black brush algae question

[woof99]

So I have been struggling with black brush algae for years, truth be told, I have never obsessed about it, just got used to cleaning my walls weekly.
Recently, I have added a few plants from the auction.
So now the plants are growing well, but every new leaf gets this algae on the edges after a few weeks and I really do not like the look.
Today at my LFS the lady was telling me about barley straw pellets and people using it for algae prevention in ponds. She convinced me to try it on my tank.
When I got home, I read the bag carefully and it says will acidy the PH a little which I dont want.  Want to maintain PH of 7.4-7.6 for my fish.

Apart from that, looks like a great product but I have not seen anywhere that it will work on the black hair algae.

So before I add it to my tank....any ideas??

Thanks!

[exv152]

Check out the BBA causes on this page, it's the first type listed...the barley will do nothing for algae. http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm

[touchofsky]

Excel (or metricide, diluted to appropriate strength) does a good job on bba.  If you use a syringe and squirt it directly on the affected leaves a few days in a row, the algae will die.  I have used double the daily dose, in a syringe on affected leaves, and had good success.  If you need more details, please feel free to ask.  

[Jeff1192]

BBA has been the bane of my existence since I started up my 90 gallon 5yrs ago. I have definitely found that it is worse if the tank is over-crowded so I have significantly reduced my stocking levels....but I've never been able to erradicate it. Good luck.....I HATE that stuff!

Forgot to add....I don't find my BBA has anything to do with fluctuating CO2 levels/poor circulation. I have 2 canister filters and 2 powerheads running. There is plenty of circulation in my tank and in fact I have found that some of the worst spots for BBA in my tank are in relatively high circulation areas.

Jeff

[charlie]

I have found that BBA is the toughest of Algae to get rid of, once it establishes itself it get very comfy in the tank, excel etc coupled with stepped up tank husbandry sure do aid in getting rid of it, but it has the tendency to return if the root cause is not addressed, finding the root cause is not easy, at least i have not , a few of us has speculated that high organics may be one of the triggering point but as stated that is just pure speculation.
Regards Errol

[exv152]

I have found that BBA is the toughest of Algae to get rid of, once it establishes itself it get very comfy in the tank, excel etc coupled with stepped up tank husbandry sure do aid in getting rid of it, but it has the tendency to return if the root cause is not addressed, finding the root cause is not easy, at least i have not , a few of us has speculated that high organics may be one of the triggering point but as stated that is just pure speculation. Regards Errol

From personal experience, the only time I've run into it was in a 75g with DIY co2. I believe that with any algae, the cause(s) can be numerous and difficult which relfects the fact that all algae is multi-faceted.  But, in larger tanks CO2 fluctuations may play a larger role.  I have a low-tech 125g and have virtually no algae issues whatsoever, but then again, I use the Tom Barr method of low tech with no WCs (just top offs) and some ferts once/week or once every 2 weeks. I'm certain the stable carbon consistency in this tank has helped me keep algae at bay. Maintaining consistent CO2 levels in larger tanks, larger than 60-75g certainly, are not impossible, but very challenging to say the least, even with pressurized co2.