# Low Tech, Algae and Flourish



## Fishumms (Apr 21, 2010)

Using Excel for algae control there are two avenues of attack. One is to does the Excel daily at the recommended amounts. This I have found to work well at keeping the whole tank relatively "clean" looking. If you have a particular spot or spots that are pretty bad or algae only seems to grow in one area you can use the Excel directly on it. Get an eyedropper and turn off all the filters on the tank. Then, only using as much Excel as is recommended for your tank, use the eyedropper to "deposit" it directly onto the algae. This has worked well for me in the past. It might take some time. In my experience for example I had a patch of Anubius that kept getting hair algae-ed so I spot treated it. I pretty much had to slowly work killing off the algae from one leaf at at time. It took about a month or so to do one plant, but I only did the treatments twice a week with the water changes. Hope that helps.


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## mnemenoi (May 28, 2012)

Yes it is actually an algaecide though not marketed as such. It is an alternative carbon source for higher plants, thus marketed as a carbon dioxide alternative. It is easier for plants to uptake then other sources, but harder then Co2. It works best in low tech tanks such as yours in my opinion. After a WC, there is a heavy dose, then followed with smaller daily doses in the mornings. It is light sensitive and eventually degrades so early morning dosing is better. There is a lot of kooky science for why/how it functions, but I can attest that done properly it does work. Is it a magic bullet? No, but can it help in a tank that's just a bit out of whack, certainly.


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

Excel is an algaecide when overdosed, but really only works against BBA and staghorn at any reasonable overdose.

Occasionally folks report that adding Excel increases other types of algae, especially GSA and GDA. I think I may have seen slight hints of this myself on rare occasions.

But this may not be _directly_ due to the Excel. Remember, Excel makes plants grow faster, and that means they will take up larger amounts of all nutrients! Any nutrient level that may have previously been adequate, might then become deficient - and deficiencies invite algae. Or if any level was already deficient, Excel will make it _worse_. Low phosphate in particular sometimes accelerates GSA growth.

So add Excel if you want to increase plant growth. Overdose it if you want to kill BBA or staghorn. If you have other algae, Excel may help simply by boosting plant growth/health. Or it may hinder by causing or exacerbating a deficiency, but that is better solved by simply adding the missing nutrient.

More specific advice can be given if you tell us which type(s) of algae you're having issues with, as well as full tank details.


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## HuginMunin (Jan 31, 2014)

Thanks all. I have been considering starting to add ferts to make up for any deficiencies, but I am worried that all the extra nutrients in the water will only make the algae worse...?

(I'll post the best details I have later today after I get everyone/everything in order)


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## HuginMunin (Jan 31, 2014)

55 gallon community 
GH 180
KH 240
PH 7.5 (maybe as high as 7.8)
NO2 0
NO3 10
Flora: Vals, anubias, java fern, java moss
Fauna: 2x angels, 3x black skirt tetras, 4x white clouds, 5x glolite tetras, 3x otos, 1x pearl gourami (brand new) 2x corys (also brand new)
Lights: 4x 13 watt CFLs 800 lumens ea. 6500k


When I first established I had diatoms which the otos decimated, now I'm getting a dark green slimy algae on my anubias leaves, a little lighter green on my rocks and some fuzzy dark brown stuff on the edges of my val and anubias....


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

There's two general approaches to preventing algae.

1) Starving the algae by keeping the water nutrient poor. Preferably without starving the plants. Which is easier if you have nutrients in the substrate that plants can get to through their roots, but algae can't.

2) Provide plenty of nutrients in the water. This should feed plants and algae alike. But assuming you also have plenty of healthy plants, they tend to suppress the algae; though exactly _how_ isn't known.

You're probably closer to #1 right now. Successfully venturing from that to #2 takes a leap of faith to do it properly. If you try it only tentatively, for example adding a bit of a single nutrient to see what happens, the plants may not be able to utilize it for lack of something else, and it may only feed the algae.

By feeding your fish, you're getting enough nitrate, given your 10ppm NO3. Likely enough phosphate (PO4) as well. But plants also need a source of potassium (K), which fish food is poor in. Plus iron and also other trace nutrients. At bare minimum using off-the-shelf products, I would dose something like Seachem's Flourish and Flourish Potassium to supply these requirements. A lot of folks (myself included) buy dry ferts, and either dose dry, or tailor-make our own liquid ferts. This takes a little learning curve but is cheaper in the long run. I spent $25 on my initial order of dry ferts. Almost ten years and many tanks later, I still have some of the original ferts left.

I'm not sure about your lighting, as I'm not good at estimating light levels using CFLs. But I'd seek confirmation about that if you haven't already. If you were accidentally getting medium light, or very low light, either can cause algae issues. Post details about what kind of fixture your CFLs are in, that will help those who are more familiar with them.

The slimy green algae sounds like BGA, which is actually a photosynthetic bacteria rather than a true algae. If you can post pictures we can verify that ID. Various methods exists for dealing with BGA.

Vals can melt when exposed to Excel for the first time. They typically grow back. But that can be avoided by introducing it slowly. Try adding 0.25mL/10G for the first week, 0.5mL/10G next week, and so on until after a month you're at the normal 1.0mL/10G dose.

Since this post covers a lot of individual topics, I haven't gone into full detail on all of it. Read up a little on anything unfamiliar to you, then post back with any specific questions.


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## HuginMunin (Jan 31, 2014)

Thanks again. I appreciate all the information; I'm going to start reading up on introducing fertilizer rather than make you reiterate a bunch of what's already probably posted elsewhere. 

The slimy greenish stuff isn't BGA , it's not quite that dark (I had the horrbile BGA in my CPD tank, luckily I eradicated it...)


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