# BBA and h2o2



## they call me bruce (Feb 13, 2011)

Yes I have a BBA problem and I know on the forum there is a madred of ways to get a handle on it--well Im ready to try the Excel treatment- do I keep up with my ferts and do excel I guess Im goin to loose alot of vals but I have to get rid of this stuff gettin tired of pruning

and How about the h202 I put it on my plant with a syringe while the plants where still in the tank and it did nothing do you use the same stuff they sell at CVS or your local drugstore for when you get a cut? {thats stuff is only 3%----Thanks again:icon_eek::fish:


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## Dempsey (Oct 27, 2009)

Excel works great, along with allot of cheaper products out there. If this is just a short term thing and you have the algae problem "figured out", then just use Excel. I pulled my Vals from one of my tanks and kept them in a bucket for a week while I treated the tank. They survived just fine in the bucket. Once I was done treating and did a water change, I replanted the Vals.


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

Use the 3% stuff in a syringe with the pumps off. You'll see massive bubbling and bba will be red-dead in a few days. h2o2 can go bad, so make sure you use fresh stuff.


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## KBN monster (Feb 22, 2011)

what's h202 ???


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

KBN monster said:


> what's h202 ???


http://lmgtfy.com/?q=h202


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## kevmo911 (Sep 24, 2010)

Every once in awhile, I get some BBA on older leaves of certain plants (especially crypts) and the bases of some shaded stems. A syringe with Excel (Metricide, actually, diluted to Excel strength - it's literally a fraction of the price of Excel) does the trick quickly.

But is there any cure for BBA growing on mosses? I assume they're too fragile to spot dose.


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## neilshieh (Sep 6, 2010)

h2o2 is hydrogen peroxide it can be found cheaply pretty much anywhere like walmart or walgreens etc. it's an antiseptic so it should be next to the isopropyl alcohol (spelling?)


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

macclellan said:


> http://lmgtfy.com/?q=h202


Play nice with the newbie, mac. Say it is hydrogen peroxide. Come on, I know you can. :wink:



kevmo911 said:


> Every once in awhile, I get some BBA on older leaves of certain plants (especially crypts) and the bases of some shaded stems. A syringe with Excel (Metricide, actually, diluted to Excel strength - it's literally a fraction of the price of Excel) does the trick quickly.
> 
> But is there any cure for BBA growing on mosses? I assume they're too fragile to spot dose.


FWIW, when I was trying to eradicate BBA from my life, I would spot dose moss with H2O2 and it wouldn't hurt it. Now, the place where the BBA sprout was will be brown, but it was already that way most of the time. You can always test a bit of moss outside of the tank and see how it reacts as well.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

sewingalot said:


> Play nice with the newbie, mac. Say it is hydrogen peroxide. Come on, I know you can. :wink:.


Yes he might be younger than sewingalot's underwear.


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

Sorry, I couldn't resist, new or otherwise.

Anyways, Hydrogen Peroxide and H202 should be added to the FAQ>Glossary.


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## waters10 (Oct 22, 2008)

kevmo911 said:


> But is there any cure for BBA growing on mosses? I assume they're too fragile to spot dose.


I tested H2O2 (3%) outside the tank on my fissidens fontanus. I tested on 2 2x2 patches. I dropped 5ml on top of it, no tank water and let it sit in open air bubbling. 1 patch for 4 minutes and the other for 8 minutes. The 4 minutes one killed 80% of BBA and moss was completely unaffected. The 8 minutes one, killed 100% of BBA, but moss suffered a bit. Loss of color is apparent when you have both patches side by side. It will rebound though. I think the sweet spot is somewhere in between ...

I honestly didn't see much success spot treating H2O2 on BBA inside the tank. I've read success stories, so I don't know what I'm doing wrong there.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

^^ that sounds about right..

When spot treating in the tank, you have to inject at the base of the BBA, on top wont work as well.


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## waters10 (Oct 22, 2008)

mistergreen said:


> ^^ that sounds about right..
> 
> When spot treating in the tank, you have to inject at the base of the BBA, on top wont work as well.


Well, in my case, BBA is on my sand. Imagine tiny bits of BBA on individual pool filter sand granule ...

I do have it on some leaves, like anubias. But those are old leaves that I can trim.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

houseofcards said:


> Yes he might be younger than sewingalot's underwear.


Sush you. Now you'll really scare them off. (But that comment did stop James from calling people old, now didn't it?)



macclellan said:


> Sorry, I couldn't resist, new or otherwise.
> 
> Anyways, Hydrogen Peroxide and H202 should be added to the FAQ>Glossary.


I forgive you, cause it is a cute little gadget. Added the H2O2 to the FAQ. Thanks for catching that.

Oh wow, waters. I would almost take a fine net and just skim off the top layer of sand in that case. Sounds like a pain.


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## waters10 (Oct 22, 2008)

sewingalot said:


> Oh wow, waters. I would almost take a fine net and just skim off the top layer of sand in that case. Sounds like a pain.


I'll probably siphon with airline tubing. But it's a somewhat recent transformation from bare bottom to fully planted, so I'm waiting for things to stabilize more. Otherwise it's mostly killing it to watch it come back again ...


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

I use excel dosed with a syringe at double the dose for the tanks size. Make sure you turn off any circulation devises when you do this, i.e. filters, pumps, anything that moves water. I have had no problem with the excel hurting any of the plants in the tank directly dosed or other.


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## they call me bruce (Feb 13, 2011)

OK now every body get alone LOL Thanks looks like Ill kill the pump let things settle down and give the BBA an injection ya ya but Im not diggin vals up have to many Ill take my chances Thanks all for the solution


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## hbosman (Oct 5, 2006)

Vals can acclimate to excel. I once overdosed excel to kill algae and killed my vals as well. But, they did grow back and were excel resistant after that. Most people gradually increase the doses over several weeks and this might avoid the kill off.


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## they call me bruce (Feb 13, 2011)

Hey that worked out real well half of the bba is red goin for the rest of it tomorrow How long should i keep the pumps off ---let em off only an hour last time


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