# bread black algae



## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

hey guys.i cant seem to get rid of my bread black algae.i have been keeping the light off during the day.its been a week now and still the same.i went out a couple days ago and bought 2 siamese algae eaters but have not seem thems eat any of it any ideas?i was thinking can i take a gallon container with a little water out of my tank and make a bleach mixer and dip them in it to kill it.then poor it out and add some more water out of the aquamium and use stress coate to get rid of the clorinie.will it kill the plant?is there a better way.thanks any help i welcome.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

I've been using hydrogen peroxide for the last week with great success.I use a syringe with air line tubing to squirt it on the affected area and it seems to work well.My reading suggest that 10ml per 10gallons is acceptable(on a daily basis).I use about 30 ml a day in my 180G squirting areas in need.I'm also under the impression that BBA is from to much light(I'm guilty,but working on this also{both removing some light and lowering my light cycle}).The HP doesn't kill it immediately but oxidizes it(you should see bubbles) and then it dies over a couple days.Also noted that almost right after treatment that my algea eating fish (any of them and all)do pick at it more than normally.Seems like good stuff and is safe in aquarium.


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## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

so you put a air line on the syringe and put the other end of the air line on the algae on the plant in the tank and put on algae?it wont hurt the fish?thanks


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## foster (Sep 2, 2012)

coralbandit said:


> I've been using hydrogen peroxide for the last week with great success.I use a syringe with air line tubing to squirt it on the affected area and it seems to work well.My reading suggest that 10ml per 10gallons is acceptable(on a daily basis).I use about 30 ml a day in my 180G squirting areas in need.I'm also under the impression that BBA is from to much light(I'm guilty,but working on this also{both removing some light and lowering my light cycle}).The HP doesn't kill it immediately but oxidizes it(you should see bubbles) and then it dies over a couple days.Also noted that almost right after treatment that my algea eating fish (any of them and all)do pick at it more than normally.Seems like good stuff and is safe in aquarium.


+1 I have been using HP, and Excel in the same manor. It work pretty well.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Yeah! I squirt it right on plant,wood where ever BBA is.It is totally safe,check it out on web;search hydrogen peroxide for BBA.I've also read I could use this on fish eggs safely.I have discus breeding in tank right now so if it wasn't safe I wouldn't do it or ever recommend it to anyone.It is on the discus eggs that I read I could use it also.About 17-20 years ago the fish industry use to sell something called the "oxygenator".It was a bottle inverted on a ceramic base with a small pellet catalyst that adde oxygen to my saltwater tanks.The liquid in the bottle was hydrogen peroxide.Knowing this put my mind at ease as I too searched for solution to BBA(Nasty,Nasty,not going to die crap).It really works safely.Possibly you may choose to turn off any circulation in tank for a couple minutes to let HP settle on the items you choose.GOOD STUFF!


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## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

thanks can i ask do you just use the syringe and stick it in the peroxide bottle and draw it in til its full then use the air line and stick it in the tank at the leaves and push the end.thanks


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

I fill the airline and syringe(10ml).I keep it together and that bottle of peroxide in my stand for fish only.


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## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

thanks how long of air line do you use?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

about 6 inches.Just enough to hit bottom of bottle.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Excel works pretty good to keep BBA away. It likes low light, so leaving the light off may not matter much. The big thing is to keep it from getting worse. Treating what you have always seems iffy if it works good enough to your liking.


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## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

thanks coralbandit so the syringe does go in the water a little.i guess thats alright.thanks again


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Oh yeah! I end up sticking my whole arm in tank also.The syringe should be made of plastic(I get mine from my vet) and cause no trouble with the aquarium.I just don't use it for anything else.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Turkey baster works well also.

Nylon Turkey Baster


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## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

thanks all for the help.will be glad to get rid of the stuff.i will let you know in a few days or so


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## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

what do you think if i put the hydrogen peroxide in a bowl and pull my plants out and drip thems in there for a few seconds and put them back in the tank?.thay are not very tall?will that work.thanks


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Tough call how to properly dilute it.I did soak wood,but no damage can come from this.Also some plants will have different reaction doing it this way(as solution may be stronger than applying in tank.) You will also need to do doses for a couple days(I did3 in a row) to really knock it out.Even after intially soaking wood (covered more with BBA) I still applied in tank to it for the next 2 days.It really works, no issues in my tank as I said.


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## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

i think ill pull the worst one out and try it.i guess the worth thing that will happen is the plant will die.how long do you think it will take to know if it hurt the plant.thanks for the help


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## foster (Sep 2, 2012)

The Method I have used is a syringe full applied to the affected plants while still in the water. I have seen fair results this way. When you squirt the HP on the BBA it will bubble as is oxydizes the algae.. I read in a report that the dose rate to treat the tank is 3 mml. per 8 gallons of water. Also read that they are treating some parasites in tank with HP. I am following this research pretty closely.


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## foster (Sep 2, 2012)

Should have put the site on my post. Type in hydrogen peroxide and BBA


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## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

thanks foster for the reply.i pulled the worse plant out and dipped it in a small container for a few seconds and put it back in to the tank a few hours ago so far the plant looks fine.i will post again tomorrow.thanks all.


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## foster (Sep 2, 2012)

Yes definitely let us know what your findings are. What % of HP did you use in your dip water. If the % is not to high, and it efectively kills the algae, the treating a tank is possible. Hopefully this goes well.


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## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

so far this morring the plant i tested is still fine.the algae is still there.I may have to repeat it in a few days.how long should should I wait?i will post the name of themselves some time today.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Treating(or attacking) on consecutive days will yield the best results.Giving the BBA time to re coup will not help.Hit it when it's down.2-3 days in a row at least.My wood is almost completely clear,as noticable BBA is gone only the dark color remains and plants have very little left.I treated 3 days in a row and have watched the last 2.I will treat again tonight or tomorrow.I've read more(again) and Fosters suggestion of 3ml a gallon seems safest dose on average,but will note I found this info from someone who was treating the whole tank not applying directly to most affected areas.The hydrogen peroxide is "disapated" within 12 hrs. from reading also.Note some who ran higher amounts lost corys(fish) and claimed certain plants and mosses "melted".None of my plants or moss have had any issues(I have no reason to apply to moss).I'll also note that there were as many mishaps(horror stories) about overdosing excell as HP,and few who didn't OD excell claimed success.They also noted ;HP $.89 for 16oz/$8-$12 for 16 oz excell.


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## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

i had two plants one was a lace java fern "windelov" and the other was a anubias barteri "nana".i forgot about delieting it.i just used it straight out of the bottle.hope i did not mess up.thay still looks good and algae looks a little better.what do you all think did i mess up.thanks all


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

No, reading said some soaked or even lowered their water to expose and sprayed,then and let soak a couple minutes.I have both of those and they seem fine also.It will take a couple or several treatments though so keep on it.Your HP should be 3% if you're in US and 6% is available in UK.So possibly no diluting is necessary as long as you don't go past a couple minutes.


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## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

thanks i just took the plants out one at a time and put the ph in a small bowl and just diped it in there for about 10 seconds and shake it around a bit.is that long enough?thanks


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

I think 1 or 2 minutes will be better.If you want put water in bowl with plant first then pour HP on plant you may see the bubbles(oxidising) happen.The BBA should turn sorta reddish(deteriorating) even though it won't die right away.Brushing the leaves or "manually" removing the BBA will help if this is possible also.


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## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

i just got done ph my plants again.this time i left them 2 minutes and pull what algae off i can.the ph is 3% so i think im ok dont you?i did not see any bubbles.thanks for the help.look at my new thread about the hairgrass seeds and tell me what you think.


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## foster (Sep 2, 2012)

coralbandit said:


> No, reading said some soaked or even lowered their water to expose and sprayed,then and let soak a couple minutes.I have both of those and they seem fine also.It will take a couple or several treatments though so keep on it.Your HP should be 3% if you're in US and 6% is available in UK.So possibly no diluting is necessary as long as you don't go past a couple minutes.


I lowered the water in my tank, and sprayed the plants directly. I left it on them for about 7 minutes, then refilled the tank. This method took care of a lot of the BBA, but did basically nothing for the Staghorn. That is a tough algae to get rid of. Still trying to figure out how to irradicate it. If I find something that works, i'll post it. In the mean time the battle continues*h/b


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## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

thanks foster i welcome your input.keep us updated.


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## foster (Sep 2, 2012)

No problem. I will let you know if I read anything new!!


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## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

thanks for your help and please do let me know.


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## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

the morning after the second treatment of the ph driped for 2 minutes.i am thinking about boubleing the time to 4 minutes.do you thank it would be alright?the plants looks fine and the bread algae looks some better and will repeate some time today and post how it goes.i hope 3 times will be enough.what do you guys think does it have to be all gone?also i have been leaving the lights off.i thougt that would help do you?only turn on at feeding or if i go into the room to check on them.thanks all.really helped alot.you will never know.


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## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

hey guys i was looking at the algae on the plants.the bread algae looks like its turning redish color.is that a good sign?thanks


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Red is good,it's the algae deteriorating.Keep doing what your doing the same and watch.


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## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

going to do it again in a few minutes and hope this will be the last.i guess leaving the lights off will help to?do you think


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