black algae

[David R]

Will it still work if you have no other plants in the tank?

[HummingBird]

Yeah it will, the way it kills bba isn't by providing other plants with more nutrients to out-compete it but it actually converts the iron stored inside the bba itself, vallisneria is affected similarly at even a standard dose in my experience.

Just a word of warning about using this stuff to kill bba though, it works really well and isn't harmful to fish, but what can be harmful to fish is the massive amount of ammonia released from the newly dead algae, be sure you monitor your levels or just do a water change after it starts dieing to be safe. I lost a tank of my first gba babies this way and their parents which I'd raised from a small size too.

[alanmin4304]

There may be different types of black algae (mine is blacker and less "wooly looking" than in the pic) but I find it takes a few weeks to kill it off when I get it.

[purplecatfish]

Flourish excel is a carbon molecule that is readily absorbed by some aquatic plants which allows them to out compete the algae thereby starving them of other nutrients.

Perhaps an analogy would be that you're giving the plants bread to make a sandwich and by the time they've sorted out the filling the algae is still baking its bread.

From a more technical aspect flourish excel is a carbon molecule that is easily converted to a carbohydrate that is further down the photosynthetic pathway from the raw CO2 that the algae has to start with. Some plants are better at utilising it and any other plants are still competing with the algae.

[Rockerpeller]

just to bring back an old ghost but SAEs only eat the new growth. they don't bother with the old stuff. also if you go SAEs, try not to let them get any flake (really hard i know). otherwise they leave the algae alone. must taste horrible. :lol:

[jn]

Smidey, what excel does is convert iron into a ferrous form so it's more usable by plants.

This is slightly off topic but since we're talking about Excel I thought it provided an artificial source of carbon? I have some JBL Ferropol which is provides trace elements and does claim to help keep iron in a form more 'freely available' state but I also have some Excel. Does that mean I shouldn't need the Excel if I'm using Ferropol. (I know excel won't have the other trace elements)