# Remove green algae from driftwood?



## DirtDevilDTOM

Hi everyone.

I've been battling some algae problems for a while and I finally have most of it under control. My BGA is dead after an EM treatment and hasn't come back. All my BBA is gone, haven't seen GSA return on the glass for a while and my hair algae problem is gone. YAY!

So now... I have a few pieces of drtifwood in the tank that have a thin layer of green all over them. I want to driftwood back to its original color but no amount of brushing seems to remove it - it seems permanently stained that color.

In the past, I have removed this from rocks doing a 10/1 bleach dip after taking the rocks out of the tank. I don't have this luxury with the driftwood because I have tons of plants and moss attached to it and the pieces are embedded into my scape pretty well.

Without tearing everything down, are there any tips for cleaning up this wood again? It used to be such a nice light brown color.

Thanks for the help!


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## DirtDevilDTOM

Anyone have any thoughts on this? Love to get the green off as the toothbrush just isn't cutting it...


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## Bushkill

Depending on the fish you have, have you thought about Amano shrimp? They work like fiends. I really don't think it's stained, even though it may give that appearance.


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## DirtDevilDTOM

Funny you mentioned that, I just bought two Amano shrimp yesterday. I have been putting that off as I have a balzani cichlid in there with a large mouth. 

If these two don't become snacks I will add some more in there. I hope they are still in there, as soon as they went in the tank they dissapeared - I'm hoping they're just hiding and weren't dinner.

Is it just the Amano shrimp that will work on cleaning the algae off or is it all shrimp that do this?


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## Bushkill

Hmmmm. I know they love to sift through the sand for their food, but I don't feel so good about the amanos' chances over the long run even though they can get to a good size. I've never kept any of the smaller decorative shrimp, but they are tiny compared to Amanos and probably wouldn't stand a chance. If the Balzani doesn't get them, they'll make an appearance soon. They have something of a "break-in" period like lots of fish. They really have big appetites and if they're gonna get sucked up it's going to happen when they chase a sinking pellet or two to the sand.


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## DirtDevilDTOM

I'm pretty sure that they all got eaten or they are the best hiders I have ever had in the tank. Too bad, I was really getting into the idea of keeping shrimp. 

I have debated changing my stocking so that I could keep shrimp but my wife won't let me so it looks like no shrimp in the near future.

That out of the equation, any other tips for cleaning up some of the green algae on the driftwood?


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## dru

That is a bummer

I had green algae on a piece of driftwood that I watched Amano shrimp completely pick apart

Now you can't even tell there was any algae on it

I have seen amano shrimp get over 2" so maybe you could find some larger ones? What do you think ate them?


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## bsantucci

Look into BN Plecos. My driftwood was completely green 2 months ago when I was fighting GSA, but I got 2 juvi BN's and they almost cleaned it completely. There's a few spots left, but they are very happy to work on it all day.


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## DirtDevilDTOM

My balzani cichlid is the only fish with a mouth large enough to scoop it up and eat it whole so I would guess it was him. I have 4 rainbowfish and 4 denison barbs that get pretty aggressive around feeding time (its like feeding sharks) so I wonder if they could have done anything? Or clown loaches? Or these Amano shrimp are Houdini reincarnate and I will randomly see them a month from now.

I had some regular size plecos about a year ago and they did clean off the driftwood like no other. Then they ate the plants too. New holes punched every morning. And left 8" long trails of poop. Those were some filthy fish! Then they turned into giants and I had to trade them in.

Are the bristlenose plecos much different?


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## bsantucci

Yeah bristle nose stay smaller and leave smaller poop trails haha. Mine don't touch plants at all. The certainly destroy the algae though


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## amcoffeegirl

I enjoy bristlenose too. I had a piece of black driftwood in a goldfish tank. I changed the tank into a tropical fish community-kept the driftwood. I forgot it was brown. He cleaned it all up for me. I didn't even know they would eat black algae.


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## DirtDevilDTOM

Hmmm, sounds like I will try a BN. Are they clumsy and I will have to worry about them digging up or knocking around any of the plants?

Are there any other methods that you can think of to remove the green besides adding cleanup stock?


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## bsantucci

Mine don't disturb anything, but they are only 2 inches or so now.

Here's mine last night eating some wood/algae. You can see how much he's cleaned and how it looked from what's left. It was all green when I got them.


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## kman

Plecos get pretty huge, don't they? I'd make sure the tank is an appropriate size to handle whatever their ultimate size is going to be.


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## ErtyJr

Here is an idea if you would prefer not to use a fish to remove the algae.

Siphon off water untill the driftwood is exposed and then spray it down with hydrogen peroxide(H2O2). I use hydrogen peroxide over bleach because the second it hits water it breaks down into one part H2O and one part oxygen, which means all you have left is a little extra oxygen in your water! Completely fish safe but will kill the algae if it makes contact. Alternatively, some people say that if you put it in a spray bottle and place the nozzle right onto the algae and spray it under water it will make contact before breaking down and still kill the algae. I haven't tried that method yet but I do spray my above water line tank walls with peroxide when I do water changes to remove algae and also spray new plants down before planting them. Has always worked for me.


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## kman

High concentrations of H2O2 will kill your fish, but as long as it's rinsed off, you are correct that small amounts are no problem.

And yes, it kills algae.


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## Dead2fall

I had this gorgeous algae on my wood. It was a beautiful green, stayed short and uniform fuzz. It stayed only on the wood up high near the lights. I killed it with Excel and wish I never ever did. Now it's just like a crust. Nothing will touch it. Not the bn pleco, not the golden cae, not the nerites... Nothing. I have yet to try amanos as I can't find them locally.


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## Coralbandit

1-3 ml of h202 per gallon of aquaria is usually safe.
I have used H202 for years(algae!!!!) and NEVER killed a fish yet.
Most of mine swim right into it if it bubbles up enough?


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## Kathyy

You can always scrape the wood clean with a fingernail or new toothbrush. Pop off the stubs left after Excel kills BBA and the wood looks much better.


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## DirtDevilDTOM

I'm going to try the bristle nose route and see how that goes. I have tried H202 and that seemed effective at killing BGA but it never removed the greenish hue the wood has. I have toothbrushed it, scraped it, you name it - always has that greenish color. It isn't fully covered, just a tint of green.

We'll see how the BNP does when I pick one up tonight.


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## streeker02

dry it out and hit it with some sandpaper  works like a charm


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## Gianna

DirtDevilDTOM said:


> Hi everyone.
> 
> I've been battling some algae problems for a while and I finally have most of it under control. My BGA is dead after an EM treatment and hasn't come back. All my BBA is gone, haven't seen GSA return on the glass for a while and my hair algae problem is gone. YAY!
> 
> So now... I have a few pieces of drtifwood in the tank that have a thin layer of green all over them. I want to driftwood back to its original color but no amount of brushing seems to remove it - it seems permanently stained that color.
> 
> In the past, I have removed this from rocks doing a 10/1 bleach dip after taking the rocks out of the tank. I don't have this luxury with the driftwood because I have tons of plants and moss attached to it and the pieces are embedded into my scape pretty well.
> 
> Without tearing everything down, are there any tips for cleaning up this wood again? It used to be such a nice light brown color.
> 
> Thanks for the help!


I know this was years ago but how did you get rid of the black beard alage? Currently dealing with it


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