The "One-Two Punch" Whole Tank Algae Treatment - Planted Tank

Discussion in 'Plant Problems' started by JP01, Jun 17, 2014.

  1. wearsbunnyslippers
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    wearsbunnyslippers Administrator Staff Member

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  2. Rickus
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    Rickus Algae harvester

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  3. Rickus
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    Rickus Algae harvester

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    I NEED HELP. PLEASE !!!
    I cant seem to get rid of the BBA in my tank.
    Ive tried the one, two bunch - some of it died but not all of it Bought amanos... and it is still getting worse.
    Can someone just help me with a simple solution.
     
  4. sweetnsour
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    sweetnsour Plant menace

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    Can you remove your scape and plants without disrupting things too much? I would suggest a bleach dip, it worked wonders for me and was the only thing that killed my BBA within a day
     
  5. sweetnsour
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    sweetnsour Plant menace

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    If you want give it a test on a single plant or piece of hardscape , Jik Unscented regular bleach under 10% dilution in however big container you wanting to use for no more than 2 min dependent on what plant or hardscape you dipping and then a wrinse in just clean tap water so that excess bleach is removed and put it back in the tank for the fish and cleanup crew to chomp it off.
     
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  6. sweetnsour
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    sweetnsour Plant menace

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    The BBA will turn a yellow colour and white within a day, then it just falls off , disappears or is eaten.
     
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  7. sweetnsour
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    sweetnsour Plant menace

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    @Rickus post a picture of your system?

    Im going to be bleach dipping some of my other anubias either today or this weekend and will post pictures of the plants before and after
     
  8. Rickus
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    Rickus Algae harvester

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    I can remove some of the rocks, but not all of them. I am also considering getting SAE's, but they will eat the shrimp...
     
  9. sweetnsour
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    sweetnsour Plant menace

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    If you have a monster outbreak, doubt they will even make a dent
     
  10. JP01
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    JP01 Moderator Staff Member

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    Try taking a container drilling a hole in the bottom, placing it over the invected area an then injecting peroxide or excel into the hole and spot dosing the affected area @Ivan posted a pic once of such a contraption.

    I would do spot treatment combined with the two punch every third day.

    Is your CO2 and flow correct?
     
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  11. Rickus
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    Rickus Algae harvester

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    Thanks, Im going to try the 1,2 punch every 3rd day. Will my shrimps survive this???

    CO2 indicator is correct and flow is 10 times tank volume, any suggestions.
     
  12. JP01
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    JP01 Moderator Staff Member

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    I have not tried it with shrimps before. No way that you could move them while you are treating?

    BBA is from fluctuating CO2
     
  13. Hanekka
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    Hanekka Moderator Staff Member

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    Thought you guys might like a pic or two of the one-two punch in action!

    IMAG0925.jpg IMAG0926.jpg IMAG0927.jpg IMAG0934.jpg IMAG0938.jpg


    And on a side note. This method isn't quite safe for an ancistrus that spends most of his time wedged between two rocks. :(
     
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  14. AdrianT
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    AdrianT Aquascaper

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    So without reading this very carefully I went out and bought some H2O2 in an effort to remove my clingy friend, spirogyra. Then I realised I needed almost double of what I had, but dosed the 100 ml anyway...followed by waiting 15 mins, 50% WC and Excel. Did I waste my time? Otherwise this isn't really the one-two punch, more like a small PK :laughing:
     
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  15. Hanekka
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    Hanekka Moderator Staff Member

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    Need some advice...

    What I did:
    Dosed 4 tbsp 9% peroxide. Opened up the filters to run at max.
    Kept an eye on the tank and after 12 minutes I did a 50% WC. Water was out and new water was running in within 5 minutes. (The fish started to huddle in a corner, which is why I cut the treatment short)
    During the WC, I added the recommended initial dose of Excel. (12 ml) And thereafter I added ADA Phyton Git.

    I double dosed Prime for the WC.

    After about an hour, I found my Ancistrus dead. I figured it was because he kept hidden between two rocks, where the flow isn't very high, so the H2O2 hurt him too much.
    A day later, I found an CPD dead. Again another one the day after that. At that point I double dosed Prime again.
    And so I've lost 4 CPDs to date, one each day. I haven't had time do to another WC, but I did double dose Prime twice (in-case the NH4 levels are spiking 'cause of dead/dying algae)

    I also have a couple of plants suffer heavilly from this treatment. So much that I'll have to completely chuck them out.


    All that said, the fine GBA has turned brown, the BBA has turned red and no further GSA has formed since the treatment.

    Any advice?
    The soonest I'll be able to do a WC is maybe tonight, otherwise Saturday afternoon.
     
  16. AdrianT
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    AdrianT Aquascaper

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    Shew sounds rough, no idea my side :( 9% is pretty solid. Is the 60ml you added inline with the tank volume you have given the fact that you used 9%? Just checking :p You know, being a female engineer and all :)

    My half dose treatment didn't do much at all, in fact it did nothing. Cows seem happy still. I am going to try the full treatment soon, hopefully no deaths.
     
  17. Deadpool
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    Deadpool Algae destroyer Staff Member

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    @Hanekka ... sorry to hear about your fish losses...

    I'm my personal experience...CPD are rather fragile when it comes to change in water parameters. So the 1-2 punch might be shock for their tiny systems that they can not recover from.

    I've seen with my CPD fry...that when I catch them (even at 7 or 8 weeks), that the "shock" of catching them in a net...has some of them go into tonic immobility. They recover within 5 or 10 mins...but I must admit, first fish i've seen this with.

    Which has me believing that they stress very easily to the point where their bodies just shuts down. Of course I have no scientific proof of this...just an observation from my side...
     
  18. Hanekka
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    Hanekka Moderator Staff Member

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    :angryfire:


    :laughing7:
    The initial post says 4 tbps per 10 Gallon with 3%. So, since I have a 30 gallon and 9%, I used 4 tbps.
    I've done smaller doses of H2O2 before, but with no luck (and no adverse effects on the fish). That's why I went with the full treatment this time.
     
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  19. Hanekka
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    Hanekka Moderator Staff Member

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    Yeah, I know they can be sensitive. Which is why I kept a strict eye on the tank and cut the treatment a tiny bit short. I was actually more worried that the heavy flow would be more of a shock to them, TBH.


    I'm usually super patient, but with the dying algae... I really feel like redoing the tank. :p
     
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  20. Deadpool
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    Deadpool Algae destroyer Staff Member

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    Sometimes a rescape is the best option...take the fish out, get a bucket...and do a bleach and/or H2O2 dip for your plants and hardscape...and start the tank over again :p
     

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