# Black Hair Algae and treatment



## northtexasfossilguy

In the past week I've had an explosion of black hair algae. I've been reading about it, and trying to alter the right factors to kill the stuff back.

Here is what I've done:
-Finally set up my CO2 system and got it running. It is attached to a pH meter which shuts it off automatically along with the light timer which shuts it off too. (too soon to tell effect)
-I have 150 watts of light for appx 29 gallons. Its a 30 g hex tank that is deep. (was turning it off for an hour during the day, but that did nothing.)
-I also run moon lights, but have since quit as I have noticed that the algae seems to flourish under that light, however that may be unrelated. 
-Added appx 3 mL of AlgaeFix last night (looked a little more crusty today)
-Started treating the tank with liquid fertilizers. (hair algae increased in length and density too...)
-Started trying to remove the stuff by hand, but it seems like a losing battle.
-My tank has started looking much more cloudy too.

pH around 7.0, nitrate and nitrite levels were null last time I checked, hardness is way up there, all the other variables are normal.

I'm planning on waiting for a couple of days to see how the black hair algae reacts to what I have done so far. The only problem is that it is so well attached and when I try to remove it, pieces of the leaves come with it, I was using a razorblade to pinch it against that and pull it out, but its a really messy and ineffective process.

I thought about trying to cut back the leafy plants, like the grass which has the bulk of the algae on it, and the top leaves from my Java fern. Is that a good idea or should I just let it die off of those?

We'll see how things go. I'm not taking it apart, I may remove a few plants at most and replace them when it has been beaten back. 

Also, should I put in an airstone in case the decay of the algae causes the tanks dissolved O2 to drop? :fish2:


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## niko

BBA shows up like that cause something caused organics to be released in the water. They are invisible to you.

So no matter how clean your tank looks to you the BBA found it to be just right for them. From here you should do 2 things:

- Make sure you reduce the organics
Reduce fish feeding, change about 10% of the water every other day, do not stir the substrate, remove fish that stir it. You get the idea

- Add Seachem Excel
If you want some free I got some. It's a Seachem gift to our club and instead of raffling it I think it's fair to give it away to people that actually need it now.

Let me know.

--Nikolay


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## northtexasfossilguy

Ha! I'm glad my guppies can't hear you. They are really fat! I will waive my guilt for a while, though they all school together at the top when I come near it as if to say "feed me." 

Niko, if you are coming Sunday to TexGals, I'd definitely take a bottle of that stuff and try it. I'm sure I will be having results by then from my CO2 injection also. I kept reading that you guys recommended it to solve all woes, but I thought it was just a fertilizer and not primarily for carbon.

Anyway, thanks for the assist. I will start taking pics to show the recovery and changes happening.


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## supersmirky

WIth really hard water, you will find the algae will always reappear. What is your KH?


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## redtheinspector

niko said:


> BBA shows up like that cause something caused organics to be released in the water. They are invisible to you.
> 
> So no matter how clean your tank looks to you the BBA found it to be just right for them. From here you should do 2 things:
> 
> - Make sure you reduce the organics
> Reduce fish feeding, change about 10% of the water every other day, do not stir the substrate, remove fish that stir it. You get the idea
> 
> - Add Seachem Excel
> If you want some free I got some. It's a Seachem gift to our club and instead of raffling it I think it's fair to give it away to people that actually need it now.
> 
> Let me know.
> 
> --Nikolay wrote to use Excel. I have been using Exel for the last few weeks consistently & then I had some BBA . I read through some older posts and started doubl dosing the Excel for about about a week now. & it is working . From what I readit should take about 3 weeks to be rid of it. However like you I wanted to know the cause. So I will reduce feeding as well. Nikolay any chance a large piece of wood (that have had for years - submerged) could be the responsible culprit? It was purchased foorm a LFS.
> Regards,
> redtheinspector


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## niko

I don't know about the wood. Many people blame wood for their BBA. I've had BBA grow on part of the gravel, directly on the gravel. I tore up the tank, put new gravel, moved the filter outflow in another place. Guess what? BBA showed up again ONLY in that same area! Since then I believe in fighting BBA with the water and not blaming the substrate/decoration.

Some pieces of wood do decompose and it would be fair to assume that removing the wood should help.

Excel does work in many BBA cases. But it tends to hurt certain plants and also scare into hiding/kill Amano shrimp.

That's why I believe in keeping up with the organics removal. It's basically prevention before BBA happens.

--Nikolay


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## redtheinspector

Thanks Nico. I have been treating BBA with Excel for about a week via double dosing. I found out first hand that you can use to much Excel. My Vallisneria which had just recovered a re-set up "melted" lol... now I know what that means. I also had just started to dose dry ferts & I was thinking I had blown it, meaning I over dosed or mixed the solutions improperly. I actually was quite releived to find the answer. So I did a 50% WC for both tanks & added 10 ml of Excel this A.M. The BBA btw is going awaty slowly. I think I will remove the wood for a few days and see what happens.
Thanks for your reply
Regards,
red theinspector


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## milalic

redtheinspector said:


> Thanks Nico. I have been treating BBA with Excel for about a week via double dosing. I found out first hand that you can use to much Excel. My Vallisneria which had just recovered a re-set up "melted" lol... now I know what that means. I also had just started to dose dry ferts & I was thinking I had blown it, meaning I over dosed or mixed the solutions improperly. I actually was quite releived to find the answer. So I did a 50% WC for both tanks & added 10 ml of Excel this A.M. The BBA btw is going awaty slowly. I think I will remove the wood for a few days and see what happens.
> Thanks for your reply
> Regards,
> red theinspector


Some plants do not tolerate Excel like Vallisneria


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## MacFan

Unfortunately, I have had a lot of experience with this recently...

1. If it's something you can remove from the tank (large rock, wood without attached plants, filter parts), the easiest solution is to soak them in water and bleach. The BBA will be totally white when done and will break down over the next 2-3 days. Even for wood, I just rinse in clear water, or possibly soak in water with extra dechlorinator added before returning to the tank. This is by far the most effective method, it's just limited to hardscape items. 

2. If it's something that is exposed during large water changes, you can spot treat it with Hydrogen peroxide. Just drip it on the areas with an eye dropper. Let it sit a few minutes and repeat as desired. Where it drips into the water, it will break down into O2, but avoid dripping onto plants and fish as they could be harmed. You can also spot treat under water with it if you turn off all filters and power heads and let the water rest. Again, avoid anything living you wish to keep that way.  This is fairly effective but may take repeated treatments before you see it go pink. 

3. For what remains, Excel is the best solution. You can dose up to 2x the dose with low risk. I say low risk because it seems to irritate some fish I think. Unfortunately, it's not fast. Within a couple days, the BBA might start to show pink which means it's distressed, but it's not usually uniform and keeping up treatments is necessary to set it back. Keep in mind that the instructions list the 10mL/20g as the initial dose and then it's 10mL/50g after that. I do 20mL/20g usually and follow with 10mL/20g 1-2 days after. But at that point, you really need a water change as if you continue, I think you're building up the level pretty high. 

WARNING: if you have any plant from the Valisneria family (jungle, and spiral included), or the Anacharis family, you must remove it from the tank prior to treating because it will cause all stem/leaf tissue to melt. Not only is this bad for those plants, but it releases tons of organics into the water. 

WARNING: keep an eye on the tank as for some fish, it appears that the Excel reduces available O2 in the tank. I have had disastrous experiences dosing excel in combination with a blackout (probably not a good combination to begin with) while leaving CO2 on (only made it worse). 

I've had no real success with PP plant dips and while Excel dips can be effective, I don't know what concentration/duration is best. Too much and it'll kill the plant. I imagine the same is true of a bleach dip but I haven't really tried that on plants. 

I believe - though don't have any real evidence - that scraping it off in the tank leads to spreading it. 

Tom Barr's "more CO2" belief seems to be the answer in prevention of BBA. But it doesn't really do anything for what is already there. 

Michael


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## supersmirky

Any clue on KH?? Hard water will cause problems in the algae area especially BBA. You want to cure the problem vs constantly treating the problem.


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## northtexasfossilguy

Oh, my KH and GH are both very high. I don't know exact numbers but on the multiple test strips that I use it is near the top of the chart.

I think Niko is probably right about the problem being that I fed my fish too much, or they are producing too much waste. The substrate was a bit messy when I brushed it, not visibly until you stir it up. So after I noticed that I quit doing that. 

I did a 10 gallon water change yesterday, out of appx 29 gallons. I'm trying to figure out the CO2 system still to get the plants working. I don't want to harm my animals, or the shrimp, so I think that the little amount of chemicals that I'm using to treat the BBA is better than doing a heavy dose. I don't feel the need for immediate satisfaction, but I do want to beat it back into submission over the next couple weeks and restore the balance. It's obviously a chemistry thing, and I just need to let the tank do its own thing. I'm watching pH actively during the day and removing clumps of the stuff at night. It is showing some signs of distress, which is good.

After I get some of the excel I think I will try normal dosing to see how the animals react to it.

Anyway thanks for the concern everybody. Your input is very much appreciated.


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## supersmirky

Hope that algae disappears....that stuff can be a nightmare!


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## redtheinspector

an update -
I removed the wood and the BBA seeems to be in recession after double dosing for about 2 weeks. I also did a major trimming. Additionally I stoped feeding for a few days and them only sparingly.


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## Cocobid

Somehow we had a case start in one tank. A non planted bare bottom Goldfish tank. Have two large pieces of wood with Anubius attached. Oh I would say easily each piece has 40-50 leaves. I filled a bucket and placed each piece in sections over the course of 1 1/2 hours to treat with Hydrogen peroxide. (a lot of turning) A total loss of all diseased leaves. The good news is everything is rather clean. I may still have a small amount but nothing that cannot be treated. Oh and after that little bath the anubius went crazy blooming and putting out leaves. I tried to lightly dip some crypts, they melted. BBA is just frustrating cannot image trying to treat in a planted tank.
Good Luck.


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