Zylstra555 Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 We have a 72 gallon tank with about 9 large fish in it, and we have quite the algae problem. One of our solutions was to buy a Plecostomus, but unfortunately, we cant find any big enough at our local pet shops. (If you know of any USA mail order fish companys, please post them as well) So, now we need some way to get rid of all that algae. What are some easy solutions, and good, safer chemicals? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwan Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 What kind of algae is it? What does it look like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zylstra555 Posted January 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 Well, were not sure of the name. Its green, and it can get long at times. It is on the back glass of the tank (where of course we cant get to it) It also grows on the bottom gravel, and the artificial plants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwan Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 Does it look hairy and grow in strands together? If so, I used a product called Algaefix, not sure if you can get it over there but it worked a treat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 Is it a light green or a dark green. Maybe google search black beard algae, or cladophora (spelling?) algae, and see if it one of them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 i successfully got rid of alot of algae with Flourish Excell, its a seachem product. Not sure if available in the US but give it a go. It took about 3 days for the algae to turn white & start to break down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zylstra555 Posted January 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 It looks kind of like cladophora, but a bit less fuzzy and more flat. Other than that, its the same color as the cladophora. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zylstra555 Posted January 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 Will these algae killing products also kill any live plants? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 flourish excell is actually designed to enhance plant growth, it has a side effect of killing algae. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 check out this previous thread http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/black- ... 15440.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zylstra555 Posted January 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 Is is very affective to use less than the recommended amount per gallon if you have fear for your fish's health? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 i cannot comment on that, i used the recommended dosage. i had no ill effects noted to my fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 Double Dose is recommended for fighting thread algae, but its the double dose that can kill fish, using the standard dose as written on the bottle will not harm your fish at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwan Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 Double dosing flourish killed 3 of my discus a while back, I will not touch the product again (can make my own ferts for cheaper anyways). Flourish also melts val and I think a few other plant species too. The only side affect I noticed with algaefix was my apistos looked a little glum, but other than that everything was fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 Flourish Excel isn't a fertiliser its a carbon supplement, Flourish is the fertiliser and doing high doses of that wont help algae. I like AlgaeFix too, its great against normal algae, doesn't do much to thread algae (even at double dose) though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwan Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 Algaefix cleaned my thread algae up at normal dose very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zylstra555 Posted January 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 I will look for AlgaeFix in my local pet shop then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zylstra555 Posted January 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 Is this it: http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx? ... yID=12137& ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 Thats different from what I have, but it looks like what antwan must have used judging by the description: Easy to use water conditioner effectively controls green water algae blooms, string or hair algae (cladophora), and blanketweed (oedogonium). Sounds great. What I have didn't kill the duckweed (blanketweed) either, takes ages to pull that out manually Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwan Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 Looks like it, mine was in a small bottle though 100mL. I think that stuff is for ponds (not sure if it's the same stuff used for tanks). http://www.arcatapet.com/fullsize/11757.jpg That's the one I had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zylstra555 Posted January 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 Does anyone know of any really good mail order fish supplies stores in the US? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted January 8, 2007 Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 i think big als, petco and petsmart all have online stores. they may be worth checking out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jn Posted January 8, 2007 Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 I found this website below some time ago when I was looking for directions for an aquarium medication. They have AlgaeFix in a whole range of sizes http://www.aquariumguys.com/algicides.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted January 8, 2007 Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 I love long flowing algae! I *encourage* mine. Grows all up the back of the tank on the glass and waves beautifully in the current. Grows a few lawns of it on rocks under the lights. Algae is a plant afterall, and ncie green stuff like this is copeting with nasty blue/green and brown algae for nutrients. Though algae is pretty much the only plant I can grow in my tank, doing the native freshwater thing, so no algae-eaters to clean up mucky algae off plants so they turn icky and die. There is an example of it here, before it got really lush: http://tinyurl.com/y9z6e4 It has since died after moving the tank, but slowly coming away again. Stella Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickey-tropical-fish-mad Posted January 8, 2007 Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 We have a 72 gallon tank with about 9 large fish in it, and we have quite the algae problem. One of our solutions was to buy a Plecostomus, but unfortunately, we cant find any big enough at our local pet shops. (If you know of any USA mail order fish companys, please post them as well) So, now we need some way to get rid of all that algae. What are some easy solutions, and good, safer chemicals? If you lived in britain i'd probrably give you my 8 inch one! they do grow quite quickly so if you got a small one it would grow quite quickly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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