Re: Flourish Excel got rid of all my algae
 

Hi Red_Rose,

Some types of hair/thread algae seem to respond better to treatment than others. I have not had any problems with Excel / Glut affecting any of my fish. My val however, which grew normally prior to treatment now is stunted. The treatment is definitely worth trying however.

Re: Flourish Excel got rid of all my algae
 

Oddly enough I've recently discovered the same problem in my 25L Walstad tank.

Thread algae on my Riccia!

I was about to add some Excel too.

Excel as you know is very poisonous if too much is added. But the standard dose is fine with all fish.
It tends to kill off first bacteria and algae, small creatures like Cyclops, etc. leading up to shrimps and snails and then your fish.

We don't have a list as such as every species has different tolerances. Just 'suck it and see'. I'd add x2 dosage and see how it looks after a week.

You may also wish to look into 3-9% Hydrogen peroxide. (Pond owners add straw to their ponds and this decays into H2O2 which kills off algae.)

This when drip dosed over a few hours every day does much the same job as Excel plus it only decays into water and oxygen. I have a small plastic bowl with a tiny hole in it. Which I add a solution and it drips slowly into my tank.

Cheaper and probably safer than Excel too. Just watch the dosage of course.

Re: Flourish Excel got rid of all my algae
 

Thank you Seattle_Aquarist and quatermass for your help. :)

On my stem plants, it's really not a whole lot of algae on them since I try to do my best to keep it at bay by removing it so would I have to double the dose for just a little bit of algae? As for the Riccia, I would be taking the plant out of the tank and treating it in a separate container. Quite a bit of it is starting to die anyway so I'd have to remove the dead bits.

Although I will admit that I don't like the thought that Excel kills off cyclops. I have a lot of them in the tank and that's my betta's live food source. He loves hunting for them.

As for the peroxide, correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that bad for a fish's gills? I thought it could seriously hurt the gills of a fish.:confused:

Re: Flourish Excel got rid of all my algae
 

Hi Red_Rose,

I found that for Excel (and Glut) to be effective as an algaecide, 2X dosage is what worked for me. Dosing at a lower dosage did not have the algaecide effect for me.

Re: Flourish Excel got rid of all my algae
 

Same here, my Galaxy fish use them in my Walstad tank. It's odd having a tank in which you hardly need to feed them is it? :D
At increased dosages it will. But I've never experimented with dosages to see what level does.

Again, it's about dosages. I've put in 30ml of 9% into a 200L tank over 24 hours and the community tank of small and large fish have all been fine. No distress at all.
Obviously if you put in too much it'll kill, just like any chemical from a shop.
Follow the levels on the link here on H2O2 and you can't go wrong.

Remember the 1st thing to be broken down will be the TDS in the water. So it may take a while initially for any H2O2 to actually get to the algae. :)

I've started today with 1ml of 9% H2O2 into my 25L Walstad tank and I'll be adding this once every 12 hours. It has 4x Galaxy (Danio margaritatus) and 3 Dwarf Otos and Cherry shrimp.
I'll be keeping an eye out for the Cyclops and Hydra I have in the tank.

http://mytriops.com/myfish/pict1093s.jpg

Re: Flourish Excel got rid of all my algae
 

Yesterday, I took the time to read through this thread to see what other types of experiences people have had with Excel as well as doing a search on the internet and it has made me nervous. I've heard of people who ended up losing plants and fish from just the normal doses!

Call me a chicken s*&t if you want but I think I'm just going to try adding more floating plants to see if they can compete against the algae and I'll save Excel as a last resort. I'm also going to remove the Riccia, which I think is the real reason why some of my stem plants are getting a bit of algae in the first place. Could be wrong though.

Thanks again though for all of your help! I'm bookmarking this thread for future reference. :)

btw, that is a great looking tank, quartermass! What is that bushy looking green plant in the back corner of the tank to the right of the phone? I like the looks of it.

Re: Flourish Excel got rid of all my algae
 

Of course another course of action (apart from using Hydrogen peroxide) would be to add a fish that eats thread algae like a young Siamese Algae Eater?



Thanks.
That's my Riccia. I placed small clumps of it in between my Java fern leaves when I set it up and it's grown into those 'rounded lumps'. Every couple of months I have to remove it as it grows huge. I have a mere 11W overhead light on it. I sell the lumps to my local club. :-)
I also have a bit growing on top of my filter outlet, Riccia turns a different shape leaf which looks rather nice when it's just out of the water. You can see this here - Riccia pics (Those are of my 250L tank with Riccia in it).

I also like the way the Frogbit grows its roots down so it touches the substrate.

Re: Flourish Excel got rid of all my algae
 

I had 3 young SAEs once in my 72 gal. They never touched my thread algae. Barely touched my BBA too. Finally got rid of them. What a nightmare catching them was. I'll never do that again.

Re: Flourish Excel got rid of all my algae
 

Heh heh heh.... that's exactly why man invented the knob on the CO2 tank ;) Gasping fish can't swim away :D

Re: Flourish Excel got rid of all my algae
 

Where you sure they were SAEs? My 6 SAEs are always eating my BBA.

A lot of shops can't tell the difference between a Flying Fox and a Siamese Algae Eater.

See link for pictures.
http://theaquariumwiki.com/SFF

I bought my seventh SAE yesterday, shop tried to tell me it was a Flying Fox.
Pretty obvious it wasn't.
They had 3 or 4 Flying Fox in the very next tank and even they couldn't tell the difference. I couldn't believe it as their body colours are so different!
When I pointed it out, he went 'oh'.
Very different diet requirements between the two.