dont do this

[pignoselover]

hi everyone,
i took some advice from a person on this forum and without useing a few bad words i just want to say that i was told to soak my drift wood in bleach for a mint or 2 and then wash in cold water i was told this would get rid of my black alge, i just want to say thank you for that i just lost $2000 worth of discus next time dont tell people stuff that you know nothing about.
p.s i was it well wood aborbed bleach it dosent matter how long you was it for.
thankyou

[swifto]

sorry 4 your loss,but i have washed a planted driftwood with bleach,mix was 100ml bleach to laundry tub full of clean fresh water,i wiped each leaf.When i was finished i rinsed the hole thing a couple of time and did not loose any fish.

[swampy1972]

That's very unfortunate, sorry to hear it :(

Forums are a great place to start, but you're really only getting opinions - not generally fact.

For future reference, spot dosing Seachem Excel or treating with H2O2 will get rid of most algae without disturbing your fish. If you want futher detail about H2O2 send me a PM because it can kill off your filtr if done incorrectly.

[pignoselover]

thanks guys just a bit pissed iv kept fish for over 10 years and have done this with coral and never had a problem so i thought it would be alright i only used 50 mls to a 30 per cent filled bath and washed it so well all my fish were very well before that.
well all i can say is stick with seacam

[maxpayne40]

Sorry to hear that about your fish, I would also be upset if that happened to me. I am by no means an expert or even a beginner....lol, but I have asked that same question here on the forums about BB algae as I had a bit of it also.

I had the advice of using hydrogen peroxide, CO2 and scraping leaves. I am not confident about about chemicals and I tried the scraping but it did not work.

Another suggestion was to reposition the spray bar for water flow on the plants and getting SAE fish that eat BBA.

I went with the waterflow idea and SAE (2 juveniles) fish and so far the BB algae is on the delcine. I am not saying that is the main reason as I have also cut back on liquid fertilser and sold two discus as my tank was 'overcrowded' so that may also have helped. Hope this gives you some ideas.

Cheers

[swampy1972]

Increased water flow definately improves your BBA situation. The only time I experience it when the filter screen on my shrimp tank starts to clog slowing the filter output. As soon as it's rinsed and flow restored, the algae clears.

I can attest to the effectiveness of H2O2. I've used it on several occassions in my CRS tank and have not lost a single shrimp to it. It can effect soft plants though like Subwassertang, but any hard leaf varieties are ok. H2O2 is simply water with a free oxygen ion, so when dosed and handled correctly it's great to use.

If you're worried about using it in your tank, then immerse you DW in a solution in a bucket. After a couple of hours the stuff reverts back to plain water and can be tipped on the lawn and leaves no toxic residue on the DW.

[pignoselover]

thanks again everyone just trying to settle the tank again as i still have to catfish and i baby dicus so his luck i think its a fat chance but i did 40 per cent water change triple dose prime also used double carbon and put a stress coat booster in the water as will discus looks a little better so i will just wait and see.

[lpiasente]

Holy crap that's terrible. I am soooo sorry for your loss.

[Decapper]

I have fake plants and drift wood and all I do is place them outside in the sun for 2-3 days. Back in the tank with out any scrubbing and BN seem to eat it. Works well for me

[swampy1972]

Fake plants!!! - NOOooooooooooo!!!! :lol:

Seriously, though why? If you chose the right species they're so easy to look after.. I could send you a few crypts if you like - really easy to care for. Let me know if you're keen.

[Decapper]

Fake plants!!! - NOOooooooooooo!!!! :lol:

Seriously, though why? If you chose the right species they're so easy to look after.. I could send you a few crypts if you like - really easy to care for. Let me know if you're keen.

I went through a time for about 2yrs I was right into plants. Had 3 plant tanks that I would just grow and sell plants. Plus once the plants died in my display tank I would throw them and grab some from one of my other 3 tanks.

So I'm a bit over it. Maybe when I move house. Tank still looks good with fake plants. Just not as good as real plants but a hell of a lot easier!

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/7633/p9062195.jpg

[Decapper]

I cant believe hell is censored ;)

[pignoselover]

i prefered to buy real ones i have swords of many types,val,java fern and some tiger lotus so far there going well in the tank mine you they should theres a 5 foot metal hadlied on them and 2 inch of aqua soil for the base.

[pignoselover]

hi guys i would just like to say also a big thankyou for all your surport at this time

[swampy1972]

i prefered to buy real ones i have swords of many types,val,java fern and some tiger lotus so far there going well in the tank mine you they should theres a 5 foot metal hadlied on them and 2 inch of aqua soil for the base.

All the plants you've listed there are low light, so the masses of extra light are doing little extra for you apart from bumping up the power bill I'm afraid. You would've been better served putting the $$ from the MH unit into a good T5 fitting and Co2 rig. Just an opinion..