Flourish Excel for green thread algae

[shrimpenthusiast]

Green thread algae is currently kicking my butt. It's taken over a large part of my tank and I'm wondering if Flourish Excel will take care of it. I do have animals in this tank however, so I will only be using the dosage recommended on the bottle. Will this be enough to kill the algae? How long should I be doing this to see results?

 

[skar]

I am curious on this as well.
I've won against green algea and bba but now this !
I will be following this.

 

[ProudPapa]

Hello,

I wish I could give you better news, but in my experience Excel has zero effect on hair algae.

 

[shrimpenthusiast]

Hello,

I wish I could give you better news, but in my experience Excel has zero effect on hair algae.

Dang that's a bummer. I've tried everything but algaecides at this point.

 

[Itiwhetu]

Increase your oxygen level on your tank and it will disappear. More air stones or lower temperature or more filtration.

 

[MrMuggles]

Increase your oxygen level on your tank and it will disappear. More air stones or lower temperature or more filtration.

I am also new to CO2. Some say increase CO2 to get rid of algae, you're saying increase Oxygen?
is it both?
I have had the hair algae very persistently even with extensive aeration so to me it would seem Oxygen alone is not a solve

 

[shrimpenthusiast]

Increase your oxygen level on your tank and it will disappear. More air stones or lower temperature or more filtration.

I have put in an airstone a month ago to try and solve the problem, but unfortunately it did not seem to work. Now that it's winter however, maybe the algae will start to thin?

 

[Itiwhetu]

I have put in an airstone a month ago to try and solve the problem, but unfortunately it did not seem to work. Now that it's winter however, maybe the algae will start to thin?

Is your tank in a window?

 

[shrimpenthusiast]

Is your tank in a window?

Nope. Apart from the very dim ambient light of the house, the only lighting it gets is from the aquarium lights.
Anyone know if mystery snails will eat enough hair algae to make a difference?

 

[Itiwhetu]

Nope. Apart from the very dim ambient light of the house, the only lighting it gets is from the aquarium lights.
Anyone know if mystery snails will eat enough hair algae to make a difference?

I don't understand why the algae will thin over winter if the tank gets no light from outside

 

[shrimpenthusiast]

I don't understand why the algae will thin over winter if the tank gets no light from outside

I'm just hoping that the algae doesn't enjoy the cooler weather.

 

[Itiwhetu]

I'm just hoping that the algae doesn't enjoy the cooler weather.

So, your tank has no heater, as the Temperature drops the oxygen content of your tank will increase and yes, the algae will go away.

 

[ProudPapa]

I'm just hoping that the algae doesn't enjoy the cooler weather.

That would only matter if the water in the tank is cooler in winter. If the tank has a heater, or if it doesn't and the temperature in your house stays the same, the conditions outside won't affect it.

 

[shrimpenthusiast]

That would only matter if the water in the tank is cooler in winter. If the tank has a heater, or if it doesn't and the temperature in your house stays the same, the conditions outside won't affect it.

In that case I guess I'll turn the heater down to 72 or so. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[Zer0Fame]

Green thread algae is more often than not a lack of nitrates, any chance you could check your levels?
Also are you sure it's green thread algae? Any chance for a good picture? Same goes for skar . Picture resolution is a bit on the low side to see if it's indeed thread algae or Cladophora.

On a side note, hydrogen peroxide and salicylic acid (for example in EasyLife AlgExit) is way more effective against green algae than Excel, EasyCarbo or similar could ever be.

 

[aquanata]

I'm wondering how heavily planted your tank is? Any way you could share a whole tank photo with perhaps info on stocking & your water testing? Others may be able to help more with that information.

While not an expert on the whys & wherefores of planted tanks I have kept dirted, planted tanks for a long while. I've also hosted a lot of algae of all kinds over the years, including hair algae & BBA. What I've found works for me is to remove algaes that bother me manually where I can, while boosting plant health. I don't limit light (8-10 hrs) but I do re-charge my soil with deeply placed fertilizer tabs, liquid fertilizer for water column feeders & the addition of mixed plants, especially floaters, if the tank is lightly planted - while I'm trying to reduce algae for the health of the plants trying to photosynthesize! Otherwise I rarely fertilize. I'm also a big believer in malaysian trumpet snails & nerites. I can't tell you just why it works for me, but it does & that bottle of Excel I bought sits unopened & I think expired.

Ultimately, I rarely have algae anymore & have actually had to feed snail populations due to lack of it. You might find this approach works for you too & if it doesn't appeal to you I'm sure there are others here who can guide you on the use of Excel or other algae reduction methods.

Good luck & hope it helps.

 

[shrimpenthusiast]

Green thread algae is more often than not a lack of nitrates, any chance you could check your levels?
Also are you sure it's green thread algae? Any chance for a good picture? Same goes for skar . Picture resolution is a bit on the low side to see if it's indeed thread algae or Cladophora.

On a side note, hydrogen peroxide and salicylic acid (for example in EasyLife AlgExit) is way more effective against green algae than Excel, EasyCarbo or similar could ever be.

That bit about the nitrates explains a LOT. I have measurements of 0ppm for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates. Any chance fertilizers will somehow help? Shading out the algae hasn't seem to worked so far. I'll also keep that bit about hydrogen peroxide in my mind; I tried putting a chunk of the hair algae into a shot glass with 2 ml of Excel with seemingly very little effect. Here's a picture of the algae.

I'm wondering how heavily planted your tank is? Any way you could share a whole tank photo with perhaps info on stocking & your water testing? Others may be able to help more with that information.

While not an expert on the whys & wherefores of planted tanks I have kept dirted, planted tanks for a long while. I've also hosted a lot of algae of all kinds over the years, including hair algae & BBA. What I've found works for me is to remove algaes that bother me manually where I can, while boosting plant health. I don't limit light (8-10 hrs) but I do re-charge my soil with deeply placed fertilizer tabs, liquid fertilizer for water column feeders & the addition of mixed plants, especially floaters, if the tank is lightly planted - while I'm trying to reduce algae for the health of the plants trying to photosynthesize! Otherwise I rarely fertilize. I'm also a big believer in malaysian trumpet snails & nerites. I can't tell you just why it works for me, but it does & that bottle of Excel I bought sits unopened & I think expired.

Ultimately, I rarely have algae anymore & have actually had to feed snail populations due to lack of it. You might find this approach works for you too & if it doesn't appeal to you I'm sure there are others here who can guide you on the use of Excel or other algae reduction methods.

Good luck & hope it helps.

I'll have to snap a picture in the morning since it's lights out for my aquarium right now, but I would say that it is quite heavily planted. There is a ton of pearlweed with anubias, java ferns, bucephalandra, crypts, salvinia, and pothos. As for stocking, I have 5 chili rasboras, 2 amano shrimp, and 10 cherry shrimp. Ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates are all at 0 ppm. I actually considered nerites for this problem, but apparently they don't enjoy eating this type of algae. I don't have many root feeders so I don't opt for fert tabs. I haven't been dosing fertilizers for a while now because of the algae problem, but it doesn't seem to have any effect on this algae.
Nothing seems to want to eat this algae, and sometimes I even see shrimp get temporarily stuck in this mess.

 

[Zer0Fame]

Big nest there! But doesn't look like Cladophora or Rhizoclonium (subtype of Cladophora) to me.

Plants do look a bit yellowish on the old leaves so yush, I would remove this with a water change and up the nitrates a bit. Doesn't look evil enough to walk the chemical route just yet.

 

[shrimpenthusiast]

Big nest there! But doesn't look like Cladophora or Rhizoclonium (subtype of Cladophora) to me.

Plants do look a bit yellowish on the old leaves so yush, I would remove this with a water change and up the nitrates a bit. Doesn't look evil enough to walk the chemical route just yet.

Removal will be a toughie since its wrapped around some plants, but I got time so it shouldn't be unberable. Thanks for the pointers!

 

[skar]

Green thread algae is more often than not a lack of nitrates, any chance you could check your levels?
Also are you sure it's green thread algae? Any chance for a good picture? Same goes for skar . Picture resolution is a bit on the low side to see if it's indeed thread algae or Cladophora.

On a side note, hydrogen peroxide and salicylic acid (for example in EasyLife AlgExit) is way more effective against green algae than Excel, EasyCarbo or similar could ever be.

I haven't tested the water for a year .. unsure about nitrate levels.

 

[Zer0Fame]

Looks like regular thread algae to me ... but just to be sure, can you check if your algae has and branches on the strings like ... well, a branch, or no branches and just like hair?

 

[skar]

Looks like regular thread algae to me ... but just to be sure, can you check if your algae has and branches on the strings like ... well, a branch, or no branches and just like hair?

Not sure what you mean or what you are asking for ?
Thank you

 

[Zer0Fame]

Those are German sites but they should do the trick:

Branched (picture directly on the right): Cladophora im Aquarium - Cladophora sp. | WIKI
Non-Branched (looks like hair strands basically): Fadenalgen im Aquarium erkennen und bekämpfen

 

[skar]

Those are German sites but they should do the trick:

Branched (picture directly on the right): Cladophora im Aquarium - Cladophora sp. | WIKI
Non-Branched (looks like hair strands basically): Fadenalgen im Aquarium erkennen und bekämpfen

Um wow.
I really don't know, I can't seem to differentiate whether it's brached or not.
It's soft to the touch yet mostly has developed as clumps in the Java fern.
As you can tell it looks hair like when in the flow of the filter.

Maybe wire or curly hair looking

 

[Zer0Fame]

Okay if it's soft, most likely thread algae. I would check nitrate levels.

 

[shrimpenthusiast]

Big nest there! But doesn't look like Cladophora or Rhizoclonium (subtype of Cladophora) to me.

Plants do look a bit yellowish on the old leaves so yush, I would remove this with a water change and up the nitrates a bit. Doesn't look evil enough to walk the chemical route just yet.

Oh, one more thing: the leaves near the bottom of my pearlweed are yellow(ing), but the leaves at the top are green. Is this a nutrient deficiency or a light deficiency?

 

[Zer0Fame]

Could be both tbh. If they're not dying off and just stay yellow for a long time, I'd suspect nitrates.

 

[Cherryshrimp420]

String algae is pretty tough once they grow into a clump. You'll need to manually remove it to give your plants a fighting chance.

In my tanks, string algae dies out to heavy plant growth. But against light planting/new tanks it's an even battle. I purposely cut a section of my plants to keep a clump of string algae alive. String algae also love water flow like BBA

Guppies and mollies will also eat them if you don't feed them. They will disappear quick in tanks with more herbivorous fish.

 

[shrimpenthusiast]

String algae is pretty tough once they grow into a clump. You'll need to manually remove it to give your plants a fighting chance.

In my tanks, string algae dies out to heavy plant growth. But against light planting/new tanks it's an even battle. I purposely cut a section of my plants to keep a clump of string algae alive. String algae also love water flow like BBA

Guppies and mollies will also eat them if you don't feed them. They will disappear quick in tanks with more herbivorous fish.

Could I suck them out with a gravel vac? I would try it right away but I don't want to risk having to clear a clog in the vacuum.

 

[Zer0Fame]

You could also take a scissor and cut around it, that way you could get at least 95% out.

 

[shrimpenthusiast]

Finally remembered that I said that I'd get a picture of my aquarium. Here it is if it helps with anything. And yeah, I know that I need to do a trim very soon.

 

[Cherryshrimp420]

Could I suck them out with a gravel vac? I would try it right away but I don't want to risk having to clear a clog in the vacuum.

Just use your hands and pull them out. Siphoning will clog the tubes

 

[shrimpenthusiast]

A bit of an update here. I just remembered that this algae came from a moss ball I had. Oddly enough, I had the ball for a year before algae started to spread invasively from it. Now I'm not sure if this algae was what made up the moss ball or if it just hitched a ride on the ball, but I hope that this will help others that read this thread in the future. Also this may explain why this algae is so **** hard to kill.

 

[MarkEau]

Watching this with interest.