# Spirogyra is invincible



## ingg (Jan 18, 2007)

Try running 1/2 doseage of Excel for a while. Yes, I know it sounds crazy - but try it.


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

from: http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm

"Once it has appeared it can be very hard to clear as it thrives in the same conditions as plants. Pick out as much as possible and do a three day blackout with CO2 turned off and doing large daily water changes. Dose back with macros after the water change. Afterwards I found normal dosing Excel also helped. Rosy barbs will eat it if made hungry. Also try reducing the lighting.
Another method to try is to try lean dosing at around 1/4 to 1/8 Estimative Index levels for a few weeks. I had good success doing this."


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Blackout has kicked it's butt pretty much every time along with some good cleaning, good parameters, trim etc.

Not hard, it's more like a "plant" than most algae.

regards, 
Tom Barr


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## sunfire99 (Apr 8, 2009)

Three day blackout combined with heavy H202 and Excel wiped mine out.


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## dr.tran (Oct 8, 2007)

I have been so sick lately. Due to health insurance issues and the doctor wanting to make me her star project, I was screwed into having a staff infection for the last 7 months. All this time they thought it was something else.

Being so sick, lately I rarely have touched my tanks. My co2 ran out a while ago and I havn't turned on the lights for weeks now. I havn't even fert for about 3 months now. But Im finally feeling better and I turned on the lights for the first time in weeks. Almost everything gone. I barely have stems with no leaves and I just hope it grows back. But u know what, I had one thing that thrived. Spirogrya. 

How do u kill what is not alive!! So basically its been a black out for weeks, no water change or ferts and basically zero matience. 

Im just about to bleach the tank.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Yep. Spiro is the reason I broke down my 20 gallon tank. H2O2 doesn't seem to infect it. It sucks. lol


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

Its not that hard to get rid of. ive kicked it twice. i just did normal maintenance with good CO2. gone in a jiffy.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chase127 said:


> Its not that hard to get rid of. ive kicked it twice. i just did normal maintenance with good CO2. gone in a jiffy.


maybe we/ you had something different. IDK. I took out all of my fish and cranked the co2, lowered the photoperiod, dosed excel and spot treated with h2o2, had fast growers, did good water changes, and it still kicked my butt


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## alan j t (Feb 13, 2008)

can we see a pic of this invincible monster???


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

Spiro has been in my tanks for a while, usually stays unnoticed but I had to go to war with it once. Pretty much lost the fight being that I had to remove all my moss and cut the light and nutrient levels down to stall it out. I had rhizo that was taking over big time and required a complete conversion to low tech. Blackouts never work for me except in SW tanks. :icon_frow


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

alan j t said:


> can we see a pic of this invincible monster???


http://www.dwe.nsw.gov.au/water/algal_key.shtml

See figure 12 specifically

That as well as Cladophora are more like higher plants.
So they tend to do well even when conditions are okay, but good harassment, good conditions, water changes, pruning can remove them.

They take more work, sometimes you get lucky and only a small tweak tips the scales, others have a much harder time it seems.

I just had this appear recently since I moved, all the plants where rotten and I was trying to save some tips, so I left lots of semi rotten plants in the tank that had been cooked outside for over a 2 weeks.

the plants grew back fast, and now the Spiro is doing well. 3 day blackout kicked it back, did no harm to the plants, I returned the lights, cleaned etc, waited 4 days, and now did another one.

I'll trim well, then turn the lights back on, do a large water change etc, and keep on harassing it.

It should be gone soon thereafter, particularly if you catch it early(as is the case with most algae).

If you see algae, do a water change, clean it out asap, tweak nutrients/CO2, reduce light etc.

Don't sit and pray it goes away on it's own or with some minor effort dosing a little different.

Nail it asap.

I moved and had no time, so it got away from me, but now I can beat on it good, and it goes away.

It'd not a one quick thing to kill and cure algae at the root, it takes a few days, weeks to really get the tank back into good shape. If the plants are not growing really well also during that time, you are doing something wrong also, as a rule. 

Regards, 
Tom Barr








Regards, 
Tom Barr


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