# Seachem Excel and Algae?



## kcrossley

I heard Seachem Excel helps get rid of some types of algae. I'm currently battling some type of black algae on my Anubias Nanas. It shows up primarily along the plant's leaf edges and as spots on some of the leaves. 

If this in fact works, how much should I dose in a 29 gallon CO2 injected tank?


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## Hoppy

Follow the manufacturers directions on dosage. Excel can be pretty nasty stuff if you go overboard with it, so the risk isn't worth it. Many people use it by draining most of the water in the tank, shutting down the filter and any other water circulating pumps, then squirting the full tank Excel dosage right onto the algae infested leaves. Wait a few minutes, then refill the tank. Excel directly on algae will almost always kill it quickly. (the algae doesn't suffer undue pain:wink


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## JoraaÑ

This might help!!!
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/algae/68793-algaes-causes-treatments-guide.html


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## kcrossley

Good stuff, but after review maybe I don't have BBG algae. I'll take a few photos on Saturday and post them here for analysis.


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## tbonedeluxe

Here is a nice algae guide with pics.
http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm


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## kcrossley

Nice guide, although I'm still not sure of the type of algae I have. I'll post some photos later today.


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## captain_bu

Hoppy said:


> Follow the manufacturers directions on dosage. Excel can be pretty nasty stuff if you go overboard with it, so the risk isn't worth it. Many people use it by draining most of the water in the tank, shutting down the filter and any other water circulating pumps, then squirting the full tank Excel dosage right onto the algae infested leaves. Wait a few minutes, then refill the tank. Excel directly on algae will almost always kill it quickly. (the algae doesn't suffer undue pain:wink


If you go this route you should use a dilute concentration of Excel or it will burn the leaves. A safer way to accomplish the same thing is to leave the tank full, turn off the filters then wait until all current has stopped. Squirt Excel directly on the algae at full strength (don't use more than 3x the recommended dose per treatment) wait 15 minutes or so then start the filters again. Much less chance of burning the leaves this way. If you have lots of places in the tank that need treating you will have to treat one section every 24 hours or so so you don't overdose the tank with the Excel. Excel has an active life of 24 hours once it is in the tank water.


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## kcrossley

The only plants that I'm having problems with is my Anubias Nanas. I'd rather avoid Excel altogether, but I don't know what else to do.


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## kcrossley

Okay, here are a few photos of the algae. Can anyone identify it? Also, what's the best/safest way to get rid of it? For some reason, it's only on the Anubias Nanas.


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## Darkblade48

The fuzzy bits starting at the edge of the Anubias leaves looks like BBA...


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## kcrossley

How do I get rid of it?


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## captain_bu

Excel works really well for BBA. I would spot treat it now before it gets bad. If it gets bad enough you will need to remove any infected leaves so better to deal with it early. Looks pretty manageable right now. After you spot treat it will start to turn either red or white as it dies. Work on tweaking CO2 levels and circulation to keep it from coming back once you kill it.


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## kcrossley

captain_bu said:


> Work on tweaking CO2 levels and circulation to keep it from coming back once you kill it.


According to my drop checker, my CO2 is light green. CO2 comes on at noon, goes off at 8:00 pm. Lights come on at 2:00 pm, off at 9:00 pm. I can also control the CO2 with a pH controller, which I haven't installed yet.

Not sure about the circulation.


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## tbonedeluxe

You can also rid your anubias of unwanted algae by shading it with taller plants above and around it! ;-))


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## kcrossley

So, this is a common occurrence?


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## AlexXx

Will that Seachem Phosphate work on green spot algae? do i spot treat it? And will it harm shrimp?


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## tulip55555

tbonedeluxe said:


> Here is a nice algae guide with pics.
> http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm


 
This is the BEST link! Covers all types of algae and how to get rid of them. Thanks tbonedeluxe!!


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## HD Blazingwolf

yes a lot of people who start planted tanks for the first time and go with c02 and lighting and ferts, get bba at least once. i've battled it and many others have too.
Remove any infected leaves.. this will cut down its spread. the more you have growing, the faster it spreads. each little strand can reproduce.. BBA is occurant in the same cases as GDA.. too much light, not enough c02. once you balance everything out, it wont grow nearly as much and is easily eradicated.
its fairly parasitic in the fact that it roots itself into the plant tissue. healthy plants will keep this from happening its an immune system kind of thing. however no matter how healthy the plants are, infected leaves are weak and playing hos to BBA remove them..

i've never used excel to kill it just time and effort, i have read many success stories with it, but unless u fix the root cause, it will never go away and will rear its ugly head when u least expect it, Hydrogen Peroxide is another thing u can check into
and even potassium permanganate dips, or bleach water dips.


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## Sharkfood

Anubias leaves seem to accrue algae more easily than most other plants. Shading will most definitely work, as will increasing CO2 in most cases. Some plants aren't real happy about having Excel squirted directly into their leaves, but Anubias leaves are pretty durable, so I should think they will likely be OK.


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## Rurik

kcrossley said:


> So, this is a common occurrence?



Kcrossley I am thinking it is and I thank you for asking these question because I was going to ask the same things. Seems to only be on my anubias, primairly the ones that are stuck in drift wood. On the one plant though I even got some gnarly blackish looking fuzz on the root/some tips of leaves. Other than this though, the plant is showing good signs of being healthy, it is even producing new leaves!


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