# Is this Black Beard Algae? Is it bad?



## Sunshine

Hi, y'all. Is this Black Beard Algae? Is it bad for my turtles or fish? I thought I had Siamese Algae Eaters, but I also read that they eat BBA, and my fish don't seem to want this stuff. It's very hard to scrub off, and frankly I think it's a little gross looking. My UV sterilizer stopped working when I took it out to clean it, and the algae (of all kinds) has increased dramatically since. This stringy stuff has round bits too, and it clings to everything in the tank. I checked pictures of SAE's and I hink mine might be false, but they look so similar, it's hard to tell.

Any advice on getting rid of this stuff? Any idea why my 9W Submariner suddenly stopped pumping? Is the algae bad for my tank (besides being gross)?







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Sorry the pics are sideways (from iphone). The algae clings to the turtle docks, pump, fake plants, rocks.


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## Gizmo

It is indeed hair algae, the hardest of them all to eradicate. Your UV filter probably clogged with either the algae or some other bio-matter. You'll need to replace the bulb and clean the impeller housing to get it going again.

There are 2 ways I know of to deal with hair algae:

1. As with all algae, it thrives on light and nutrients. Stop both, cold turkey, for a week by turning off your CO2 (if any), stop dosing fertz, and cover your tank with a big garbage bag to kill the light (obviously turning off the tank's light as well). In 7 days your algae will have starved while your plants will be weakened but still alive. Stick a fresh UV filter in there, and your tank should be fine.
2. Shrimp, crabs, crayfish. Any crustacean of that nature will scarf your hair algae like there's no tomorrow.

Algae eaters, both Siamese and Chinese (the worse of the two) do not eat algae specifically, and will not touch hair algae. Plecos and snails are great at cleaning tank walls, but hair algae they will not touch. Ottos and cory's I'm not sure with as I have never kept them. Nor have I kept loaches or catfish.

I would look at selling your algae eater or donating him/her, because they will do nothing but get big, get aggressive, and start killing their cohabitants. If you chose not to get rid of it, just be warned. They are a semi-aggressive fish that belong in a tank with such things as tiger barbs, zebra danios, angelfish, and whatnot.


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## Sunshine

That's kindof funny that you say that about the SAE's being agressive. The only other fish I've ever had in there are Tiger Barbs. (And two different plecos.) Sadly, the turtles ATE the other barbs and the plecos. I have one remaining in a 3 gal tank, but I'm a little sad for him, since he's all alone and the tank isn't big enough for more. I'm thinking about trading him in for a more solitary fish.

The false SAE's do eat plenty of the nice-looking algae, but they don't like the furry stuff.  There's no one for them to attack but the sliders, so they keep to themselves.

I'm concerned about trying a blackout method for two reasons: one is I have turtles in there. Can they live in the dark for that long? Second, a garbage bag won't be big enough to cover the tank. I suppose I could tape a few together, but would it restrict oxygen enough to be an issue? Any guidance would be helpful.

Do you (or does anyone out there) know about this Submariner UV Sterilizer? It's the 9W model. I have only been able to open the part where the bulb is. There doesn't seem to be any way to get to where the impeller is, like there is on the Fluval. Does anyone know if I can open this pump? It seems like it stopped once before, but I turned the flow director back and forth, and it started again. Seemed like it was gunked up or something. I do think it was at least helping keep the algae at bay, the water was crystal clear while it was running.

I don't use any CO2 or fertilizer (I assume that is what you mean). I don't have any plants in there (deliberately), since the turtles just maul them. Sigh. I had envisioned a little mini-pond, but those dang turtles lay waste to anything living except the SAE's, which seem to be able to fend for themselves! I suppose with turtles in there pooping and no substrate (again, turtles eating it), the NO3's are probably high and the water's probably nutritious.

I have put the fake plants and other decor through the dishwasher before to clean & sanitize it, but the stringy stuff keeps coming back. Blech.


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## jrman83

Get some Flourish Excel and dose a capful (depending on size of tank) everyday. It will start to turn a pink color after a couple of days and will eventually die off. How long are you leaving your light on per day?


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## J-Pond

jrman83 said:


> Get some Flourish Excel and dose a capful (depending on size of tank) everyday. It will start to turn a pink color after a couple of days and will eventually die off. How long are you leaving your light on per day?


Really? I have never heard of Excel getting rid of hair algae? Have you done it this way?


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## dbeckwit

J-Pond said:


> Really? I have never heard of Excel getting rid of hair algae? Have you done it this way?


I Have been dosing Excel in this manner for ~2.5 weeks. Mostly for my increasing number of plants, but also because I had heard it gets rid of algae. I had a decently bad hair algae problem, and since i've been dosing, its almost non-existent (A few strands on one of my rocks).


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## J-Pond

dbeckwit said:


> I Have been dosing Excel in this manner for ~2.5 weeks. Mostly for my increasing number of plants, but also because I had heard it gets rid of algae. I had a decently bad hair algae problem, and since i've been dosing, its almost non-existent (A few strands on one of my rocks).


Guess I will have to go get some Excel. My only concern is I have heard it will melt Arachanis, do you know if this is true?


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## jrman83

Excel works on BBA and hair algae. I have used it for this, yes.


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## dbeckwit

J-Pond said:


> Guess I will have to go get some Excel. My only concern is I have heard it will melt Arachanis, do you know if this is true?


I don't know about that personally, but pulled this from another forum:

"ps - I know about Excel melting arachanis so I'm not dosing it for obvious reasons. Someday I may pull the arachanis out and leave just the wisteria and hornwort. Any Excel vs Hornwort concerns I should have?"

So, sounds like it might. Then again, i've heard that best way (way i did it for hair algae), is to use syringe and spray/inject directly onto/near algae. Unless the arachnis has algae on it...

Also, i've heard that with val (Which also melts), people just dose it far away from said plant, and it will survive.


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## J-Pond

dbeckwit said:


> I don't know about that personally, but pulled this from another forum:
> 
> "ps - I know about Excel melting arachanis so I'm not dosing it for obvious reasons. Someday I may pull the arachanis out and leave just the wisteria and hornwort. Any Excel vs Hornwort concerns I should have?"
> 
> So, sounds like it might. Then again, i've heard that best way (way i did it for hair algae), is to use syringe and spray/inject directly onto/near algae. Unless the arachnis has algae on it...
> 
> Also, i've heard that with val (Which also melts), people just dose it far away from said plant, and it will survive.


Thanks for the quick responce, I may just have to pull out the anacharis till it clears up.
jrman83 - Thanks for the tip!


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## jrman83

It can have ill effects on Anacharis and some Vals. Depends on the amount you are dosing and how often I think. I do near daily doses, so it has affected them before.


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## J-Pond

jrman83 said:


> It can have ill effects on Anacharis and some Vals. Depends on the amount you are dosing and how often I think. I do near daily doses, so it has affected them before.


Seeing as you have already used it before for this purpose I have another question. Would you begin the dosing and do the black out for a couple of days or just the dosing? My algae is not as bad as the pictures from above.


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## Sunshine

Thanks all for the Excel discussion - I'll go and look it up!

Any experience on if it's safe for reptiles? Seems like lots of stuff that's ok for fish is bad for the turtles' eyes. Those dang turtles throw off all the regular aquarium solutions for the regular problems.

I have a UV light (for the turtles to bask) that's on all the hours of the day that we are awake. The tank is also directly in front of the window. The turtles need the uv light for their health, which of course causes problems if you have lots of algae! I just didn't have this particular algae before, and while my uv sterilizer was running, it was around and gross, but not the problem it is now. The other algae gets eaten by the SAEs, so between the uv filter and the fish, it stays in balance.

Good news, though - I just decided to plug the uv filter back in and let it be on, and lo and behold, it started pumping again all by itself! Most of the things that have the BBA on it can be removed from the tank - I have heard advice about "dosing" the algae with hydrogen peroxide - could I simply remove the fake plants & rocks and soak them in H2O2? Anyone have any experience with that?


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## Shrimpinista

I have used an eye dropper to direct excel or hydrogen peroxide onto this nasty stuff. I use Excel religiously.


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## snail

Do you have any real plants in this tank?


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## jrman83

J-Pond said:


> Seeing as you have already used it before for this purpose I have another question. Would you begin the dosing and do the black out for a couple of days or just the dosing? My algae is not as bad as the pictures from above.


I don't know that a blackout will affect this stuff much unless it is prolonged a bit...maybe 7 days. I would just dose. 

It takes about a week of daily Excel treatments before the Excel really starts to kill it completely. It will turn it a different color in 3-4 days. Excel is expensive, but I try to do minor daily doses on all my tanks.

There is an alternative out there called Cidex. Has the same active ingredient, but with twice the concentration. I just ordered some myself. It only cost about $35 shipped for a gallon and you're dosing half of what you would for Excel. I don't use the Excel for a carbon source, but more for it's cleaning abilities for tough types of algae.


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## roacan

jrman83 said:


> There is an alternative out there called Cidex. Has the same active ingredient, but with twice the concentration. I just ordered some myself. It only cost about $35 shipped for a gallon and you're dosing half of what you would for Excel. I don't use the Excel for a carbon source, but more for it's cleaning abilities for tough types of algae.


So you use Cidex or Excel as an algaecide? How does it affect the fish? Also, aren't some plants sensitive to Excel so if Cidex is used won't it be worse?


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## jrman83

I haven't started using the Cidex yet. Just learned of it last week and researched and ordered some. Either doesn't affect fish, but Cidex could if overdosed - possibly. The guy I spoke with about it had been using it for a few months and used in livebearer tanks and had no issues. As mentioned above, Excel, and I assume Cidex as well, can have ill effects on certain plants. Cidex will not be any worse. Since it is a higher concentration, it will require half as much.


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## Sunshine

@ Snail: No real plants. The turtles devoured them ages ago. They even tried to eat the fake plants. I would have liked to have a lot of real plants, but alas! Nothing can survive those beasts! 

@ jrman83: Thanks for the info on Cidex - please let us know how it works!!


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## beaslbob

Sunshine said:


> @ Snail: No real plants. The turtles devoured them ages ago. They even tried to eat the fake plants. I would have liked to have a lot of real plants, but alas! Nothing can survive those beasts!
> 
> @ jrman83: Thanks for the info on Cidex - please let us know how it works!!


Put a partition in the tank so the turtles are on one side and live true plant on the other.

the reduce/kill the lights over the black beard covered fake plants while keeping the live plants lit.

my .02


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