# Black beard algae



## Quinton1

Hello i have black beard algae.
What is the best treatment. 
I heard blackouts dont work and im not sure if a huge water change 
Would help or hurt
Also would it be easier to just take all the plants that j see with it out and throw them away?
Any suggestions would be great


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## DrGonzo

Use h202 in a syringe and spot treat it. Up to about a mL per gallon is fine, use less with loaches, knives, or other scale less fish. You can also put it in a spray bottle and dilute it with water to hit bigger areas. BBA turns white and melts away.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus


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## The Trigger

Spot treating with Excel has always worked great for me. Turns pink and completely dissappears a day or two later. You can kill the existing stuff but you still have to fix the root cause or it will just come right back. Bba is usually caused by too much light and fluctuating co2 levels.


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## DrGonzo

I don't really like the growth I get from using excel.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus


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## livingword26

What kind of lighting, (Brand and size), what kind of CO2, if any, and what kind of fertilizers are you adding. Is this on your 55 gallon tank?


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## Quinton1

I have a 55 with flourite substarte capped with thin gravel and i have a oddysea 216 watt fixture and a fluval 88 gram co2 no ferts


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## livingword26

Even though your tank is 21 inches tall, and the Oddysea fixture is not know for high par output, you are still in the high light range. With High light and CO2 you have to dose ferts. I also don't think you will be able to keep a sufficent amount of co2 in a 55 gallon tank with the 88 gram system. It will cost you an arm and a leg in replacement bottles. This will all contribute to your BBA Problem. 

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lighting/105774-par-vs-distance-t5-t12-pc.html
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/fertilizers-water-parameters/21944-_dosing-regimes_.html


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## The Trigger

Yeah adding ferts will help the plants out compete the algae. If you set up a good co2 system and keep a steady fert regiment, you will not have any algae problems. Like Tom Barr always says, focus on growing the plants, not killing algae, and your problems will go away.


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## Quinton1

What kind of ferts should i be dosing with?


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## Hoppy

Quinton1 said:


> What kind of ferts should i be dosing with?


http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/fertilizers-water-parameters/21944-_dosing-regimes_.html


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## Quinton1

Okay thanks for the link hoppy
And do you think this is a good idea?
Switch my 216 watt odysea fixture to my 108 watt odysea fixture
Then switch the fluval co2 to a paintball co2 setup and run 3-4 bps
Then dose with rootmedic complete capsules
And is it better to just take all the plants out and start over and change the filter pads boil the driftwood and rocks and huge water change?


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## 150EH

Don't forget to do as much hand cleaning as possible, remove individual pieces of substrate, affected plant leaves, etc. and if you spot treat with Excel turn off your filters and treat for 15 minutes but not around moss or delicate plants, and use the least amount possible because you can always do it again but if you over do it you may kill off some plant material.

That is also a good option to take out anything you can and treat with h202/Excel/Bleach just get the ratio right for which ever you choose if you do the plants. You don't need to boil anything...


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## Diana

You can do as much clean up as you want, but if you do not change the chemistry in there then that or other algae will just come back. 

Plants need fertilizers and CO2. Supply these and light in the right balance and the plants will have a fighting chance against the algae. Skimp on what the plants need and you will have to fight the algae. 

It sounds like your current set up is high light, sporadic or skimpy CO2 and nowhere near enough fertilizers (just fish food). 

You sure could switch to medium light, better CO2 and fertilizer. That ought to help quite a bit. There will still be some adjustments to figure out, but that is a lot closer to balanced than the way it is now.


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## Linsanity

I don't mean to hijack this thread but I don't want to create another thread for similar BBA issue.
I have BBA in my non-planted tank for a long time and when I transferred the driftwood over to my new planted tank, the BBA was transferred over as well. Should I take the driftwood out and treat it? If so how, does hot boil water, bleach work?


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## Gold-y

Garra Rufa fish eat very happily BBA.
It might take him a few day to get use to, but when it does - great job...


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## jfynyson

Linsanity said:


> I don't mean to hijack this thread but I don't want to create another thread for similar BBA issue.
> I have BBA in my non-planted tank for a long time and when I transferred the driftwood over to my new planted tank, the BBA was transferred over as well. Should I take the driftwood out and treat it? If so how, does hot boil water, bleach work?


If the BBA is only on the driftwood then yes, take it out and treat it. H2O2 is the easiest (no dilution of the store bought 3% active). Put it in a spray bottle and drench the wood and keep it wet with H2O2 for at least 15min...more time is better. Then simply plop it right back in the tank and you're done.

You could use sodium hypochlorite (aka bleach or Clorox) but that's typically 5+% active and much stronger so not sure how much you should cut it (so more work since dilution is required as well as good rinsing).
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=203684


If you have BBA elsewhere then follow this thread to kill it then look at the posts above for correcting your issue(s) causing the BBA.


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## Zorfox

You can remove it as previously stated by spot treating with excel or peroxide. However, until you fix the underlying problem it will return. BBA is a CO2 issue. I would either obtain a larger CO2 injection system or stop using the one you have. Those system are not a true regulated system which leads to fluctuating levels as well as the tank size being far too small. Without proper CO2 levels you may need to reduce your lighting to prevent other forms of algae.


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## jfynyson

Zorfox said:


> You can remove it as previously stated by spot treating with excel or peroxide. However, until you fix the underlying problem it will return. BBA is a CO2 issue. I would either obtain a larger CO2 injection system or stop using the one you have. Those system are not a true regulated system which leads to fluctuating levels as well as the tank size being far too small. Without proper CO2 levels you may need to reduce your lighting to prevent other forms of algae.


Amen


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## picturebigger

Zorfox said:


> You can remove it as previously stated by spot treating with excel or peroxide. However, until you fix the underlying problem it will return. BBA is a CO2 issue. I would either obtain a larger CO2 injection system or stop using the one you have. Those system are not a true regulated system which leads to fluctuating levels as well as the tank size being far too small. Without proper CO2 levels you may need to reduce your lighting to prevent other forms of algae.


can too much co2 also cause bba? i'm here trolling threads for the same problem, and bba is the only algae i have. i don't even have diatoms on the walls, but bba is now everywhere. 

my co2 rate has been consistent, but just curious before i raise the rate if there's any chance bba is caused by injecting too much. sounds like i'm searching for a sweet spot? raise it some to fight bba, but raise it too much and explode other breeds? 

75 gal heavily planted. mega lights... 4xt5ho - but limit the high-noon hours to ~6hrs. i plan to raise the entire fixture tonight a few inches. still curious about co2 though.

thx.


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## yobofofas

Zorfox said:


> You can remove it as previously stated by spot treating with excel or peroxide. However, until you fix the underlying problem it will return. BBA is a CO2 issue. I would either obtain a larger CO2 injection system or stop using the one you have. Those system are not a true regulated system which leads to fluctuating levels as well as the tank size being far too small. Without proper CO2 levels you may need to reduce your lighting to prevent other forms of algae.


Just curious. I'm running a 90g with two sattelight + LEDs on a 12 hour photoperiod at max brightness and a pressurized CO2 system running at about 4-5 bubbles per second (only while lights are on). I regularly dose with a full regimen of Seachem liquid frets also.

My C02 Was down for a couple of weeks and suddenly I have a BBA outbreak and can't seem to shake it. Any help will be appreciated.


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## warriors06

*New tank bba*

Just started using excel about about a week ago, added some"plant" lights to my LED light strip and suddenly today I see some bba. No co2, but use root tabs. Tank is about a month old and has been doing well until this nasty visitor.


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