# Cladophora Algae Infestation. I need HELP!



## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

Hydrogen Peroxide kills this when spot dosed after turning off any current for 20-30 min.
Don't exceed 1 ml per gallon and just do small sections at each dosing.
Don't know how long it takes if used like Excel. I used it like that and after about four days I got impatient and direct dosed it. It will kill Riccia F. plants but haven't heard of any others it harms. Go back about three weeks in the algae section and there are a couple of threads about it.


----------



## Coca Cola (Mar 7, 2015)

Raymond S. said:


> Hydrogen Peroxide kills this when spot dosed after turning off any current for 20-30 min.
> Don't exceed 1 ml per gallon and just do small sections at each dosing.
> Don't know how long it takes if used like Excel. I used it like that and after about four days I got impatient and direct dosed it. It will kill Riccia F. plants but haven't heard of any others it harms. Go back about three weeks in the algae section and there are a couple of threads about it.


Thanks for the quick reply Raymond. 

I've tried this method a few times. I dosed about 10 mL using a child's oral syringe. Before dosing I turned off all filters and water circulation. After dosing I waited about an hour and did a 50% water change then turned the filters back on. I did this every other day for a week with no change. I've also tried spot and over dosing with Excel too .


----------



## fish jihad (Mar 1, 2014)

Hmmm. What is your fertilization regime? How tall a tank, and what precisely is your lighting fixture? And is belem the only thing in the tank.

Something is out of balance or too few plants.


----------



## Coca Cola (Mar 7, 2015)

fish jihad said:


> Hmmm. What is your fertilization regime? How tall a tank, and what precisely is your lighting fixture? And is belem the only thing in the tank.
> 
> Something is out of balance or too few plants.


I do EI dosing: macros(M/THUR) and micros(TUES/FRI) each twice per week with a 40-50% water change on Sunday. The tank is a 12g long, so its about 10" tall with a Current Sat LED+ placed on the rim. I've never had algae problems in this tank before, not even diatoms. I also run pressurized c02 that comes on about 1 1/2 hours before the light on and turns off 1 hour before light off.

The belem makes up about 80% of the plant mass, but I also have various stem plants (blyxa,rotala,ludwigia,etc).

I think I pinpointed the problem, the tank got about 1-2 hours of direct sunlight at one end. I've fixed the initial problem, but I am still fighting the algae. 

Today I spot dosed about 24mL of H202, let it sit one hour, did a 90% water change and then spot dosed 15mL of Excel. Hopefully there is some dead Clado in the morning.

If this doesn't work or you guys don't have any solutions I am gonna have to try a bleach dip.  I read on one forum that said Clado requires _at least 4 minutes _in a diluted bleach solution to be killed.
*Does anyone have experience doing a bleach dip on DHG 'belem'?* Mainly, I am just worried about it destroying the plant.


----------



## dzega (Apr 22, 2013)

Why don't you just trim that dhg?


----------



## dcutl002 (Apr 8, 2014)

Coca Cola said:


> Hello all,
> 
> I have been dealing with a Cladophora infestation for almost two months now. I know its Clado because it has a foul odor when removed from the tank and looks just like the pictures online. It's currently infested my entire tank, including my entire DHG 'belem' carpet(36x9inches).
> After hours and hours of research, I've tried lots of different methods of removal, including; increasing my c02, lowering my lighting, huge water changes, even heavy peroxide and excel treatments. Manual removal has just made the problem worse. I've even trimmed the DHG 'belem' down to 3/4" and tried combing it out with a toothbrush. But it's impossible to get it all.
> ...


Yeah, mow the DHG like a lawn, take a toothbrush and remove whatever Clado that you can, improve water circulation, increase CO2, and overdose Excel. I did this and the Clado is gone.


----------



## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/picture.php?albumid=14289&pictureid=63346
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/picture.php?albumid=14289&pictureid=73618
From the distance these were taken it's hard to see detail and things have been moved etc, but the main thing is that Clado on the bottom in the first picture and it not being
there in the second one. Direct dosing on it did this. Hydrogen Peroxide.


----------



## fablau (Feb 7, 2009)

I had Cladophora in my pond a while ago, and couldn't get rid of. I had bog plants inside, lilies, and floating plants as well, but they all used to have issues growing. At the end I found that Po4 was always pretty high, whereas No3 (nitrates) were completely zero. I begun dosing No3 (dry ferts I use for my planted tank) and in a matter of days, Clado disappeared completely, and my bog plants started growing like crazy, insane! 

Look at my Calle how it is now, leaves are over 1 feet long:










I also dose some traces after No3, just once a week... My advice is to test nitrates and see if you lack them. If so, start dosing them regularly.


----------



## taniner (Aug 10, 2010)

Here... take a look at this, might help

http://www.aquariumalgae.blogspot.com


----------

