Overdosing Flourish Excel To Get Rid Of Bba

[Twinklecaz]

Hi,

So I bought some Flourish Excel as I am sick of the BBA problem I have had for over a year now.

My question is, when we say overdose how much is that exactly? My tank is 60l.

Thanks

 

[tribalbrit]

double the recommended is overdose. Spot dosing is the only way your going to shift it.

 

[Twinklecaz]

Thanks. What's spot dosing?

 

[tribalbrit]

Spot dosing is when you put the excel in a syringe or pippet and spot it directly onto to an area of algae you wish to kill. Very effective but time consuming on a big tank. The bba will go red in a day or two in the area you have spot dosed.
Start on one area, say a piece of bogwood or an infected rock, then next time pick another area and so on.

 

[Twinklecaz]

Ok thanks. Lol reckon that will take me a while, it'a everywhere.

 

[tribalbrit]

best think is to stop the cause, rather than keep trying to kill it.

 

[Twinklecaz]

I've tried everything I can think of. Less light, more light. Dosing with ferts/Carbon. Not dosing. All combinations of that. Nothing seems to work. The problem started when I breifly tried having silk plants rather than real about 18 months ago and it's never gone away

 

[tribalbrit]

remove any decoration you can and jet wash it. Reduce lighting to 5 - 6 hours a day. Increase and carry out larger water changes, Increase flow if possible and spot dose.

See how it goes.

 

[stu40]

Spot dosing is when you put the excel in a syringe or pippet and spot it directly onto to an area of algae you wish to kill.

IME using liquid carbon neat will kill off some plants, you need to dilute by 3:1.It nearly wiped out my Anubias

 

[Twinklecaz]

Hi everyone, thanks for all your replies. Can you help me working out dosing? It says on the first dose to dose 5ml per 40l (if you've just done a large water change which I have). So I've dosed 10ml which I guessed is approximately double seeing as my tank is officially 60l but they're never as much as they're supposed to be in reality are they. What I'm confused with is what to now dose daily. The bottle says to dose 5ml for every 200L. So that means 2.5ml for every 100 and 1.25 for every 50. Bearing in mind I have to overdose would 3ml daily do the trick?

 

[tribalbrit]

3ml daily would be double dosing yes! if your tank is 60lt.

 

[Twinklecaz]

Thank you.

 

[Ps3Steveo]

I'm trying something at the moment with my 60L to get rid of BBA by taking out say 10 litres of tank water, switching off the filter, mixing around 5ml carbon into the water and then syphoning the water back in over the affected areas and leaving the lights off for 1 day so the plants dont consume it as fast, will let you know in the next coupe of days how it goes, was kinda forced to do this as my external packed up today but it seems very logical to me.

 

[Twinklecaz]

Let me know if it works.

Ok the BBA in the first area is starting to go red now. Does that mean it's about to disappear? Do I need to carry on dosing that area or shall I move on?

 

[tribalbrit]

Once red its dead. move on to another area. One treatment on an area should be all that's needed.