# Any alternatives to h202 and excel for bba?



## Justshoe (Aug 17, 2008)

I have a 44G Medium light no co2 tank. Mostly val. and amazon swords. I have been battling BBA in this tank for months now with no good results. Most of it is on equipment in high flow areas and on my driftwood.

A few weeks ago i went for the h202 spot treatments with a total of 3ML per gallon. About a day or two later almost all of my val has melted away. Excel dosing didnt seem to do much but maybe i need to try it for a period longer than 3 weeks. I was also worried that excel would start melting away the val as well cause i had started to see it do poorly.

Guess im just trying to see if anyone had any ideas for better control over this stuff. Im thinking of cutting my high wattage lights(4x23wCLs) down to maybe just a 2-3 hour period then leaving the 4x13wCFL's on for maybe 6. So i lighting schedule like 4-11 or so with a peak around 6-8


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## brohawk (May 19, 2008)

Cutting down your lighting and/or adding CO2 is about the only solution there is. There are other things you can spot treat w/, but they don't fix your problem and the bba will just grow back.


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## gheitman (Oct 28, 2007)

One other way to get it at least under control is with SAEs (aka Siamese Algae Eater). These fish are about the only ones widely available that will graze on BBA. Don't accept any substitutes (there are similar looking species that aren't as good).


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## Justshoe (Aug 17, 2008)

I have now 8 true sae's...least as far as i can tell. THey have the solid black like into the tail.

Im thinking about going back to 2 2liter DIY Co2's and seeing how they do along with some excel treatment. Once i get the money for press. co2 like i have on my 20G i will do that. But i think i'll try DIY again and see how it goes.


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## kzr750r1 (Jun 8, 2004)

I have a low tech 10g with no BBA. There's other algae but the shrimp keep it in check. Low light low ferts and lots of fish waste. It's been the home for my Striped Rafael for 6 years now.

Kind of feel bad at times but what would he/she do otherwise? Hide under a rock in a bigger thank. As this is all it's doing for years till the lights go out. If you saw the un managed fish only 40g he was living in this is paradise.

Load up with plants. Don't fert too much and get a ground crew of cherry shrimp.

The other thing is keep the water changes to a minimum on the low light tanks. This tank has found a happy zone on the decay and plant uptake. This has been on a two week WC for about two years.

It's a cycle that takes some time to balance. Once found, you may only have to spot treat once or twice a year. IMO thats a happy place.


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## Postal Penguin (Mar 30, 2009)

Were the vals already covered in BBA? I have used H2O2 many times and have never seen my vals melt. If the leaves were already covered in it, when the BBA dies the leave underneath will disintegrate.

In fact, IME I have never had any plant respond negatively to H2O2 treatment. 

But those are just treatments, you need to figure out the cause. Need to cut back on light or up CO2 it sounds like.


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## Justshoe (Aug 17, 2008)

I think im going to cut light add co2 and do another smaller h202 treatment.
I would rather not cut back on my weekly WC's. With discus i never like to let them go that long and let the nitrates raise much. I think once my vals grow back some more my plant load should help compensate for nutrients and such.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

You have discus and do not use gas tanks for CO2?
and high light?

Ugh, no wonder you have BBA.

Good current, O2, then good CO2.
Water changes are fine, you can stick with those and dose good.

BBA is always a CO2 issue of some sort.
H2O2/Excel etc, these are really not long term solutions, except perhaps for Excel on a smaller tank with lower light.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## Justshoe (Aug 17, 2008)

I agree tom. I've been thinking about it today trying to come up with a better solution. I absolutely understand how excel is not long term. I think im going to try finding a nice press. co2 setup used to save a couple dimes. Only other co2 tank i have is one floor above. I think running a manifold and 25' of co2 tubing is outta the question LOL.

The highlight canopy was made out of an excess of home depot gift cards lol.

Althought i probably know the answer. But do you think i could get away with the reduced light cycle and press co2 w/o ferts?


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## blackandyellow (Jul 1, 2009)

I´ve been having the same trouble. Unfortunately I put a plant with considerable BBA before I knew it was so noxious, and it has spread to other plants. I have been treating it with h2o2 with very limited success, and already increased my co2 output, leaving it on at night and adding an extra hagen diy to help out. Also been adding a bit of excel, but don´t want to overdo the co2 and risk fish. 

My lights are on 10 hours daily, at a 2wpg rate. What else should I do? Should I reduce photo period to 8 hours? This weekend I was planning on taking out every single leaf that has been affected, and probably treating the most affected plant outside the aquarium with h2o2 (it´s attached to a piece of wood so I can treat it separately. I love that plant and don´t want to loose it


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## hbosman (Oct 5, 2006)

If the BBA is on the plants, I would double check to make sure the nutrients are sufficient. Strong plants are more resistant to algae infestations.


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## WhiteDevil (Jun 8, 2009)

BBA thrives on high iron, do more WC's and use a toothbrush to get the BBA off then you should have no issues, I got mine well under control with just doing the 50% wc every week and to be honest I have found that lighting doesnt matter, you can do the typical black out but that really doesnt work with BBA.

The BBA should be on some equipment and OLD leaves not new ones.


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## hbosman (Oct 5, 2006)

WhiteDevil said:


> BBA thrives on high iron, do more WC's and use a toothbrush to get the BBA off then you should have no issues, I got mine well under control with just doing the 50% wc every week and to be honest I have found that lighting doesnt matter, you can do the typical black out but that really doesnt work with BBA.
> 
> The BBA should be on some equipment and OLD leaves not new ones.



In your estimation, what would be considered high iron? I used to get BBA on equipment, silicon seals and gravel. Since I changed the current flow, the amount of BBA that I get is dramatically reduced but not completely gone. I add about .2 ppm of iron a week and wondering if that's not working against me.


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## blackandyellow (Jul 1, 2009)

This weekend I declared total war to BBA... I pruned all the leaves that had BBA growing (in the swords and in all stem plants), squirted h2o2 on the anubias and on the fern, and the large anubias that started the problem, I took it out of the tank and treated it by rubbing the leaves with a cotton with h2o2 and squirting a bit over its driftwood (it´s attached to it). 

I have increase my co2 output and started macro nutrient fertilization on a regular calendar. My lights are still 10 hrs on but if it doesn´t work then I´ll reduce photoperiod to 8 hours.

I hope to control it with all these measures... the good thing is that the tank was honestly beggining to look overgrown, especially the swords, so the prunning left it looking very nice


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## Justshoe (Aug 17, 2008)

Wondering if i should start dosing this tank as well. I have some premix solution i use for my hightech 20g. I dose everything but iron so maybe i should try it and see if it helps in any manner.


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## blackandyellow (Jul 1, 2009)

I´m so pleased with my tank now. Looks like I finally have the algae under control after the H2o2 treatments. Even though the affected leaves of the anubias still have the hairy stuff, it hasnt spread to any new leaves and its reddish colored. 

I started adding half a dose of excel to complement my pressurized Co2 system plus the added fertz and the tank is gorgeous! the water is crystal clear, plants are pearling like I´ve never seen before...


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