A "new algae killer" chemical and yes, it's very cheap

VaughnH

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I'm sure someone tried magnets, since they have been tried for just about everything else. But, you just never know, maybe with a superconducting magnet, chilled with liquid helium, well who knows what it would do to BBA, which is probably black because it is loaded with iron and you know iron is magnetic.

The good news is that percarbonate isn't an ADA product which would have cost me $100 instead of $10, and with comparable results. I can't really complain though, I did have fun trying this stuff.
 

VaughnH

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About 24 hours after the second dosing of percarbonate, my tank looks very much unchanged. It is possible that the BBA on the filte return fitting is slightly reduced, but far less than when I simply drip a little Excel on it. My conclusion is that this stuff isn't a miracle cure for BBA, GDA, GSA, but I can't say what it would be with other types of algae. I will do no more testing of it.
 

Tom Barr

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On the Erios, the algae does appear to be on the run.
This is not BBA however, the algae has been stable for about 2 weeks prior.

Second dose seem to put some hurt on it after the first.

It is far more preferable to have something mild than something very intense.
This way you can do several treatments vs a large single sledgehammer which might fry other things like the plants/fish etc.

Copper works to kill algae at 0.4ppm but not plants, it will however kill plants at 1ppm for many species. Some plant species may be sensitive at 0.4ppm.
KH plays a role there as well. But it's pretty toxic to inverts......so that's no good for many of the plant shrimp keepers.............

Regards,
Tom Barr
 

Tex Gal

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I have enjoyed "the end of the story". So sorry Hoppy that you had to "suffer the idots!" There are always some....

I do have some clado in a 10g. I think I will try it on that. Since it seems to work so well in ponds on this type I figure I have nothing to loose but some of the product I purchased. I will do a water change after a couple of hours. It will be interesting to watch the reaction. For 10g's I need to use 1/10 of 1.5 tablespoons. In the tank reside 13 Celestial Pearl danios, 1 Beta, and 3 panda cories.

Hoppy, do you think you might keep a little on hand for the hard to kill clado, staghorn type algae?
 

Tom Barr

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I won't.

I still think over all, Excel is one of the better algcides out there for aquarium use.
Excel in ponds etc did very little, I think that ponds are just too dirty and filthy.
The Excel gets used up there.
Many pond plants are floaters anyway and BBA is not an issue there, mostly green algae.

So after doing a few simple test, you can tell pretty quick if the product works or not and would be suitable for general care.

The good news is that when some Company comes along in the future and you can see what the list of ingredients are, you will know it and what it does under aquarium conditions to aquarium algal species.

So we know ahead of time if the claims will be baloney and they are trying to promote untested products in this specific case(but it has been tested with different results for pond use).

You need an alga in log phase blooming or some that's adult and been hanging on, and be sure it would not had died on it's own due to improved conditions.
Neither myself or others had any evident that algae did that, so we can suggest it did no harm.

It either works for all cases, or it really does not work much at all:)
Excel etc, we can add and see in most cases see dying algae. Not much here at all.

However, we also know that this product is not harmful to critters and plants also.
Also good news, and we tried and tested under aquarium conditions. Some troll seemed to want to play Animal Right politics and hit emotional hot buttons rather than discuss the Facts but ............we often get at least one lazy clown for any new discussion when it comes to testing things, but that are plenty willing to spend lots of time whining. This is par for the course being on the web. Get use to it:cool:

Most algicides need to kill, harm the algae, simple as that, it either works, or it doesn't. And it needs to work in stable adult algae stage and when the algae is blooming. If not in most cases, then it's rather dubious(as most have been over the years other than copper, Peroxide spot treatments, Excel and some antibiotics for BGA)

I still think Water changes, UV, Micron filters, Blackouts, good stable CO2, reducing light, good dosing routines etc, will do a lot more.

As far as chemical treatments to tanks with fish, shrimp, plants, Excel is about the best overall product.


Regards,
Tom Barr
 

VaughnH

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Tex Gal;30391 said:
Hoppy, do you think you might keep a little on hand for the hard to kill clado, staghorn type algae?

No, I will drop off all of it at Tom's place when I get the time to do so, and remember to do it.

I don't think it would be wise for me to store the stuff in my garage, where it gets very hot every summer. It is in plastic containers, and plastics deteriorate over time, so I can see the slim possibility of a container starting a fire in the garage under some unusual circumstances. Since, I wouldn't use it anyway, I see no purpose in accepting even that slight risk.

You can use ordinary peroxide sold at the drug stores if you want to dose some types of algae with peroxide. Just squirt it on the algae as you would Excel.
 

Tom Barr

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VaughnH;30409 said:
You can use ordinary peroxide sold at the drug stores if you want to dose some types of algae with peroxide. Just squirt it on the algae as you would Excel.

How could you do that to the animals, why not wipe some in your eyeballs:)
Hydrogen peroxide - a greener alternative to chlorine bleach:eek:

Hardly toxic cruelty, as folks have been adding peroxide to aquariums in liquid form and it's still the same Bleach soap laundry alternative:

Chlorine bleach is a chemical that most of us have in our homes. It's very handy for multiple applications including cleaning and disinfecting; but may not be all that earth friendly. A good alternative to consider is hydrogen peroxide.

Most of the debate about chlorine bleach (sodium hypochlorite) stems from its ability to form more toxic byproducts such as dioxin, furans and other organochlorines when reacting with other elements.

Not the molecule itself.

Hydrogen Peroxide on the other hand, is simply water with an extra oxygen molecule (H2O2) and breaks down into oxygen and water. It's certainly kinder on the environment. H2O2 is produced by both animal and plant cells and is formed naturally in the environment by sunlight acting on water.

Many industrial bleaching operations, such as those used in the production of paper, are increasingly moving towards the use of hydrogen peroxide for a greener bleaching process. It's also the active ingredient in many "oxygen" bleaches and is used extensively for lightening hair.

Do be careful when purchasing and handling this substance as some commercially available "food grade" hydrogen peroxide is 35% pure, highly corrosive and can be toxic or fatal if ingested at that strength.

So peroxide comes in a number of formulations and concentrations for a wide range of usage from health, disinfection, algae control, cleaning clothes etc.
Each has the exact same active ingredient.

Overall, it is a wiser choice vs bleach which many aquarist also use as dip to kill algae.

Copper works well, but the shrimp crowd is rabid over copper concerns.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 

VaughnH

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This is irrrelevant, but hydrogen peroxide is a potent rocket fuel if it is pure enough. In WWII Germany made use of it for rocket propellant in many applications. It breaks down exothermically, so if it is of a high enough purity it generates very hot steam as it breaks down. Imagine, dosing an aquarium with rocket propellant.;)
 

DaveSurfer

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tedr108;30174 said:
A little pleco will keep BBA off of your driftwood, I'm sure. Tom is fond of rubber noses (bulldogs or Chaetostoma) from what I remember. I couldn't find a rubber nose, so got a clown pleco instead. Both of these species only get up to a few inches, tops.

Interesting, I've always wondered how one kept driftwood so clean. Would cherry shrimp and the like clean driftwood just as effectively? I've heard that the plecos like the cellulose from the wood.

Would cherry shrimp be eaten by the this pleco? THanks!
 

VaughnH

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I never noticed any cherry shrimp eating BBA when I had them. In fact they seemed to eat the near invisible stuff that is in the mulm as much as anything.
 

flygrc

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This "Excel" you talking about, can you give me a hint what that is and if that is somthing you can buy on the net?

// Ola
 

Tom Barr

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BTW, the percarbonate is excellent for pond folk, but does not appear to have that much use for aquariums.

Excel is bit pricy at the pond level but does work.


Regards,
Tom Barr