Flourish Excel got rid of all my algae

Hi Barbels,

Yes, Excel / Metricide / Glutaraldehyde will kill BBA. I dose Excel strength glutaraldehyde. I dose the recommended 'Initial Dose' after weekly water changes and 2X the "Daily Dose" all other days.

Although Excel / glutaraldehyde do kill BBA the small 'tufts' remain unless removed. I keep an Siamese Algae Eater (SAE / Crossocheilus oblongus or syn. Crossocheilus siamensis) in each of my tanks. They are not very effective against healthy BBA they do a great job eating BBA that has been weakened by the treatment above.

I currently have no BBA in any of my tanks.

I use hydrogen peroxide to deal with algae. It works for me.

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Hi alanle,

Although your comment really does not follow the subject of the thread of using Excel (glutaraldehyde) I agree there are other methods including hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) that can be effective in treating some types of algae.

I have a mild case of bba and I started doing double doses of excel the past 8 days and can see it all dieing off so yes higher doses of excel does help rid algee from your tank imo

Simpte 27 what size tank?

I've got what I'm assuming is BBA in one of my tanks that's covering my anubias and rosette swords. I would like to try using Excel in there, but I hear it ruins anacharis, which there's a ton of in that tank.

Seattle_Aquarist said:

Hi Barbels,

Yes, Excel / Metricide / Glutaraldehyde will kill BBA. I dose Excel strength glutaraldehyde. I dose the recommended 'Initial Dose' after weekly water changes and 2X the "Daily Dose" all other days.

Although Excel / glutaraldehyde do kill BBA the small 'tufts' remain unless removed. I keep an Siamese Algae Eater (SAE / Crossocheilus oblongus or syn. Crossocheilus siamensis) in each of my tanks. They are not very effective against healthy BBA they do a great job eating BBA that has been weakened by the treatment above.

I currently have no BBA in any of my tanks.

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I follow the same protocol. The initial high dosage is more critical than the daily lower dosage. When I did only daily 2x dosage but skip the initial high dosage, some bba persist, though not expanding. Only after I resumed high initial dosage after each WC that the persistent bba went away.

I also do peroxide spot treatment during WC when the water level is lowered. I spray all exposed plants, hardscape, and the underside of the glass cover to keep out algae. Now my plants are healthy and almost completely free of any algae, I only do initial 5x dosage, no daily dosage, but still spray peroxide in each water change to keep glass cover and hardscape clean.

A side benefit of glut is that it's an ingredient in SeaChem Paraguard used for ick treatment. With similar chemical structure as formaldehyde, regular dosing of glut can prevent ick and higher dosing can treat ick.