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JBL Algol

A while ago when I had a bad case of cladophora I decided to give it a go as it was said to not affect shrimp. Dosed as instructed. The cladophora algae was affected and growth almost stopped, but it didn't die. Fish and shrimp seemed to be unaffected. But the plants were affected big time and stopped pearling and became rather sad looking. After a couple of weeks and two or three large water changes later the plants did recover without any permanent damage. The cladophora was hit hard enough that I managed to manually remove nearly all of it and it didn't grow back after I resumed normal conditions.

In conclusion it achieved what I set out to do in removing the algae and not affecting the shrimp. But it does seem to affect plants in the short term.

James
 
Nope, I just dosed the whole tank as instructed. It was a while ago now but I remember thinking at the time it was pretty powerful stuff and that it did affect my plants for a while so most likely wouldn't use it again. I'm not a great fan of algae killers and have never used any except this one this one time. Think it was fairly new out when I brought it and as it wasn't one of the typical copper based ones I decided I would give it a go. Don't know what it's like with other algae but reports suggest it's quite good. I would only recommend using it as a last resort though.

James
 
Hi
i would say the same as James has just said. i used it a while back and it was very good. it did make the water go milky. but i got somemore about 6 months back and this time it was a green color. and it did nothing . i would never buy it again.
 
Hi,
Algol or any algaecide won't fix your problem though, just the symptoms. If you haven't fixed your real problem the algae will return...

Cheers,
 
Yes, but desperate folks go for it anyway.
So there will always be a market for the uniformed.

Excel is nice since it general nails the root cause(poor CO2) while killing algae at a low dose.

That is about the only algae killer I might suggest.
Copper has a log history and it does work, but kills a few plants if not used correctly.
Crypts are very tolerant of copper actually. Keeping it at about 0.4ppm can help.
But this kills shrimp.

If you follow the labels, things can work, but it never addresses the real issue.
Simizine also can work a little, peroxides

Regards,
Tom Barr
 
IME algae issues were always connected to insufficient water circulation (poor nutrient/O2/CO2 transport). As soon I upgrade to a stronger pump or simply toss in another spare pump to help the existing pump algae seem to stay at bay and plants start growing better.
My tanks get good CO2 and/or Easy Carbo, NPK+traces, GH-Booster, bicarbonates, water change, moderate surface agitation, clean filters, lots of shredders like shrimps... but had circulation like 3-5 x the turn over per hour.
Now all my tanks have stronger turn over rate up to 15 x per hour and algae seem to stay away.

But still even with increased circulation my 180 Low light Low Tech had problems with water turbidity and dust algae on the glass. Once I started dosing Easy Life FFM (fluid filter medium) algae didn't return and water became crystal clear. This product is probably based on liquid Zeolite (assumption - good CEC) and something else.

About algae killers;
It has been 2 years now since I started working for one of the biggest Zoo Shops in Sweden and since the beginning I never sold not even one algae killer :D
Yes I do stock the shop with algae killers since there will always be people which insist on buying an algae killer and such never listen to what we have to say :rolleyes: :lol:

But most of my customers instead of algae killer get Tropica+NP, GH-Booster (swedish tap is VERY soft 3GH), Easy Carbo and a better/stronger circulation pump and all seem to come back after a while with a huge smile on their faces :D

Always address the cause not the consequence. BTW algae are friends in aid. Something has to remove the raising NH4 and dissolved organics otherwise our fish would be at risk. Algae are the best indicator for nutrient unbalance, better than the tests.
In some cases NPK are missing, in some poor CO2, but these days we all try to keep these up and what stays at the end... poor nutrient transport and probably low O2. So up those water pumps! Also using Zeolite is a very good idea (liquid is the best ime since it is dosed directly into the tank and gets spread equally all over so even the dead spots get some)

Regards, Dusko
 
I have used this on 2 of my tank, and it work wonders. GSA on big leaves and driftwood and anubias and windelov tips gone, Brown Algae gone. I vouch for this
 
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