Help, new light and beard algae!

[Beckett]

So I got a fluval plant light to replace the cheap flourescent tube I have had on my tank and now I am noticing what I suspect is beard algae and some brown algae on the glass of my tank. The beard is on a sword plant.

The new light was put on Dec 26.

I keep the tank at 77 degrees farenheit. I use Aquarium Coop easy green root tabs and liquid fertilizer. I dose liquid fertilizer once a week. Root tabs I usually put one in for each plant every couple months.
I also have a BN pleco.

What can I do to get rid of the algae? Add a Siamese Algae Eater? Are there any snail types that are good at eating all algae types and won’t take over my tank by breeding? There are a couple ramshorn snail babies in the tank now that got in on a plant or something.

My tank is 38 gallons and currently has 12 diamond tetra, 1 BN pleco, 5 bronze corycats.

I also reduced the peak light settings so the tank should be getting 6 hours of full daylight setting instead of the 9 or so it was before.

Thank you! Also attached a photo of the sword with algae

 

[Callisto405]

Make room and get 3 Siamese algae eaters. They will do the trick. They have worked for me many times. Just don't overfeed the tank of they will get hooked on regular food and not graze the algae. There are imitation algae eaters they will tell you they are Siamese but they're not. Make sure you get the real ones. These are amazing fish, highly underappreciated

 

[Beckett]

what are opinions on using seachem flourish excel? Is this safe for fish? Will it actually kill the algae and not cause other problems?

 

[Fishmanic]

I do not recommend excel. Many members here agree that it may very well be toxic to fish. I dripped some on my linoleum floor and it removed the color from the tile. I wouldnt want that to get inside my fish.

 

[Beckett]

Oh wow glad i asked! I am going to do a water change today about 40%. I plan to trim the leaves off that I see algae on and throw them away. Plus I have reduced the light by 2 hours and reduced the strength of the light during its peak daylight setting. Hopefully that will make a difference for me.
My LFS also has some siamese algae eaters they just got in and will be available in two weeks or so.

 

[Essjay]

Don't get a fish just to help with a problem; it is much better to rectify the cause of the problem than get a fish you don't really want.
And always research the needs of any fish before buying regardless of whether you want it to solve a problem or not.

 

[Beckett]

I have been researching SAE fish and it seems like my water and temperature would be fine for them. And my tank only has 12 diamond tetra, 5 corycats and the BN pleco in 38 gallons... so I don't think it would be overstocking?

They seem like a nice little fish and I wouldn't mind taking care of one long term, but I would still like to try to resolve the cause of this issue first.

I've done some more research and now in addition to changes mentioned above I have changed the 'night time' setting on my light from a dim blue to a dim red color instead. I read that black beard and staghorn algae are 'red algaes'... therefore like a red seaweed it should be adapted to best absorb blue light I'd think? So I am hoping removing blue light from the tank will also help to kill it off in combo with overall reduced lighting.

Oh I also have no CO2 on my tank... not sure if I mentioned that before. Hoping to not have to add that if possible.

Thoughts?