# black beard algea?



## jen13189 (Oct 7, 2011)

Okay so my diatoms have finally calm down to the point where they are just on my gravel now,I'm thinking of completely taking out the cave and the cup since the cave seems to have a green tint to it now for some reason.And now i noticed when looking at the cave that on one of my plants i have i think black beard algea.I also noticed a tiny amount in the corner.

My question is since i do have fish in the my 10gal(there's nothing algea in the three)I want to know how to get rid of it.I read somewhere that it said to take the plant out that has the algea and throw it away.well the plant is live and flourishing and i really don't want to do that.How do i go about getting rid of it besides water changes about 50 percent once a week.I also heard that Seachem Flourish would help.Well idk if the places around me have the stuff.

i also read to use 9% bleach to 19 of water.is this okay?i need some help.my tank is not looking happy.I don't over fed but i think i might have to do a black out for a week or so and do water changes.


Am i on the right path?I need some help.I'll have some pics shortly.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Take the plant out and dip in a 50/50 solution of peroxide. Do not dip the roots, let sit for 5 to 10 minutes, rinse and put back in the tank. The algae should die within 24 hours.


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## jen13189 (Oct 7, 2011)

susankat said:


> Take the plant out and dip in a 50/50 solution of peroxide. Do not dip the roots, let sit for 5 to 10 minutes, rinse and put back in the tank. The algae should die within 24 hours.


hydrogen peroxide solution from rite aid okay?that's all we have.It's also on the glass a bit in the corner and I think it might be on my cave too.3
sorry it won't let me upload pics for some reason i have 3 pages of pics and it says i have reached my quota for space...


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## jen13189 (Oct 7, 2011)

i had done what you had said susan and it doesn't seem to be going away,i think i'm gonna do a black out for a business week.and see how that goes...


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

black outs doesn't do a thing for bba, so you would just be wasting time with that.


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## Chip Jackson (Mar 7, 2012)

Just get syringe fill it with flourish excel and squirt it on the affected areas. It will turn red which indicates its going away at that spot. The bleach ratio is 1 pt bleach to 19 parts water. Cut off dying algae and throw away.usually it appears when water conditions get bad. Keep up on weekly changes and don't over feed and that will help.


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## jen13189 (Oct 7, 2011)

thanks all the algea on the plants has gone away but there is still some on the glass it hasn't spread or anything but tomorrow when i go out with my mom to pet stores to look at suff for the 90 i'll talk her into getting me some excel flourish.

Also the one planted i did the peroxide on seems to be dieing off but its still green and i still see some growth but there's little to know leaves on the wisteria.idk what's going on with it.the other wisteria clipping is fine.not sure whats up with this one..


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## Chip Jackson (Mar 7, 2012)

jen13189 said:


> thanks all the algea on the plants has gone away but there is still some on the glass it hasn't spread or anything but tomorrow when i go out with my mom to pet stores to look at suff for the 90 i'll talk her into getting me some excel flourish.
> 
> Also the one planted i did the peroxide on seems to be dieing off but its still green and i still see some growth but there's little to know leaves on the wisteria.idk what's going on with it.the other wisteria clipping is fine.not sure whats up with this one..


It's hard to know what kind of algae you have w/o more info or pics. The BBA is a pain to deal with. You want to make sure you have cut off all leaves that has this on. Even after bleach treatment you'll need to cut off week or dying leaves. Once you get it down to a manageable level you should be able to finish it off with nice W/C's each week The algae on glass sounds like GSA(green spot algae) and this also can be kept in control with w/C's you need to scrape the stuff off your glass with old CC card or flat razor if necessary. These are just guess's to what you have. If you post your water parameters and pic of algae it would make it easier to define


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## jen13189 (Oct 7, 2011)

Chip Jackson said:


> It's hard to know what kind of algae you have w/o more info or pics. The BBA is a pain to deal with. You want to make sure you have cut off all leaves that has this on. Even after bleach treatment you'll need to cut off week or dying leaves. Once you get it down to a manageable level you should be able to finish it off with nice W/C's each week The algae on glass sounds like GSA(green spot algae) and this also can be kept in control with w/C's you need to scrape the stuff off your glass with old CC card or flat razor if necessary. These are just guess's to what you have. If you post your water parameters and pic of algae it would make it easier to define



I had just done a 50% wc the other day and before I did ammonia was .25 nitrite 0 nitrate-40 but nitrate went down to 20 after the wc(this is also after i did a wc on the 3 as well and no algea on the 3 at all yet).

green algea it seems black and soft like.not sure what it is memory on my camera is low and i have to charge it so i'll see what i can do.


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## Chip Jackson (Mar 7, 2012)

jen13189 said:


> I had just done a 50% wc the other day and before I did ammonia was .25 nitrite 0 nitrate-40 but nitrate went down to 20 after the wc(this is also after i did a wc on the 3 as well and no algea on the 3 at all yet).
> 
> green algea it seems black and soft like.not sure what it is memory on my camera is low and i have to charge it so i'll see what i can do.


Your water readings indicate a problem. Ammonia should be 0 (especially if you have planted aquarium) and definately on a non-planted tank. I may rise to .05 before waterchange but should be greatly reduced after that. Your Nitrogen reading is also high. You want that between 0-5 on a non-planted tank. If you have a heavily planted tank than nitrates should run between 5-20 depending on ferts you are using (are you dosing any ferts). A picture is needed for me to discuss any more however here is a good linke to read about different kinds of Algae. It pretty much covers them all and tells you what some of the cause are. Do more water changings until you get your water level quality to thye readings I gave you above. I'll try to help more if you can post a pic. Good Luck


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## Chip Jackson (Mar 7, 2012)

jccaclimber said:


> ^I think she's still cycling. With that regular ammonia additions will cause the nitrates to be high.


I would think with nitrate reading and ammonia reading tank would be cycled as nitrite = 0. just a few water changes to get ammonia gone (or down below 5) and nitrate to 5-10 (preferrable 5) will give the perfect water conditions. Still haven't heard how heavily tnk is planted which could make a difference in readings


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## jen13189 (Oct 7, 2011)

jccaclimber said:


> ^I think she's still cycling. With that regular ammonia additions will cause the nitrates to be high.


my tank is completely cycled JC it's had fish in it for a month now almost 2 the readings where only .25 and are now 0 I am dosing liquid flourish supplement and iron.Should I stop dosing iron?

Also I just noticed yesturday that it was on my ludwidgia and my other wisteria clipping and it almost has a hair like black algea on it.Should I do a black out or will that not do anything?There's nothing on the gravel but there's still some on the decor.A semi-heavily planted tank is gonna have at least 20 nirtates when doing dosing with the ferts.I also leave my lights on for 12 hours but I've been cutting back an hour or so.

Will this do anything?And it's semi-heavily planted.


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