The "One-Two Punch" Whole Tank Algae Treatment

[ccbeauch]

Well I did take out all of my fish just in case it was to stressful on them. I was more or less wondering if the long time would be bad for my regular plants seeing as they are the only things in there during this process.

[Zlookup]

Gave this a go few days back. Since all my fish are in QT tank due to ich and velvet (should have QT'd before instead of after, but that's what I get for rushing things), figured it was a good time to nuke the tank of all annoyances. Shutoff HOB filter and left powerhead running. Put the H2O2 at the full 4 vs 2Tbsp dosing recommendations for about 20mins. Only thing in the tank were snails which appear to still be kicking after 48 hrs+.

All plants came out unharmed (anubias, swords, vals, moss, riccia, hairgrass, microswords, water sprite, and misc others). A little melting on the vals, but they were already melting a little from all the shuffling I've done to them lately. Treatment did not seem to speed up or do any more damage.

WC 50%, turned HOB filter back on and dosed excel. Again, no affect on plants that I can see. Used a turkey baster to draw in water and spray around the substrate, rocks and plants to dislodge some diatoms and misc dead algae. Most of the diatom is now cleared.

I will say, the H2O2 treatment made the water crystal clear. I thought my water was pretty good already, but didn't realize how much clearer it could get until I saw the results of the H2O2 treatment. Side affect is that the treatment seemed to also get rid of some flatworms on the glass, including some planaria. At least, i couldn't see any afterwards since. Did nothing to the ditritus worms though which are enjoying the predator free tank for the moment.

I put in some safeguard yesterday at the .1g/10Gal dosing yesterday as an additional cleaning measure in case the planaria and other pests are still lurking. Will let things run and do a 50% WC tomorrow, followed by another one the day after.

[Zlookup]

Originally Posted by stevekx500

Is it normal 4 a tank 2 appear cloudy after 24 hrs? I did this yesterday & got home from work 2day & my tank is just a tad bit cloudy. I used about 3 Tbsp & I did dose all my ferts later n the evening. Thx, Steve

Did you turn off your filter during the treatment or remove the filter media?

[stevekx500]

I removed my media, yes

[bitFUUL]

Sweet concept, will surely sub and use.

[DarkCobra]

Odd. I see the quote about cloudy Steve's cloudy water, but I can't find the original post.

It's not really normal, and may or may not be serious. I'd recommend an ammonia test, and find out for sure.

[stevekx500]

Anyways, it is definitely an ammonia spike. I dosed Prime & will do a water change in the morning.

[Zlookup]

Originally Posted by stevekx500

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.

[stevekx500]

Originally Posted by Zlookup

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.

i


I put my media n a small bucket of tank water. EVERYTHING survived, so far... I'm not 2 worrided about it though. I will just keep testing my water & dose Prime everyday till its done doin its thing

[stevekx500]

The BBA on one of my leaves is turning a redish color. Is this normal in the "dying off" process?

[DarkCobra]

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.

[Zlookup]

Originally Posted by DarkCobra

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.

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 ).

[stevekx500]

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!!!

[denske]

Anybody use this method for Diatoms? I've had them now close to 2 months.

[DarkCobra]

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.