# Black dust algae



## andyjw (Feb 21, 2010)

My first post and I need your help please.

My Rio 180 litre tank as has an increasing problem with a black dust type algae. This is evident on both plants and rocks (please see photos).

My water parameters are:
PH - 8.2
Ammonia – 0
Nitrite – 0
Nitrate – 20
Phosphate – 0.25 
GH – 15
KH - 11

Dosing:
Flourish Excel daily 4ml
TPN weekly 15ml

Fish:
3 x Clown Loach babies (will be moved to a larger tank as they grow)
3 x sparling panchax
6 x neon tetra
5 x otto
3 x platys

Lights:
2 x 30 watt T8

Filter – Tetratec EX700
UV – TMCVecton2 300
Circulation pump: Koralia 1 (1500 lph)

Having researched this algae, my thoughts are that it is either 1) a black version of BGA or 2) BBA. As it does not rub off the plants easily, I think it is BBA although no “hair” is evident. If it is, what is my best form of treatment? Given that I am low light, do I need to consider CO2 injection?

Your thoughts would be much appreciated.


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

Here's some links that may help:

http://www.aquaticscape.com/articles/algae.htm
http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Algae/red-algae.html
http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm
http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_freshwater_algae.php

From what i understand, the only way to remove this algae effectively is to get a siamese algae eater. I did not read through the whole article though, so you may find some different solutions that i didn't spot.

Hope this helps.


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## tbonedeluxe (Mar 10, 2008)

Here are a couple links on all algae.Using Flourish excel will help you greatly,even in a low light tank.Read up on, overdosing Excel and normal usage.Normal use will reduce some algae over time and help plants out compete algae for nutrients.Overdosing can cut down on algae drastically,but it can harm your fish and inverts.Certain plants are also more vunerable to melting due to the use of excel.It works well for me with normal usage.Ive also had success with overdosing excel on occcassion,while keeping an eye on my inhabitants behaviour.Plants and animals.
http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/plants/98984-how-often-dose-flourish.html
Good luck in your battles. ;-)


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## andyjw (Feb 21, 2010)

AzFishKid & tbonedeluxe, thanks for the links. Do you think it is BBA as it is not hairy?

I already dose 4ml of Excel daily into the tank which is 47 US Gallons. I could try doubling that to 8ml from tomorrow.

Just to add that my lights are on for 8 hours continuous. Should I look to vary this?


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

I'm honestly not sure exactly what type of algae this is. It looks like black brush algae, but from what i've read, it can be easily removed, but you say this algae in your tank is not easily removed.

I would try dosing excel every other day, and see where it goes from there.


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

I see moss in that tank. I've heard some mosses don't do well with Excel overdoses, though I can't remember specifics.

It seems like some plants known to be sensitive to Excel can adapt over time. So if you try an overdose, you might consider increasing the dose 1ml every few days until you reach your target. At very least, it will limit the damage if you have trouble.


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## tbonedeluxe (Mar 10, 2008)

It looks like the early stages of BBA.
BBA isnt easily removed by scraping.Steady use of Excel will decrease the growth of most algae over time.Patience and persistance is the key.8 hours is pretty normal.You could try 7 hours to see if you gain faster results.Just keep an eye on your plants health and growth if you do that. ;-)


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## andyjw (Feb 21, 2010)

Thanks for the replies and the info re my Java Moss. I'll watch that carefully.

I've increased my daily Excel dose to 5ml and as an experiment, I mixed the daily Excel dose with water (3:1) and spot dosed it on an infected area of a plant that I was easily able to lift out of the water. I'll do the same tomorrow and will look to see whether the algae turns red/white as would be the case with BBA.

Looking closely at it, I'm still not convinced it is BBA as there is absolutely no hair or even stubble.


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

andyjw said:


> Looking closely at it, I'm still not convinced it is BBA as there is absolutely no hair or even stubble.


There's dozens of types of algae. We can't tell them all apart, so we group them under a just few names. 

The black hairy stuff, and the dark black hairless spots are definitely both considered BBA. I'm not sure about your stuff, as it exactly resembles neither of those; but calling it BBA is probably fair, since the causes and treatments are likely the same.

In fact, I have a bit of the exact same algae which hitched a ride in on a new plant I bought. It's growing very slowly under my high CO2 and medium-low light.

Usually I'd spot-treat with enough Excel to constitute a whole-tank 2x overdose. But yesterday I opened my last bottle of Excel to find I was mistakenly shipped a bottle of plain Flourish!

So no Excel for now. I'll spot-treat with some H2O2 in the meantime.


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