# My expirience with black beard algae



## Lucky_13 (Apr 18, 2006)

i got a pretty bad infestation of black beard algae. i had already done a blackout, which killed off the BGA, but the BBA was persisting and getting worse.

so after reading a few articles, i decided to try Hydrogen Peroxide. the article i read said to use 1ml per gallon. first you shut off your filters, then use a baby medicine syringe to squirt the H2O2 directly onto the algae. let it sit for about 15-20 minutes, then do your normal weekly water change and turn the filters back on. cutting the filters allows longer contact between the peroxide and the algae.

i tried this exact method for about 2 weeks. some of the algae died, but it was growing back faster than it was dying, so i got more agressive. i basically did the same thing, only i doubled the ammount of peroxide i was using each time, and did the treatment about 3 times per week. one of those treatments was before a water change, like the article says. the other two i did not do a water change afterwards. 

here are the before and after pics.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/Celeste_Eden/pets/beforeh2o2-2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/Celeste_Eden/pets/beforeh2o2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/Celeste_Eden/pets/P1010025-1.jpg

and after





































all the plants are great, the fish had fun playing in the bubbles and were otherwise unaffected, and as far as i can tell, the snails are all fine too. the OD of peroxide didn't hurt anything and it killed the algae.


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## spypet (Sep 15, 2006)

Lucky, I'm very grateful you took the time to post your success and methods using H202 in combating BBA. I love reading about others first hand well chronicled experience. I tried it and failed at H202, thus I reverted to using a bleach dip. however I much prefer using your higher/direct H2O2 method should I ever suffer BBA again, especially now that I have more delicate plants that would be too traumatized by removal and dipping.
Thanx again


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## sunmiztres (Mar 20, 2006)

Im curoius if using the peroxide would kill other algae? I guess i could give it a try and see.
Thanks for sharing your expierence.

Could you let us know if your algae starts reappearing and how long it took?


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## Lucky_13 (Apr 18, 2006)

i have been treating for a month. the BBA will never be 100% gone. once the spores get into your tank, they are next to impossible to get rid of without breaking down the tank, but i can at least keep it in check using this method, even if i have to continue using it. i'm not sure if it works on other algaes, since i'm pretty sure the little bit of BGA i got back after my blackout is now gone again because i'm more dilligent with my ferts and i have better CO2 circulation.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Great post! I will store that away for use if my BBA tries to come back from the bleach dipping I did yesterday. May I suggest that your CO2 level may be too low? I'm on a high horse lately promoting the use of a "drop checker" or in tank pH indicator as a way to accurately (finally) determine how much CO2 is in the water. I think you will be surprised to find that you are much lower than you thought if you try it. For details see: DIY Drop Checker - Aquatic Plant Central- aquascaping...a living art


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## Lucky_13 (Apr 18, 2006)

i just added a powerhead to diffuse my CO2 instead of an air stone. it seems to be working a lot better. every few seconds i see a burst of teensy tiny bubbles shoot around the tank.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

The problem I had when I was using a powerhead to make CO2 mist and blow it around, was that I had no idea how much CO2 I had dissolved in the water. I had lots of mist, but BBA still started to grow vigorously. So, I switched to a Barr internal venturi reactor to get more dissolved CO2, as well as mist. Then, I again had no idea how much I had, so I would increase the bubble rate a little, wait a few days, watching the fish, the increase it a bit again. I did that for some time, but I kept getting BBA, meaning I probably still didn't have as much as I thought I had. I got impatient and increased the bubble rate a lot, but I also put a little imitation ADA "drop checker" in to accurately measure the CO2. I then had over 70 ppm and the fish were all at the top gulping for air. Now, I have the bubble rate readjusted to maintain a known 30 ppm of CO2 and everything looks good. My next project will be to increase that to 40 ppm for a week or so to see if that is still ok.

If I had not used that little glass doo dad to accurately measure the ppm of CO2 I would still be floundering around, possibly with some dead fish.


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