# dosing Flourish Excel has hair algae on the run



## Frogmanx82

I was getting hair algae strands 8 inches long. Dosing Excel for two weeks and all the long strands are gone and its turning white in several places on the rocks. Pretty amazing. In the mean time my java moss has taken off. I have 2 watts per gallon.


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## Noahma

I have been doing the same thing with Staghorn (dosing my usual daily dose directly on the algae) and man it is disappearing quick. In its dead state, it is quite a nice looking thing though lol Bright red


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## mdfa.ca

Hey guys,

do you have CO2 running in those tanks as well? I have some major problems with some kind of hair algae in my tank but it does have CO2 so I'm afraid to overdose? How much did you apply per gal?


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## StillLearning

mdfa.ca said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> do you have CO2 running in those tanks as well? I have some major problems with some kind of hair algae in my tank but it does have CO2 so I'm afraid to overdose? How much did you apply per gal?


I dose the recommended amount but I don't use excel. I have been using MetriCide 14 (without the activator) **cough ebay cough** and it works nice with co2.


Per Seachems site.

_On initial use or after a major (> 40%) water change, use 1 capful (5 mL) for every 40 L (10 gallons*). Thereafter use 1 capful for every 200 L (50 gallons*) daily or every other day. Dosing may be slowly increased in high-growth aquariums. For smaller dosing please note that each cap thread is approximately 1 mL._


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## Frogmanx82

I have 2 watts per gallon T8 lighting on a 55 and dose a capful per day, no CO2.


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## NJAquaBarren

Dosing Excel does stress fish. I used that technique to fight BBA and it worked, but it took a few nice fish with it. 

Since then, when some BBA pops up I cut it out. Its good to remove old leaves anyway. Many have good luck squirting it at trouble sposts with a baster. 

The only place it grows in my tank now in any volume is on the outflow pipe and anything near it. Trim the plants and bleach the outflow tube worked great and was very simple. Cleaned a few things in the bleach solution while I was at it.

AB


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## GTR

90g, 45ml per day for 2 weeks. No change at all that I can see. No fish loss. Some stems need trimming twice a week. lol

Changed from 4 dKH to 6dKh in the DC over the weekend hoping to get a better handle on CO2. It's hard to judge when the DC stays in the green-yellow range regardless of time of day.

SteveU


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## Rooted

NJAquaBarren said:


> Dosing Excel does stress fish. I used that technique to fight BBA and it worked, but it took a few nice fish with it.
> 
> Since then, when some BBA pops up I cut it out. Its good to remove old leaves anyway. Many have good luck squirting it at trouble sposts with a baster.
> 
> The only place it grows in my tank now in any volume is on the outflow pipe and anything near it. Trim the plants and bleach the outflow tube worked great and was very simple. Cleaned a few things in the bleach solution while I was at it.
> 
> AB


I've never heard of Excel stressing fish...this is interesting (ahem since I use it in both of my tanks). Were you using the standard dosage and do you have CO2 injection?

Just wondering.


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## Delslo

get yourself one American Flag fish and you won't have a problem with a re-occurence of hair algae, because it will come back the second you stop dosing with excel, I know from experience. It is recommended that you keep the AFF in groups of three or more, but in my experience they get aggressive when there are more two or more. I fought with hair algae for months and the aff beat it for me. Cherry barbs don't work, sail fin mollies do, but make alot of mess, cherry barbs are aggressive, aff just right.


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## mdfa.ca

I have to report that dosing Excel does work. I've been doing it for not even a week and all the strands are turning white. I have stopped CO2 temporarily and the first day I dosed at twice the recommended strength. Thereafter I usually dose at about 1.5 the recommended strength. 

To be honest, if this is the only thing that will keep it at bay, I'm willing to do it for ever. Interestingly though, now that the algae is dying, the wild guppies are picking at it.


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## barbarossa4122

StillLearning said:


> I dose the recommended amount but I don't use excel. I have been using MetriCide 14 (without the activator) **cough ebay cough** and it works nice with co2.
> 
> 
> Per Seachems site.
> 
> _On initial use or after a major (> 40%) water change, use 1 capful (5 mL) for every 40 L (10 gallons*). Thereafter use 1 capful for every 200 L (50 gallons*) daily or every other day. Dosing may be slowly increased in high-growth aquariums. For smaller dosing please note that each cap thread is approximately 1 mL._


Hi StillLearning,

What do you mean "without the activator" ? I want to switch from Excell to Metracis but , I have no clue about Metricide.


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## StillLearning

You can read this post over here it explains alot more we been talking about it a bit.


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## barbarossa4122

StillLearning said:


> You can read this post over here it explains alot more we been talking about it a bit.


Got it. Thanks.


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## GuppyGrouper

Flourish Excel works as an algaecide for that cursed hairy algae.!! I cannot tell you how many aquatic plants I've lost, particularly anubias, to that horrible stuff. The only use I had for it was as a receptacle for newly dropped fry - and so what.... I have been dosing at 3X recommended strength and the algae began wilting almost immediately. I would recommend reducing the 'biological load' in the treated aquarium, because the treatment obviously reduces the oxygen in the water. The fish rise t
o the top but don't behave as they do when the ammonia is dangerously high. Full filtration should be maintained too. I have a 5.5 gallon with seven gorgeous female bettas and I have their filter running full blast - although they're not exhibiting oxygen deprivation due to their labyrinths through which they get oxygen. Daily vacuuming of the top of the substrate is also recommended because the dying algae tend to sink to the bottom of the aquarium.


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