# Clado - any ideas before I tear the tank down



## Sk8u (Sep 30, 2007)

I just went through this with my tank. Tried everything until I finally gave up and used Erythromycin.

Four day treatment 400mg day 1 - 200mg day 2-4

No sign of it after day 2 but continued treatment.

I haven't identified the root cause so I expect it will come back. We'll see.


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## RoseHawke (Mar 10, 2004)

Odd. Erythromycin is an anti-*bacterial *and really should only have an effect on BGA (Blue-Green algae) - a cyano*bacteria*. 

I have run across mention that Amano Shrimp will sometimes eat clado (depends on the individual shrimp apparently, some like it, some don't.) I've got a bit of it in my 55. Mostly I just ignore it these days :icon_roll, although I have thought of trying some Amanos if I could find some for a reasonable price, and also within a reasonable distance.


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## turbosaurus (Nov 19, 2005)

Cherries will clear out a tank full of clado in a matter of days (if you have enough of them). 

Antibiotics will not help. I have read- although I can not say first hand- that its usually a result of having high levels of micros and low levels of macros. Why not try stopping your micro dosing and keep up the macros for the next week, while you manually remove as much as possible, see if it slows down or stops growing back?


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## captain_bu (Oct 20, 2007)

I think I am on the tail end of dealing with a similar problem. My 55 gallon (2.36 WPG PC) tank had developed a serious infestation of Cladophora. I had been neglecting the tank and the algae took over and decimated my plants and infested my substrate. I was also at the point where I thought the best solution would be to tear down the tank, clean and bleach everything and start over. Instead I did some research and made a commitment to a new dosing and maintenance regiment. Two months ago I pulled out every bit of the Clado that I could and added 6 Rosey Barbs which started eating what was left within 2 minutes of being released in the tank. Based on all the excellent information I have found on these forums I am once again doing weekly water changes and started dosing dry ferts EI style along with Excel, Flourish and Iron (no CO2). I also replaced my bulbs and added lots of new plants including a number of fast growing stem plants. So far the Cladophora algae has not returned.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

i have clado and amanos and cherries. clado is still there. oh well...

should i try rosy barbs?


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

Ive had clado in the past and here is what worked for me.
Start with testing all the parameters of your water.
Then dose excel daily and remove as much manually by hand.
Add fast growing water weeds to soak up excess nutrients.
In 30 days all was gone for me and never returned. Testing your water is key.
Find out what your clado is eating and starve it.


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## mademperor (Nov 15, 2007)

Orlando said:


> Ive had clado in the past and here is what worked for me.
> Start with testing all the parameters of your water.
> Then dose excel daily and remove as much manually by hand.
> Add fast growing water weeds to soak up excess nutrients.
> ...


Testing for what?


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

Anything out of the norm, excess nutrients that clado is thriving off of.


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## mademperor (Nov 15, 2007)

Orlando said:


> Anything out of the norm, excess nutrients that clado is thriving off of.


nitrates / phosphates... anything else?


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

Try also Micros, anything in excess the clado will thrive on it.


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## mademperor (Nov 15, 2007)

Orlando said:


> Try also Micros, anything in excess the clado will thrive on it.


Which would you test for?


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

All of them.


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## mademperor (Nov 15, 2007)

Orlando said:


> All of them.


you dont' know do you.... lol :fish:
I asked specifically what you test for outside of nitrates/phosphates/co2


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

And I siad micros..... can you read that? A B C


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## jrs (Dec 25, 2005)

Orlando said:


> Ive had clado in the past and here is what worked for me.
> Start with testing all the parameters of your water.
> Then dose excel daily and remove as much manually by hand.
> Add fast growing water weeds to soak up excess nutrients.
> ...


The remedy that you are suggesting is the standard proceedure for getting rid of many types of algae. However this CLADO crap is the worst stuff I have ever encountered! I am actually bleach dipping my nets and utensils so I dont cross contaiminate my tanks.

I have a full test kit and maintain my water parameters pretty tightly. I just cant seem to beat it!


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

Man, Im sorry about your luck, Your determination will pay off.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

umm i remember someone posting a method to use H2O2 with some small plastic container and a syringe. spot squirting and leave the container there.


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## jrs (Dec 25, 2005)

ikuzo said:


> umm i remember someone posting a method to use H2O2 with some small plastic container and a syringe. spot squirting and leave the container there.


oh yea.....I remember that post. It was some lady on here that suggested that. I will have to search it out. Not that I really care at this point but I wonder if that will nuke the glosso that it is embedded in as well.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

try a small area first before you apply to everything. i didn't find the post when i search it. if you find it please share


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

People say flag fish. I haven't tried.
H2O2 doesn't work so well.
Testing water parameters, etc, etc is pretty much useless against clado IME.

Once it's in your substrate, it's pretty much all over. UNLESS you want to try a GRIPLOAD of Amano shrimp. I had 50 in my 40 gallon planted and they did the trick.


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## Ryzilla (Oct 29, 2005)

I did an experiminet on here about a year ago with amano's and clado. I purposly infested a 2.5g. I added 5 amanos. 1 month later there it was entirely under control. Cherries will not touch this stuff, I know this becasue I had the clado origanate in my cherry tank.


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## baz (Jun 28, 2007)

ikuzo said:


> try a small area first before you apply to everything. i didn't find the post when i search it. if you find it please share


Is this it?

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/algae/44226-excel-spot-treatment-groundcover.html


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## jrs (Dec 25, 2005)

That's the one! She even posted in this thread too! I will give that a try.


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## Sk8u (Sep 30, 2007)

RoseHawke said:


> Odd. Erythromycin is an anti-*bacterial *and really should only have an effect on BGA (Blue-Green algae) - a cyano*bacteria*.


Your right it was cyano, my mistake. Read the post to fast and had a senior moment. Thanks for setting this straight.


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## crazy loaches (Sep 29, 2006)

Clado infesting the substrate... hmmm that thing in your avatar comes to mind. lol.

Good luck though, hopefully you dont have to nuke it.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

yes that's the one.


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## jrs (Dec 25, 2005)

One last idea before I tear it down.

What is I removed all plants and drained all water except for maybe 2" or so above the substrate and then put 1/2 bottle of excel in the tank and left it overnight????????

Would this kill off all of the Clado?


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## sandiegoryu (Feb 15, 2006)

Yes it probably would. But bleach would do the same exact thing. It'll just kill everything in there I would think.


If you can afford like 40 amano shrimp and if you have fish that won't eat them then that would work. I've heard many stories about clado infestations and have had one before, but a large quantity of amano shrimp seem to do the trick.


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## jrs (Dec 25, 2005)

If bleach is used then I have to take into account the huge spike in ammonia levels; basically I will have to recycle the entire tank.


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## aquaverde (Apr 15, 2003)

jrs said:


> One last idea before I tear it down.
> 
> What is I removed all plants and drained all water except for maybe 2" or so above the substrate and then put 1/2 bottle of excel in the tank and left it overnight????????
> 
> Would this kill off all of the Clado?






jrs said:


> If bleach is used then I have to take into account the huge spike in ammonia levels; basically I will have to recycle the entire tank.


I used bleach protocol, which included bleaching the plants (2-4 min. in 20% solution) and the entire tank, including running the filter and all equipment. It worked, but some of the plants didn't survive it and it was a lot of work.

You can try your Excel idea, but I doubt it's going to work 100%. I have my doubts concerning Excel's effectiveness vs. chlado anyway, but you might luck out. You'll have to be prepared to spend a lot of time examining the tank afterward for any new starts of the chlado and be really diligent to remove anything you find immediately. I suppose you can always go through the bleach protocol later on if the Excel doesn't work for you.


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## captain_bu (Oct 20, 2007)

jrs said:


> If bleach is used then I have to take into account the huge spike in ammonia levels; basically I will have to recycle the entire tank.


If bleach is used, or a massive amount of Excel, how would you get it out of the tank afterwards. Seems you would have to strip the tank down and start over to know there is no contamination (especially if you use bleach). Still think you need to figure out why you have this infestation in the first place. It should be easier to balance an established tank than start up a tank from scratch. You said you know your tank parameters are "tight" because you test but something is not in balance or you wouldn't have the problem. Maybe your dosing is off because your drop checker (if you use one) is not accurate or your test kit is not accurate. A bit more info about your setup and how you maintain the tank may help in getting some more definitive answers. I also do not think that Excel is that affective against Clado though it may help prevent some other types of algae from taking hold and the slight boost it will give your plant growth can't do anything but help the plants to compete with the Clado for nutrients. Hang in there this is not impossible to fix (though I know I recently went through the feeling of it seeming that way) you simply have not identified the root cause yet so you can't treat it affectively.


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## jrs (Dec 25, 2005)

The specs are:

20g
(1) 24"x65W PC
eco substrate
Pressurized CO2
50% WC weekly
tank established for about 1 1/2 years

NO3 - 15ppm
PO4 - 5ppm
CO2 (drop checker) at least 30ppm
1/2 cap of excel every other day

I dont mind testing so I do it every day and top up nutrients to meet the levels outlined above. The tank was originally designed as a short term grow out tank and plant quarantine tank. 

I know where the clado came from. I got a shipment of plants from aquariumplants.com. It was in with the Marsilea that I got and I thought that it was just thread algae (BIG MISTAKE!!!!). I have changed over the plants in the tank to nutrient hogs like L. sessiflora, watersprite, difformis, and rotala.


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## aquaverde (Apr 15, 2003)

You can't get rid of chlado by balancing or manipulating nutrients the way you handle other types of algae.

After bleaching, I did a water change and then used sodium thiosulphate to neutralize the remaining chlorine. I have this around to treat my tap water since the water company doesn't use choramine, so I don't need anything fancy like Prime. Greg Watson used to carry it, but I don't see it on the website now. I'll have to source it again soon, as I'm running a little short.

The only way to get rid of the excess Excel would be a couple of water changes. It'll kill everything in your tank if it's not removed.


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## captain_bu (Oct 20, 2007)

aquaverde said:


> You can't get rid of chlado by balancing or manipulating nutrients the way you handle other types of algae.
> 
> After bleaching, I did a water change and then used sodium thiosulphate to neutralize the remaining chlorine. I have this around to treat my tap water since the water company doesn't use choramine, so I don't need anything fancy like Prime. Greg Watson used to carry it, but I don't see it on the website now. I'll have to source it again soon, as I'm running a little short.
> 
> The only way to get rid of the excess Excel would be a couple of water changes. It'll kill everything in your tank if it's not removed.


I am glad that you were finally able to get rid of yours using bleach but I did not use bleach or any chemicals to bring my tank back from the dead. Read my post from a month ago on page one of this thread. Still no sign of the clado or any other algae coming back in my tank after establishing a proper dosing and maintenance routine and sticking to it. After the first day the contribution from the Rosy Barbs was negligible at best so I don't attribute my success with this issue to them alone. My tank was just about a total write off 3 months ago from a year of neglect. The clado and what was left of my vals were the only two things growing in the tank and the vals would have been wiped out in another week or two, the substrate was completely infested, sword plants and anubias reduced to stubs, stem plants long gone. I could pull a couple of pounds of the stuff out of the tank at a time. No bleach, no overdoses of Excel yet 3 months later I have no clado problem either after intensely cleaning and then maintaining the tank properly for the first time in its 6 year history. The chemistry of all tanks is different, I may have just gotten lucky or maybe it will be back next week. I can't say whether what I did is the only way to cure this but can say it has worked for me. If balancing a tank isn't a key part of preventing or getting rid of it where does it come from? Why do people with healthy, balanced otherwise algae free tanks not have clado problems?


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## jrs (Dec 25, 2005)

Clado is not a typical algae that one gets from picking up some hygro from a local fish store.


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## Madfish (Sep 9, 2007)

Great I was just looking in my tank and I seen some starts of clado. I pulled it out but I have a feeling that there is more in there and that it will come back in force.


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## aquaverde (Apr 15, 2003)

captain_bu said:


> I am glad that you were finally able to get rid of yours using bleach but I did not use bleach or any chemicals to bring my tank back from the dead. Read my post from a month ago on page one of this thread. Still no sign of the clado or any other algae coming back in my tank after establishing a proper dosing and maintenance routine and sticking to it. After the first day the contribution from the Rosy Barbs was negligible at best so I don't attribute my success with this issue to them alone. My tank was just about a total write off 3 months ago from a year of neglect. The clado and what was left of my vals were the only two things growing in the tank and the vals would have been wiped out in another week or two, the substrate was completely infested, sword plants and anubias reduced to stubs, stem plants long gone. I could pull a couple of pounds of the stuff out of the tank at a time. No bleach, no overdoses of Excel yet 3 months later I have no clado problem either after intensely cleaning and then maintaining the tank properly for the first time in its 6 year history. The chemistry of all tanks is different, I may have just gotten lucky or maybe it will be back next week. I can't say whether what I did is the only way to cure this but can say it has worked for me. If balancing a tank isn't a key part of preventing or getting rid of it where does it come from? Why do people with healthy, balanced otherwise algae free tanks not have clado problems?



For me, it came in on a contaminated plant. Previous to that, I had none, and I had a fairly healthy tank:










The algae got a foothold in two of my tanks. In the one above, it was a small start that I caught early and removed, not really knowing what it was:









In the other tank, I was somewhat more neglectful and it got a foothold and turned into a nightmare, something like what I think you are describing:









I'd much rather believe you can handle it the way things seem to have worked for you than have to go through the routine I went through. For that reason, I think I'd agree that it is definitely worth it to give the "elbow grease" method a go- mechanically remove all the algae diligently while maintaining tank parameters and staying on top of the situation. Sounds like to me you practically tore your tank down anyway, replacing the plants and mechanically removing the algae rather than bleaching it out of existence. I definitely say don't use bleach if you can find another way. I lost a lot of plants and all of some species that I had because of the bleach. Here's hoping you're done with yours for good.


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## sandiegoryu (Feb 15, 2006)

Yah about the excel and bleach...

Dosing half a bottle of excel would do the same exact thing as bleach. It'll kill everything, and create a huge ammonia spike. Excel isn't toxic only to clado...


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## captain_bu (Oct 20, 2007)

aquaverde said:


> For me, it came in on a contaminated plant. Previous to that, I had none, and I had a fairly healthy tank:
> 
> In the other tank, I was somewhat more neglectful and it got a foothold and turned into a nightmare, something like what I think you are describing:
> 
> ...


Beautiful tank! All indications are that this is a particularly difficult type of algae to deal with. I did end up replacing most of my plants but the vals all stayed. I cleaned them up best I could, consolidated what was left and waited. They are doing real well again after recovering from first the clado and then having to adjust to the Excel I am once again using daily. I also agree that bleach should only be used as an absolute last resort if at all. I tried using bleach to get rid of some nasty BBA a few years back. It killed the algae but decimated most of the plants too, including my anubias, despite using a very mild solution. I doubt that I would bleach any plants ever again.
There is a current thread "lifecycle of hair algae" in the General Plant Topics section of the forum on Tom Barr's site which has some interesting observations about and for dealing with clado... 

http://www.barrreport.com/

Based on this thread it sounds like the solution to jrs getting a handle on his clado issues may lie with increasing CO2 and limiting ferts since he uses eco substrate. Tom indicated that with an inert substrate like sand/gravel (which is what I use) the solution may lie in increasing ferts which may be why that route worked for me. There is also a suggestion to black out the tank for 3 days along with daily water changes and dosing Excel that has worked for some. Best of luck to anyone currently fighting this stuff, hope yours goes away forever and mine never comes back either.


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## aquaverde (Apr 15, 2003)

Thanks for the link, interesting thread. I haven't been to Tom's site in a year. He's the guru, if he says you can help get rid of this with ferts, then I'm inclined to agree. So, with respect to my earlier statement re ferts and chlado, in the words of Rosanna Rosannadanna, "never mind!"

Oh, I don't think ferts alone will do it. But evidently they can help.

May the new year be chlado-free for us all


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## garuf (May 30, 2007)

So, are you suggesting that clado doesn't like high nutrient levels? I have clado and I've spent the last few weeks clearing out as much as I can as often as I can and I've seen no real sucess.
I think that one of my underlying problems may be that my EI dosing may be out. I think this may be the reason why I still appear to have slow growth and my hc is yellowing. 
I'd start a new thread but I feel it's best to continue this one.
I'd tried the excel everyday and a 3day black out this didn't work for me though.
Upping my co2 to borderline dangerous also seems to have had an effect and growth of it seems to have slowed but I've not seen any die-back. 
help, I just want rid.


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