# Green beard algae -- how to get rid of this?



## chinamon (Jun 16, 2012)

So my 30gal tank (has no inhabitants yet) is getting a lot of beard algae. What can I do to get rid of this stuff?


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## Symplicity (Oct 14, 2011)

No inhabitants ...

Obv people will tell you to get your parameters (fertz/light/co2) in check but yeah....quick temp solutions include

-Directly inject Excel/Hydrogen Peroxide onto algae with filter off
-Remove items and place in a Bleach 10% solution for 3-5mins
-Clean filter out
-Tweak lights and CO2 
-Large water changes with RO water
-Add floating plants


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## chinamon (Jun 16, 2012)

Symplicity said:


> No inhabitants ...
> 
> Obv people will tell you to get your parameters (fertz/light/co2) in check but yeah....quick temp solutions include
> 
> ...


removing pygmy chain swords from the substrate which have already established runners would be out of the question.

i think the cause of my problem would be lighting (too much from a dual t5ho with 6700k bulbs) and too much oxygen. i had my spray bar about 1" above the surface of the water so it was shooting tons of tiny bubbles all over the tank so i topped off the water until the entire spray bar was submerged. my light is already mounted as high as it can go about 12-14" above the tank.


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## Symplicity (Oct 14, 2011)

Then your left with a healthy dosing of Excel


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## default (May 28, 2011)

what you could do - cut the strands that are completely covered in algae off too. people usually trim their pygmy swords before planting so it would get rid of stubborn stuck on algae on the leaves.
excel will work as well, but lowering the lights as well as your dosing (if any) would help as well.
dosent seem like you have lots of fast growing stems - too much light for just pygmys perhaps, they grow fairly slow because they take time to get established - and by then if you dont have a lot of fast stems, algae usually takes over (i grow my pygmys under 1 w/g and they grow extremely healthy and at the same pace as the ones i have under 4+ w/g.

so try lowering your lights for the time being, and watch closingly to see if the algae spread more, and once everythings fully established, you could raise the lights and dosing for more plants if needed.
good luck.


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## chinamon (Jun 16, 2012)

Symplicity said:


> Then your left with a healthy dosing of Excel


i am going to pick up some excelt tomorrow so i should turn off my eheim 2213 when there is excel in my water column?
what about my two sponge filters that are powered by air pump?


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## chinamon (Jun 16, 2012)

default said:


> what you could do - cut the strands that are completely covered in algae off too. people usually trim their pygmy swords before planting so it would get rid of stubborn stuck on algae on the leaves.
> excel will work as well, but lowering the lights as well as your dosing (if any) would help as well.
> dosent seem like you have lots of fast growing stems - too much light for just pygmys perhaps, they grow fairly slow because they take time to get established - and by then if you dont have a lot of fast stems, algae usually takes over (i grow my pygmys under 1 w/g and they grow extremely healthy and at the same pace as the ones i have under 4+ w/g.
> 
> ...


when you say "lower" and "raise" my lights do you mean to lower the fixture closer to the tank and raise it further from the tank? or lower and raise the watts per gallon?

i currently have 2x24w which equals just under 2w/g. im assuming you are referring to the total lumens or watts per gallon so i will turn off my light and temporarily use a single 23w CFL


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## randy (Jan 29, 2012)

chinamon said:


> when you say "lower" and "raise" my lights do you mean to lower the fixture closer to the tank and raise it further from the tank? or lower and raise the watts per gallon?
> 
> i currently have 2x24w which equals just under 2w/g. im assuming you are referring to the total lumens or watts per gallon so i will turn off my light and temporarily use a single 23w CFL


Be careful about that 23w CFL... I use it and it's a algae grower ;-) It's too bright and too concentrated. You may still need to lift it a bit.


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## default (May 28, 2011)

chinamon said:


> when you say "lower" and "raise" my lights do you mean to lower the fixture closer to the tank and raise it further from the tank? or lower and raise the watts per gallon?
> 
> i currently have 2x24w which equals just under 2w/g. im assuming you are referring to the total lumens or watts per gallon so i will turn off my light and temporarily use a single 23w CFL


if your light source is fairly low to moderate already, try to "raise" it higher above the tank so the light would be more diffused and less would be focused in the tank.

also excel isnt a medication. its a organic co2 source. only reason why people use excel on algae is that it also works well at killing them. i've treated beard algae with a eye dropper/baster and excel and target treat the area of outbreak.
you do not need to turn off your filter and dont worry about your sponges, excel will help your plants grow by introducing co2.
however too much could choke your livestock, but you wouldnt need to worry about that in your case lol - but you cant just pour the excel into the tank and hope it works, unless you want to waste a lot of excel which is really expensive you need to target treat. as mentioned earlier of what i did, you need to use the bastor/eye dropper and squeeze the excel sparingly at the leaves - treat every day or other day until you see the algae dying or turning white, remove any dead algae, do water changes and give it some time.


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## default (May 28, 2011)

also what i would also suggest;
not sure of your layout and what you want to accomplish, but get some floating plants from other members and leave the light the way it is. nothing beats competition than some good frogbit. you wont regret it.


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## chinamon (Jun 16, 2012)

How much should I dose of excel? Should I overdose it since I don't have any shrimp in the tank yet? Maybe double the recommended dosage?


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## default (May 28, 2011)

chinamon said:


> How much should I dose of excel? Should I overdose it since I don't have any shrimp in the tank yet? Maybe double the recommended dosage?


as much as needed. you dont need a whole capful for every leaf. you will see the amount you let out, just small amounts is fine.


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## chinamon (Jun 16, 2012)

default said:


> as much as needed. you dont need a whole capful for every leaf. you will see the amount you let out, just small amounts is fine.


if i am going to treat every affected surface with a dropper i will probably go through the entire bottle because the algae is pretty much everywhere. i followed the standard dose on the label and dosed directly in to the water column. i wonder if that will be enough.

edit: i just did some more reading and they say to do 2-3X the dose on the label. im trying double dose right now.


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