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How to remove black algae?


Luis
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Hello,

i have this issue where all of my plants have some black algae. My Java fern and specially cryps are getting affected quite a lot in my planted 50 gal. 
 

Im pretty sure it’s due to being located in my living room where there’s a lot of natural light and the way that the frames of the windows are set up, I can’t get any solid curtains to block out the light over night. 
 

does anyone have a fix to this? Suggestions? 
I really think the tank is set up super nice, however the algae takes away from it soo much. 

all replies will be appreciated,
thank you! 

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I have been infected by both staghorn and black beard.  I've been able to control with H2O2 a bit, though it's hard on some plants like lilies.

Warning semi-related rant below, not necessarily part of advice for OP:

Neither of these alga are ones you are just going to get from your local environment.  This means in my mind they are contaminants that arrive from poor quality, often plant, sources.  In truth, I'm noting where I've gotten them from and not buying from those sources again.  If you get either of those on a plant, don't but from that place again!  That's the root of the issue in my mind. 

My tank that has these, I've decided to scrap, clean thoroughly, start filtration fresh, and not have plants.  This is the first time I've been infected with these types of algae.  Not worth the fight in my mind. 

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I have successfully fought black beard and staghorn algae using a multi pronged approach. First, make sure nutrients and lighting is in line. Remove any leaves that have the algae on them. Anything that still has the algae on, I remove from tank if possible and spray hydrogen peroxide on. Let sit on there for five minutes. Rinse off and put back in tank. Then I dose the entire tank, 2ml of hydrogen peroxide per gallon. After 30 minutes, do a 50% water change. I have also had great luck with true Siamese algae eaters and panda garra eating the algae. I had a 40 breeder that the wood and plants got covered in BBA and staghorn. I fought it for a month or two, but now, there is not a speck of either in the tank. It also helps the more plants that are in the tank, will help to out compete the algae for nutrients. 

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I'm the type who hates using fish to fix a problem, but I really tried everything to get rid of my BBA. The only thing that was effective were Siamese Algae Eaters. I have 3 in my 75 gallon, which is probably overkill but I wanted them to be in a group. They've kept the tank spotless from BBA. I'd make those fish the main benefactors of my will if I could.

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@Luis can you post a picture or two to ensure it is in fact BBA. My school of thought i generally divide all algae types into 2 categories, beneficial algae, or pest algae. Believe it or not from time to time i have to purposefully grow beneficial algae in a cup and seed my tank with it to feed my army of bladder snails. 
When it comes to dealing with pest algae like BBA as @Andy's Fish Den described it, it takes a multi pronged approach. The first step is to know your enemy. BBA loves phosphorus, chelated iron, and has a knack for photosynthesizing in low CO2 environments, thus giving it an unfair advantage over plants. 
#1 dial in your lighting, not too much not too little. What type of lighting do you use?
#2 balance your nutrients. Java fern for example are potassium hogs. I have both java fern and anubias and supplement my easy green dosing with some extra potassium just for them. Dial back iron for a bit. Yes plants need iron but only very little. Too much iron will cause a massive algal bloom. With balanced nutrition you plants will gain the upper hand in resource competition with the pest algae. 
#3 physically and chemically reduce pest algae. Any leaves you can scrape with your fingernail or if too far gone remove the infected leaves. There are 2 chemicals pest algae such as BBA hate, hydrogen peroxide, and liquid carbon. Be careful when using liquid carbon and follow the directions closely. Liquid carbon in high doses is toxic, the same as CO2. Unlike CO2 that can easily be off gased liquid carbon is more difficult to remove if you overdose. For this reason i alternate between spot treating with a pipette of liquid carbon, and hydrogen peroxide, to give a break between liquid carbon dosing. Note: turn off filters and air bubblers for 10 minutes while spot treating, take your time and spot treat only 2 or 3 spots at a time as to not overdose. Dont forget to turn on filters and air bubblers after 10 minutes is up. Your plants will eventually eat the liquid carbon and hydrogen peroxide breaks down under light into 1 part oxygen and 1 part water. 
#4 balance O2 and CO2 levels. Wild swings of CO2 create BBA breeding grounds. When performing water changes dechlorinators reduce O2 content. Too frequent water changes or not allowing treated water to rest and re-oxygenate before adding to the tank contribute to CO2 swings, as well as not running enough surface agitation in your tank through filters and air stones. Ensure you have steady equilibrium of gas exchange. Add more surface agitation if needed. Depending on water parameters (if your parameters allow for it) temporarily reduce water changes until you get a handle on the pest algae problem at hand. Dont cut out water changes entirely, just either reduce the frequency or volume of water changes. Keep a close eye on your water parameters though, dont let your tank go too far between tank maintenance. 
#5 i don't recommend adding live stock just for the purpose of reducing pest algae, unless you like that particular animal anyway. Ensure that the new livestock will get along with your current livestock. Animals that have been noted for munching on BBA (which is highly anecdotal with both positive and negative results) are siamese algae eaters, flag fish, nerite snails, and amano shrimp being the most popular. It has also been anecdotally reported that guppies and mollys will pick at it from time to time. My bladder snails will munch on it after it turns red ( meaning its dying) from treatment of liquid carbon or hydrogen peroxide, but not while it is black and healthy. Great for removing dead BBA, but not the live stuff. 

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On 4/7/2021 at 2:50 AM, GardenStateGoldfish said:

Rams horn snails will eat black beard algae If you wanted to add some of those

My tank has some yoyos that would demolish them. Hahah, but very true, snails in general do a great job with all sorts.

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Good news! From what i am seeing, i am not seeing BBA. BBA gets its name from its bushy beard like appearance as it is classified as a hair algae. It looks more like a spot algae variant, similar to green spot algae. I am also seeing brown algae which is really diatoms and not an algae at all. The black spots on the java fern are normal as older leaves begin to age and they also develop black spots when they begin to grow plantlets. If your fern dose develop plantlets the roots of the baby plants do look a bit like BBA at first until they get longer. Brown algae can easily be removed by rubbing the leaves with your fingers right before a water change, or a good clean up crew of algae eaters or snails. Increased waterflow and filtration can help reduce brown algae between tank maintenance. Alternatively UV lights are the overkill method in riding diatoms (recommended for only the most severe cases). Spot algae like GSA can be removed in quite the same way as BBA described above. To ensure it is a spot algae rub it with your fingers. If it feels like hard bumpy scratchy barnacles it is spot algae. Verify it is spot algae before you begin treatment. Your new leaves on your java fern look quite healthy and show no signs of nutrient deficiency. What ever you are doing nutritionally you seem to be on the right track. Keep it up, just remember as plants grow larger the require more fertilizer. Sorta like how a small kid can eat a happy meal from McDonald's and feel full, but is a mere appetizer for me an adult. I would watch your potassium levels in the future as like i said java fern are potassium hogs. Start there and if you have any further questions please feel free. 

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