which of them are susceptible to " one two punch algae treatment " ? I want to try this on my BBA . Thanks

possibly riccia and M. Umbrosum. Also the shrimps.

[Merth]

Hey Chris have you tried this method using the metricide? Let me know if you want to Ive got a gallon sitting around. Might have to hit my african tank with it and see never can be rid of the dang bba.

[DarkCobra]

Originally Posted by Merth

Hey Chris have you tried this method using the metricide? Let me know if you want to Ive got a gallon sitting around. Might have to hit my african tank with it and see never can be rid of the dang bba.

I actually do use Metricide 14 now for all treatments, as well as normal carbon supplementation. But unless discussing Metricide specifically, I prefer to just say Excel, since more people are familiar with that; and I convert Metricide dosages (at 2.6% glutaraldehyde) to the larger Excel equivalents (1.5%) when posting.

I used to use Excel, and found no difference between it and Metricide once the difference in concentration is accounted for. I love Metricide. It's so much cheaper, I tend to keep a normal dosage in all my tanks, even those tanks that don't need it because they have CO2. Doing this keeps sensitive plants like vals and anacharis acclimated to it, so I never have to worry about melting if I move them between tanks.

[Zorfox]

First of all, Thank you Darkcobra! I've been trying to eradicate staghorn for a couple of months without success.

After reading the thread I decided to try this method out. I had no reservations since my inhabitants are 3 serpae tetras and 10 neons. When I started for some reason I dosed the tank in teaspoons NOT tablespoons. Effectively reducing the dose by two thirds. I have a 55 gallon heavily planted with about 15 gallons of substrate, rock and plants. I did not remove my filter material. It is only the blue filter material one gets by the roll cut to fit in a corner overflow (was an old reef tank). I added 60ml of peroxide and a 1700LPH powerhead to my 2000LPH main pump. So to say the least I had plenty of flow! I constantly moved the powerhead around hitting everything, uprooting a few lol. After 20 minutes I changed 50% of the water.

The fish showed absolutely no signs of stress. In fact, they were trying to eat small plant pieces floating around. As soon as I finished I realized I underdosed the tank. Since I had to leave town for a few days I decided to just continue to overdose with API CO2 booster (no LFS carries Excel around here) and see what happens. It's been 5 days now and there is certainly improvement. I saw no increase in nitrate, nitrites or ammonia. If the algae does not disappear within a couple of weeks I will redose with the same "underdoseage".

I thought it would be helpful to post my results even though it was not the 30ml/gallon recommendation since it WAS effective. It may be another method for those that have sensitive inhabitants to do multiple applications at a much smaller dose. I kind of view it like antibiotics for us. One pill won't do very much but a few days worth will.

Hairgrass before the treatment...



Five days after treatment...

[DarkCobra]

Hey Zorfox, thanks for the report!

Algae not initially killed will, for a time, adapt by producing more of its natural defenses to both H2O2 and Excel. So each successive treatment will be a bit less effective. Best case scenario, it will require more than 3 treatments at 1/3 dose, to get the same effect as a single treatment at full dose. Worse case, the algae will grow sufficiently resistant that you have to increase dosage or frequency to see substantial continued improvement.

That's why I prefer to use the largest H2O2 dose I can reliably get away with, and a sudden spike in Excel rather than continuous overdosing. Still, "chipping away at the stone" can work too. If you prefer to proceed this way, I encourage it, and would love to see future updates.

[abc]

I used this treatment for BGA, but I added a maracyn treatment. Thanks for the thread. I was having an unsual time with the BGA. I did the following:

1) peroxide as described
2) excel as described
3) marycyn treatment for a 1 week (3 doses spread out)
4) carbon filter to get rid of extra fertz
5) blackout throughout steps 1-4
6) when my water parameters were 0ppm pretty much all across the board
7) I cautiously started using lights again and commenced EI

Finally.... the BGA is gone

and I'm hoping to start fresh and get the right balance of fertz, lights, C02 (paintball) etc.