# Over dosing with Excel to kill algae



## Mark B. (Feb 24, 2017)

I have a 100 gallon tank that, I'm ashamed to say, was neglected for a few years. The substrate became covered with Blanket Weed (Cladophora algae). I have removed all that I can by hand, but it looks like it is trying to grow back. I have heard that over dosing with Excel may get rid of it. I don't know how to go about this. Does anyone have experience with this method? Is it safe for fish and shrimp?


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## puopg (Sep 16, 2012)

Might kill your shrimp, probably won't kill your fish. 

Works better if you spot dose instead and turn off your filters for 15 minutes.


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## Mr. Bean (Jul 10, 2016)

I battled algae for almost a year and decided to go the Excel route myself. I followed the instructions religiously, both at water change time and on a daily basis. It took a few months to get it cleared up but I've had no problems since, and continue with the Excel regime. I"ve had no ill effects on my shrimp, nerite snails, tetras or betta.

Sounds like you may be in a bit of a hurry, so I can't comment on "over dosing" and what impact it will have. If you want a quick fix and willing to do the work, you could also try H2O2 (regular hydrogen peroxide from a drug store). Move your livestock, drain the tank and then spray it all over the substrate and let it sit for ten minutes. Put a few inches of water back in and vacuum it out again to ensure you've removed/diluted the H2O2 sufficiently, then refill the tank. H2O2 is an oxidizer and will definitely kill the algae. It is very potent however. I occasionally use it underwater if a particular plant gets a little too much algae on it; turn off the filter and let the water calm then use a spray bottle underwater up close and give it a couple of blasts to the leaves up close. Too much in too little water can kill your livestock so be very careful. I made the mistake of spraying exposed plants during a 50% water change and my betta died within an hour from the concentration...lesson learned.


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## irishspy (Oct 22, 2007)

puopg said:


> Might kill your shrimp, probably won't kill your fish.
> 
> Works better if you spot dose instead and turn off your filters for 15 minutes.


This would work, but I've also had good results treating it with 2mls of hydrogen peroxide and turning off the filters for 15 minutes. Wiped it out in a few days.


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## Mark B. (Feb 24, 2017)

Thanks for the advice! I'm not in a great hurry to rid the tank of this algae and I don't want to harm my critters. I've been dosing with Excel every day at the recommended dose and it seems to be having some effect on the algae. I've noticed the shrimp get very active when I dose. I'm sure it has some effect on them. I having some progress on the situation so I'll keep dosing at the recommended rate.

Thanks for the replies!


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## irishspy (Oct 22, 2007)

Mark B. said:


> Thanks for the advice! I'm not in a great hurry to rid the tank of this algae and I don't want to harm my critters. I've been dosing with Excel every day at the recommended dose and it seems to be having some effect on the algae. I've noticed the shrimp get very active when I dose. I'm sure it has some effect on them. I having some progress on the situation so I'll keep dosing at the recommended rate.
> 
> Thanks for the replies!


FWIW, I've just started a split photo period on my tank to deal with some algae: four on, four off, four on. We'll see over a few weeks if that helps.


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