# spot-treating moss with excel



## Kelley (Aug 27, 2006)

Does anyone have any experience with this? I have a new 29 gal. with 2x55 W of light running for 7.5 hours. I use one bottle of DIY CO2 and EI ferts, as per the dosing regime suggested in the sticky in the fert forum. My only plant with any serious algae issues is my clump of Java moss. It is covered in beard algae. I do not want to overdose my entire tank with excel because I don't want to kill my vals. I am adding a second bottle of CO2 this week.

_Will spot-treating Java moss with exce kill my moss along with my BBA? _

thanks!


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

I've never tired it Kelley but you can always separate a small portion of the moss and give it a try to see how it works. Spot treat only the small portion and give it a week or so to see how it does.


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

I have seen negative effects to moss directly treated with excel. If the algae is isolated to the moss is there any chance you could put in 10 or so amano shrimp. They would probably keep the moss and other parts of the tank pretty clean. Moss and shrimp really go well together.


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

I woudl spot trat with hydrogen peroxide, simple drug-store type is perfectly fine. Use a syringe and when your filter is turned off, inject 10-15 ml onto the effected are, wait 5 minutes or so before turning back on the filter flow. You can do this right before a water change or any time you want, really. The next day, do this again, specifically targeting any areas you may not have hit good the first time. After a couple treatments of this the algae will turn nice pink/purple color and die. Amano shrimp and/or SAE really help speed up the process of removing it once it is dead. 

Of course, you will need to fix the problem that cuased this in the first place but you are already working on that with the second bottle of CO2.


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## DaFishMan (Dec 4, 2005)

"Of course, you will need to fix the problem that cuased this in the first place but you are already working on that with the second bottle of CO2."

That would be if the cause is lack of co2.

Maybe there is too much of a nutrient or there is not enough water movement on and around the moss. It can also help to fan it by hand sometimes to keep it clear of detritus.


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## Kelley (Aug 27, 2006)

Actually, the moss receives strong current from the outtake of my filter. It waves in the current quite nicely. 

I will try the peroxide treatment tonight. I'll let you know how it goes. 

Thanks,
Kelley


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## siliconcarbide (Mar 8, 2006)

I find that excel works very well to kill bba on java ferns. I have a small syringe with a fine point that I use to apply the excel. I use the amount that would be appropriate for the capacity of the tank. I add a tiny amount of clay (mud would work) to tint the excel so I can see where I am squirting it. Turn off the filtration a bit before you apply and leave it off for a few minutes. It works great for me.

Alan


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