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Green thread algae

I,m sure mine came in with some java moss i bought off ebay .....its now spreading to the amazon swords 🙁
 
ceg4048 said:
Westyggx said:
Excel does not kill Hair/Green Thread Algae.
Click to expand...
If it doesn't then you're not using enough of it.
Excel is toxic against just about all CO2 related algae.

Cheers,
Click to expand...

Then I reckon hair isn't CO2 related algae. Excel has very effectively killed BBA and cladaphora in my tank but has absolutely no effect on hair, even when dosed neat with affected hardscape above water during water change and left on for 20 mins without water going back in.

I wrote about my problem with this stuff on my journal. I've got no sign of CO2 related deficiencies on my plants, in fact they are pearling like mental about an hour after lights on, growing at a fantastic rate and there is good flow and distribution. This is even the case with the mini xmas moss and the hair algae is all over it. I have reduced photo period to 6 hours with no noticeable effect.

Maybe I've misunderstood Clive. I took CO2 related algae to mean there isn't enough CO2 in the tank for the plants' requirements given the growth rate driven by the lighting. As a result there are plant deficiencies such that the algae feeds off the waste produced by the failing plant and is able to take advantage of nutrients in the water column that the plant can't (because the plant is failing).

How does this hold when the plant isn't failing?
 
Hi mate,
Hair is definitely CO2 related. Plants pearling does not mean that they are at peak health. They can pearl and grow if they are able to produce enough food, but the presence of the algae indicates that something is still wrong healthwise. You should never use pearling as the sole indicator of plant health because it is a result of a combination of environmental as well as plant factors. Algae can pearl equally well.

Another possibility is that it is not hair algae but that it's something else. Did you try daily 2X-3X the bottle suggested dosing and the large input at water change time along with multiple water changes? The effect should be exactly as described by Porksword, the strands turn white and die off. Each algae as well as each plant has it's own tolerance level of Excel, so one may be more easy to eradicate than another using the liquid.

Cheers,
 
Mate, I hear what you're saying. I understand that one shouldn't rely on presence of pearling as an indicator of plant health. However, all I can see is healthy growing plants. Can't see any deficiencies.

I think it's interesting that you said algae can pearl too, which it does in my tank. Along with the moss it's growing on. But why assume that the presence of the algae indicates deficiencies in the plants? Why can't they both be healthy?
 
Hi mate,
Well, because algae growing on a plant is always a parasitic or predatory relationship, not a symbiotic one. When you see vultures flying around, what does that tell you, for example? It never means that both the vultures and the victims are healthy. Having said that, if you're satisfied having both, and if the energy required to eradicate the algae is too much, then this is not really a big deal, but it does suggest that the "next" thing to go wrong will affect the plants more adversely than it would ordinarily.

Cheers,
 
Thank you mate, that makes sense. There is an alternative explanation though. The hair algae is primarily on the moss. This suggests that it is dirt - i.e. low levels of ammonia that it is able to utilise faster than the moss which is also a debris sponge.
 
Hi mate, i got rid of 90% of my hair algae since swapping light intensity from MH to 2 x 39w T5, i also dosed 12ml of Easylife Algexit each week for 5 weeks. I also remove any effected stem. It is so far under control.
 
hotweldfire said:
Interesting. I was eyeing up some of that stuff in a shop the other day but couldn't quite bring myself to go there. Am hoping my rampant vivipara will start to diffuse the light in the tank so reduce the algae.
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To be honest i am not sure it was the Algexit that started to defeat it.. as i was dosing this for 4 weeks with no signs of dying off. It only happend since buying the new T5 unit from Eeezer. I dont know what light system you run so cant comment.

Cheers
 
hotweldfire said:
Interesting. I was eyeing up some of that stuff in a shop the other day but couldn't quite bring myself to go there. Am hoping my rampant vivipara will start to diffuse the light in the tank so reduce the algae.
Click to expand...
Try thinning out the moss so that you get better flow through the bed. The effect of debris would be to block CO2 penetrating through the plant bed.

Cheers,
 
Hi guys

I,ve just dumped 4 large swords as they were getting covered in black / green hair algae . Its getting worse .

I,ve cleaned the filters , will do a few decent water changes over the next few days ....

my tank is 240 ltrs no co 02 and now just loads of valliss at the back and 9 clumps of jave moss holding black hair algae .
For a low tech set up it was looking perfect untill i brought in the algae off fleabay with some java moss .

A bottle of excell has arrived today so i will follow the bottle and see how i get on ......whats / how do i ...spot treat with this stuff ?

Thanks all 😀
 
darren636 said:
do a 4 to 5 day black out.
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Hi mate ...

Is this a total black out (newbie question ..lol.) as in cover the front glass aswell or just no tank lights ?

Thanks
 
i did it with just the lights turned off, worked a treat - had major co2 injection malfunctions, leading to thread algae and bba. after, just trim the worst plants and off you go.
 
I,ve been doseing with excell for just three days and the green thread algae is now looking rusty red in colour so fingers crossed its working ?
 
Ive got a bit on my new Iwagumi setup. I Read somewhere stem plants floated on the surface help to get rid of it?
I believe it was one of Ceg's posts.

Im sure you'll get it sorted, Green thread over BBA anyday. BBA is horrendous ha.

Good luck :thumbup:
 
Thank mate 😀

Now the room lights are off and just the tank lights on i can see its dieing off :thumbup:

I was very sceptical about it working to be honest (sorry guys 😳 ) but its worked wonders .

I,m going to re plant New swords and do more regular water changes / filter cleans aswell and get back on track .


Thanks all
 
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