Algaecide ingredients thread

[Hufsa]

There are many algaecidal products marketed towards usage in aquariums and ponds.
I have been annoyed by the distinct overall lack of easily accessible information regarding these products and what they contain, and information on the nature of and safety precautions one should take around the ingredients.
To save others the hours I have spent hunting down information, I have decided to make my notes into this public information thread.
The goal is, with the community's help, to compile a comprehensive list of Algaecides and their ingredients, preferably including concentration where this is available.
I have chosen to sort the Algaecides by their primary active ingredient.

The purpose of this thread is not to debate whether or not one should use algaecides, any discussion on this must go in a separate thread!

If you have information about products not listed in this post, please post below so that it may be added to the main post.
Constructive feedback is also appreciated


Salicylic Acid:
Links: Wikipedia, Pubchem, ECHA

Brand: Happy-Life
Product name: Algin Regular
Active Ingredient: Salicylic Acid 35mg/100ml

Brand: Happy-Life
Product name: Algin Extra
Active Ingredient: Salicylic Acid 35mg/100ml
(Pending email answer from manufacturer on what makes it Extra)

Brand: Easy-Life
Product name: AlgExit
Active Ingredient: Salicylic Acid 2mg/g



Copper Sulphate:
Links: Wikipedia, Pubchem, ECHA

Brand: Esha
Product name: Protalon 707
Active Ingredient: Flask A: 6mg/ml Copper Sulphate, 0.02mg/ml Salicylic acid. Flask B: 23mg/ml Copper Sulphate

Brand: Oase
Product name: Blue-Green Algae Remover
Active Ingredient: Copper sulfate pentahydrate (2,8 g/l)

Brand: Söll
Product name: AlgoSol
Active Ingredient: "SpektroSorp" dye, Copper Sulphate



Monolinuron:
Links: Wikipedia, Pubchem, ECHA

Brand: Tetra
Product name: AlguMin
Active Ingredient: Monolinuron 0,245g/100ml

Brand: Tetra
Product name: Algetten
Active Ingredient: Monolinuron 0,59g/100g

Brand: Tetra
Product name: Algizit
Active Ingredient: Monolinuron 1,95g/100g

Brand: Tetra
Product name: Algostop Depot
Active Ingredient: Monolinuron 2,27g/100g

Brand: Tetra Pond
Product name: AlgoFin
Active Ingredient: Monolinuron 0,75g/100ml

Brand: Tetra Pond
Product name: AlgoFree
Active Ingredient: Monolinuron 0,375g/100ml + Polymeric Quaternary Ammonium Chloride 1,0g/100ml

Brand: Hobby
Product name: Algenkiller
Active Ingredient: Monolinuron

Brand: JBL
Product name: Algol
Active Ingredient: "3- (4-chlorophenyl) -1-methoxy-1-methyl carbamide" also known as Monolinuron



"Poly(oxyethylene) (dimethylimino) Ethylene (dimethylimino) Ethylene dichloride":
"Polixetonium chloride", "Busan 77", +other names
Links: Pubchem, ECHA

Brand: API
Product name: Algaefix
Active Ingredient: Dimethyliminoethylene dichloride ethoxylate 45mg/ml (4.5%)

Brand: Tetra Pond
Product name: AlgaeControl
Active Ingredient: Poly[oxyethylene(dimethyliminio)ethylene(dimethyliminio)ethylene dichloride] 5.4%

Brand: Microbe-Lift
Product name: AlgAway 5.4
Active Ingredient: Poly(oxyethylene) (dimethylimino) Ethylene (dimethylimino) Ethylene dichloride: 5.40%

Brand: Microbe-Lift
Product name: AlgAway 60
Active Ingredient: Poly (oxyethylene (dimethyliminio)-ethylene(dimethyliminio)-ethylenedichloride 60%



Glutaraldehyde and related chemicals:
Links: Wikipedia, Pubchem, ECHA
Many products that has Carbon/Carbo/Liquid CO2 in the name or description will belong in this category.
Some of them do not declare the ingredients online or on the bottle. Due to the nature of the product they are still listed here.

Brand: Seachem
Product name: Flourish Excel
Active Ingredient: Not entirely clear but likely related to glutaraldehyde. They have changed the available MSDS, only lists "Proprietary" ingredient now.
The name polycycloglutaracetal has floated around the community for some time.

Brand: API
Product name: CO2 BOOSTER
Active Ingredient: Glutaraldehyde 1.6%

Brand: APT
Product name: Fix
Active Ingredient: Epoxy Aldehydes 3%

Brand: Prodibio
Product name: CARBON LIQ
Active Ingredient: "Contains glutaraldehyde."

Brand: Happy-Life
Product name: HappyCarbo
Active Ingredient:

Brand: Easy-Life
Product name: EasyCarbo
Active Ingredient:

Brand: Sera
Product name: Flore 1 Carbo
Active Ingredient:



Miscellaneous:

Brand: Tetra Pond
Product name: AlgoRem
Ingredients: Aluminiumtrihydroxid, Hydrochloric Acid, Aluminium

Brand: Tetra Pond
Product name: "Fadenalgenschutz" (unknown english name)
Active Ingredient: Terbutryn 0,46g/100g

Brand: Tetra Pond
Product name: UVBooster Plus
Active Ingredient: Hydrogen Peroxide 6,0g/100ml, Silver 0,0006g/100ml

Brand: Amtra
Product name: Algenkur
Active Ingredient: Humic Acids

Brand: Easy-Life
Product name: Bio-Exit Green
Active Ingredient: "Mix of specific organic acids and growth stimulators."

Brand: Easy-Life
Product name: Bio-Exit Blue
Active Ingredient: "Strongly stimulates the growth of heterotrophic soil bacteria."

 

[John q]

Product name: Flourish Excel
Active Ingredient: Not entirely clear but likely related to glutaraldehyde. They have changed the available MSDS, only lists "Proprietary" ingredient now.
The name polycycloglutaracetal has

On seachem's help pages it's quoted ~ Flourish Excel™ contains a molecule (2.0% polycycloglutaracetal)

Claim 3 in this link.

https://seachem.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360050726473-FAQ-I-ve-heard-that-Seachem-Flourish-Excel-is-actually-dangerous-or-not-helpful-to-my-aquarium-plants-Is-that-true-

I'll have to double check this when I get home but I think the bottles used to reference 2.5% Polycycloglutaracetal.

And the new bottles reference Polycycloglutaracetal and 1,5-Pentanedial.

Google 1,5-Pentanedial and you get Glutaraldehyde.

Edit: New bottle shows 2% Polycycloglutaracetal.

Probably no nearer what it actually contains but think we can guess. 🤔

BTW nice post @Hufsa

 

[tiger15]

Great information I've been searching. Note that the concentration provided is product concentration, not dosage concentration that has to be diluted per dosing instruction. For Excel, it’s 2 ppm initial dosage after water change, and 0.4 ppm daily thereafter based on product concentration of 1.5% glutaraldehye. For API Algaefix, the dosage is 1.18 ppm every third day based on product concentration of4.5% Busan77. For Salicyclic acid, John q has estimated the dosage around 100 ppm. Algaecides (not Glutaraldehyde)

 

[jaypeecee]

Hi @Hufsa

What a useful list you have created here! Excellent.

Thank you for all your hard work.

JPC

 

[_Maq_]

This thread should be sticky.

 

[Oldguy]

Many thanks @Hufsa

 

[_Maq_]

I think this is a good place to share our experience with above named (and others) algaecides.
I've used EasyLife AlgExit based on salicylic acid. It killed all algae, all Bacopa sp., Blyxa japonica, Cuphea anagalloidea, Limnophila sp. Belém, all Ludwigia sp. and possibly Myriophyllum tuberculatum.

 

[Mat H]

I think this is a good place to share our experience with above named (and others) algaecides.
I've used EasyLife AlgExit based on salicylic acid. It killed all algae, all Bacopa sp., Blyxa japonica, Cuphea anagalloidea, Limnophila sp. Belém, all Ludwigia sp. and possibly Myriophyllum tuberculatum.

I'm using EasLife Algexit at the moment for BBA, though only at bottle dose (10ml per 100ml once a week) after water change..

I can't say I've had any problems with plants and I have all of these except Cuphea Anagallodea and Myriophyllum Tuberculatum.

BBA seems to be receding but it's likely other measures I'm taking, that said I do see clumps of live BBA cleave off which I find unusual.

I used it years ago too after researching Salicylic Acid, and also for BBA, though it didn't seem to have any effect then.

I would say I'm pushing my tank quite hard so that might be mitigating whatever effect you are seeing in you plants with it's use.

 

[_Maq_]

I'm pushing my tank quite hard so that might be mitigating whatever effect you are seeing in you plants with it's use.

I do not insist that what happened to me is a regular or inevitable effect. In particular, I believe CO2 injection would possibly help the plants in question.
Perhaps I should add that I used the potion only once. A dose calculated for 50 liters in a 70 liter tank. In the beginning, about five days, only positive effects were visible, i.e. algae dying and receding. But then, I could see damage on plants. Multiple water changes failed to turn the wheel. Salicylic acid is a plant hormone, and I suppose it already entered the plants' tissues and there was no way back. Gradually, during two to eight weeks, I had to remove pitiful remnants of dying and decaying plants. Interestingly, some species were unharmed - Aroids, Pogostemon stellatus, Eriocaulons, Tonina, Rotalas, a.o.

 

[Dryrot]

eight months after planting, my tank has been taken over by fine threads of bright green hairy algae and small snails. I only feed a small amounts of powder for my neon green rasboras and maybe 1 catfish tablet per day in a tray for the 8 amanos and 4 otos. I know I am not overfeeding and to be fair the snails seem to prefer the glass and the green algae. Trouble is the algae is getting to be a nuisance now, as are the snails.
I have Oase twin leds on the 'planted aquarium setting' 8 hours per day. CO2 at 30m/l (drop checker). Airstone during lights out. Masses of cryps, ratalla, anubius and java ferns - all thriving. I fancy killing the algae avoiding copper based prodcut (save my shrimps, which I'm very fond of). Will the salicylic acid do the job? Then I can use something to help knock the snails back without killing the shrimps or plants - tall order?

best regards to all.

Bryan.