I get a light, very short BBA like algae, but it's not a nuisance. Spot treat with peroxide is easiest when you do the water changes. the organic matter and stirring up of the tank, that helps.
I often cover the wood with moss or liverwort, then no algae gets on the wood also.
when you do a water change, that's a good time, the best, to clean filter intakes, or other non live materials, no tank operates algae free for years really, you have to do a little work.
Mist bottles work good for large surfaces. Paint brush or tooth brushes for detailed work. Submersed, pipette in still non moving water.
Excel/glut is much more toxic, thus kills better but also burns everything vs the peroxide.
Peroxide is pretty mild to plants and fish comparatively.
It's also very cheap, far cheaper than Excel.
Finger nails also work.
Still, good CO2 management is generally the root of all evil BBA. Same for hair algae. And GSA on the glass if you dose ample PO4.
The other algae are more related to other issues: low N, BGA etc, Staghorn you pulled up a lot of much and CO2 is also poor, GW, potentially the same deal, or new tank, diatoms, new tank, not cycled etc.
There's no real correlation that accounts for any one specific potential cause for GDA, but filtration and good general growth, enhancing growth seems to cure it long term, BNP's eat it 100% of the time, so, there's a good herbivore that's cheap and easy to find to add to the tank and it keeps the glass clean of other algae.
So mostly just good care, we all slack off, but a day or two of work, you can right any tank's issues in person.
Just clean things, filter, equipment real good, water changes, get any mulm or dirt floating around.
Then check the lighting and CO2 timing to be sure they are in synch, Then the CO2, gas bottle, delivery, pH drop, target etc, KH.
Ferts, add them. Easy thing to rule out there.
Filter...............I've seen several tanks get BBA from old clogged filters. Other tanks get old clogged filters and no BBA. Why? I suppose a combination of several things, rather than single variable like say low CO2.
Could be slightly less CO2 and a clogged filter= even less CO2 being delivered also to plants, due to lower current, more O2 demand, less O2 coming in, poorer plant growth= less O2 beign produced.
Quite a few different ways that could run.
GW can be induced by pulling up an organic sediment, or plain sand with say osmocoat or jobes fertilizer sticks, but older ADA AS does this also if you pull plants up and get a dusty mess, then do not follow with a large water change soon thereafter.
UV takes care of it. But annoying for many.
Adding inorganic NH4 from NH4Cl did not induce GW however. I'd speculated it, but never confirmed it. But adding a jobes stick seemed to work every time to the water column.
BBA is the most persistent algae and the most damaging to plants.
So most of the questions are surrounding it. Hair algae is likely the next hardest one to remove.
Generally advanced folks are more interested in the plant's growth and appearances, which respond 1st, than algae.
Why? Algae typically are there because something is pretty wrong with general plant tank care.
But the focus is always on the plants.
You can tap down the algae in non live material many ways to clean it up even more.
Some folks do not bother or are that aggressive. As long as the plants look good.
This said, I've added Buce, Anubias, many species of pants from a client's tank or given to me that were covered with BBA, to my tanks at home to watch.
Non CO2 and the Garage tanks as well as the richer dosing for the inside tanks, even the non cO2 tank.....................the BBA dies off and the leaves are clean after 1-2 months, after 3 months, the plants are thriving.
This is with no treatment of any type.
Peroxide kills that devil Red moss weed.
I hate that stuff. But turn off the filter, spot treat and it'll turn a weird light orange and die.
Algaefix will cure Hair algae, but remove it as best you can and fix that CO2, it also will kill shrimps, maybe not all of them, but most of the Amano's.
Maybe 1/4 of the cherries. I wanted to use it to cull off all the lower grades and then catch a few high grades to keep the lines pure. They are too tough for the algaefix.
But it's good for green hair algae. Peroxide does not work well on green algae generally.
Red algae, staghorn, the Red moss and BBA, sure. BGA? Sure. GDA, GSA, Green thread and hair algae? Nope.
