# Dosing of Flourish Excel to kill BBA?



## holly12

Hey there! I was recommended by a few people on here to get some Flourish Excel to kill the start of some BBA that I have in my tank. (Thick grey/white fluff/fuzz on the decor and gravel.) The lights being off for over a week have not killed it.

The tank is a 20g, and is currently in it's 5th week of a fishless cycle, (so there is no one in the tank who will get hurt by an over-dose.)

The bottle says to do 5ml for every 10g (so I would do 10mls) and then it says every other day after that to do 5ml for every 50g. But that is if I'm using the Excel as a C02 source for plants.

Does anyone know the dosage needed to kill algae? And for how many days I have to dose? :fish9: I was advised by the store person that overdosing can kill everything in the tank.... there are no critters in the tank, so I'm not worried about that. Will an overdose kill the good bacteria in the filter and gravel? That would suck since I'm half way done cycling!

Thanks so much!


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## jrman83

I would do the initial dosage it says do for a water change, From there do the normal dosage, only do it daily. In about 3-4 days it will turn color.


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## holly12

Thanks! Once it turns colour do I keep dosing, or leave it alone? And, do I need to remove it? (Like, siphon it out or will it just absorb into the water?)

Thanks again!


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## jrman83

I would keep dosing until it all has turned color. After that, maybe you could stop. It should eventually come off, but that may depend on the surface it is growing on.


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## holly12

Alrighty then. Hopefully once it dies it lets go of everything and gets sucked up the filter!! Thanks again!


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## BBradbury

Hello Holly...

The industrial form of carbon called "gluteraldehyde" in the Flourish Excel is what's toxic to the algae, but you'll likely need to double the recommended dose to kill it and that gets a little pricey if you continue using it. Frankly, there really isn't enough "Glut" in the SeaChem product to do the job, only 1.5 percent. 

I'd recommend putting in a lot of plants and go at this without chemicals, but that's just me. If you're serious about getting rid of algae completely, then research Cidex. It contains three times the "Glut" of Flourish Excel.

B


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## holly12

Well, I might as well use the flourish since I got it. Maybe doing the initial dose (10ml) every day will kill it, instead of just doing the 10ml the first day then doing 2ml every other day. I will have lots of plants in the tank, but I don't at the moment since I'm fishless cycling it and the ammonia is up to 4ppm at some points.

Also noticed a bit of hair algae on some plants in the 10g. Hoping that when I dip them in H.P to kill the planaria before moving them over, it will die. It's just a little bit of it. Kinda like long hairs sticking up on the edges of the leaves, but it's blackish.

On another note, Excel smells like apples, lol! I ended up spilling a bit on my shirt and now that's all I can smell.

*Everyone has been saying that O.D-ing Excel can kill everything in the tank - does this mean the good bacteria in the filter and gravel? That would suck!!


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## susankat

I would double the dose on the first day, then do the initial dose on the second day. After that just do the normal dose for a 20 gal. It won't hurt the bacteria, and there is only a few plants that it would affect. Like mosses, and vals.


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## jrman83

I have used Excel on a 125g tank and the BBA was dead and turning pink in 3 days (last time I did it anyway). About a dozen or so capfuls and I stopped treating. I don't normally use Excel. You'll have more than enough to treat a 20g tank.


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## holly12

Perfect! I've got the 8oz bottle (small). Thanks!


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## BBradbury

Good morning Holly...

Take care with any ferns you have in this tank if you're dosing Flourish Excel. I used this fert a couple of years ago and my Java fern survived, but it took some time before it fully recovered.

B


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## jrman83

Thought this tank was plantless for the moment?


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## BBradbury

Good morning...

Seems like I read something to that effect earlier. No plants would be ideal, then you could increase the dose. If that's the case, then just consider my post info. to be used later if needed.

B


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## holly12

Yep, plantless and fishless at the moment. Still cycling.


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