So you've got the dreaded Black Beard Algae (BBA). Well, we've got you covered. This is one of our most read articles, so we decided to create a video on this article for those visual learners. All the information is in the video below, so you can either watch the video, or read the article. Hope it helps!
DEFINE - What is Black beard algae (BBA)?
Black beard algae can show as a green or black fuzz. When it gets long enough, it will move like a short grass in the current of yoru tank and LOVES to grow on rough surfaces like on the edges of a leaf, on your wood hardscape, or even the silicon seals on your tank.
General causes:
An imbalance of phosphates and nitrates. Basically high phosphates.
Issues with CO2. Either CO2 fluctuating, or is being depleted throughout your photoperiod.
Uncommon causes:
High flow areas in your tank. It will attach itself to powerheads due to the strong current.
Too much CO2 in a dead stop in the tank. It will totally grow on a ceramic diffuser in your tank if there is not enough circulation.
REMOVAL - How to remove Black Beard Algae (BBA)
The methods we are about to mention will not prevent BBA from coming back. We'll address that shortly. But here are a few ways to remove it from the tank.
Hydrogen peroxide - Remove the affect plant or hardscape from the tank. Fill a squirt bottle with hydrogen peroxide and spay the affected area and let it sit for a few minutes. We suggest to remove it from the tank so that you can rinse it well with dechlorinated water before putting it back into the aquarium. You can spray the affected areas inside the tank, but know that using too much hydrogen peroxide can kill livestock and more sensitive animals like invertebrates. This is why we suggest remove the affects plants or hardscape.
Bleach dip - There is very little that can survive a cleach dip. Mix 1 part bleach to 20 parts of lukewarm water. Sensitive plants, like crypts, dip fro no longer than 90 seconds. Heartier plants like anubias can be dipped for 150 seconds. Do no dip mosses and rinse any plants REALLY well with dechlorinated water after the dip session. A bleach dip will not dissolve the BBA, but it turn it red and that is how we know its dead! If we want to save the affect leaf, we can then rub it off with our fingers. If rubbing it off doesn't work, you'll just need to trim off the affected leafs over time. If its on hardscape, use a wire brush to brush it away. Just make sure you siphon out any pieces that might be floating around. We want to remove as much as we can.
Seachem Excel! - Excel is a glutaraldehyde based algaecide, NOT LIQUID CO2, but its great for killing BBA over time. Dose as directed and over time you should see the BBA turn red, which means it dead. Just know that glutaraldehyde can kill some sensitive plants like buce, mosses, crypts, even if you use it as directed. So just keep an eye on your plants and what they are telling you. Once the BBA is dead, you can scrape it off your plants or hardscape, or trim the affected areas. If you'd like to learn more about Seachem Excel and what it really is, check out our video here!
Note: If you can not use any of the options above, you may need to simply trim the affected areas until its gone. Once you've taken all the preventative measures in the next topic, it should stop coming back.
Solutions - How to prevent black beard algae from coming back
I am going to say this in every algae article... we need to make changes to how we've designed our aquarium otherwise the algae will just keep coming back. The definition of crazy is: doing the same thing over and over, yet expecting different results. Do not rely on fish, algae eaters, snails, shrimp etc., to fix the design flaw that we've introduced into our tanks.
Let's talk phosphates for a minute
Solution 1: Start with your phosphates. There is something referred to as the Red Field ratio, which states that we need to have a specific ratio of phosphates to nitrates. This is 1ppm of Phosphate, for every 10ppms of nitrates. As we teach in our EI Method video, we want to add enough fertilizer to boost our nitrates up to 20ppm, which should put our phosphates at around 2ppms. When our phosphates get to something like 5+pppm in this situation, it can become a big issue, causing all types of hair algae, including BBA and filament algae. Additional unwanted phosphates could be coming from our tap water if we are using that for water changes. They could also be coming from cheap flake foods. Lastly, we teach to use aquasoils designed for planted aquariums versus organic potting soils which can leach phosphates into the water column even though they are capped. We suggest using API's phosphate test kit to check where your phosphates are at. Just note that once you reduce your phosphates that it could take 2-3 weeks after removal for the alage to subside. So be patient and keep phosphate levels under control.
Here are some sources of phosphates to avoid:
Tap water - Excess phosphates can come from your tap water, so make sure we are not introducing more phosphates with water changes. If phosphates are high in your tap water, the best way to remove them is by using an RODI filter, which we talk about in this article, and in this video.
Cheap fish food - Extra phosphates can be introduced from cheap, flake or dried fish foods. Phosphates are used as a preservative. If you have a lot of fish, and are feeding them a lot, you could be introducing phosphates into the tank manually. Try reducing your feeding, or switching to more nutrient dense foods like brine shrimp, blood worms, or mixed frozen packs. You'll notice your fish will appreciate the higher quality food as well.
Seachem Buffers - For those of you heavily relying on Seachem's buffers to help fix your water's chemistry, this is a great reason to stop. Most Seachem buffers heavily rely on phosphates to help deliver their chemicals. These dissolve into the water column and can push us outside the redfield ratio. The more of a buffering agent you use, the higher the chances are you'll run into hair agales. This is another reason why its not a great idea to rely on buffers to help fix out water chemistry. Learn how to properly adjust your GH/KH/PH in this video. Stop relying on easy fixes.
Organic Potting Soil: Lastly, if you've gone with organic potting soil, it's best to replace it with an aquasoil that was designed for a planted aquarium. We recommend using Fluval Stratum when switching out your substrate as it has no nutrients in it, which means it will not leach ammonia for weeks after installation. However, Stratum has a high CEC still which allows it to soak up nutrients we dose in the water column.
On to CO2 issues
Ok, now that we've covered phosphates, let's talk about other largest contributing factors to BBA, CO2 issues. Below are the top 3 things that contribute to BBA.
CAUSE (Most Common) - Too little, or fluctuating CO2: BBA is seen in a lot of planted tanks that are not injecting CO2. Why is this? Because a water will naturally have around 5ppm of CO2 in them at any given time. Once the lights kick on and the plants start photosynthesizing. They will start to use up that available CO2 and you can run into an issue where you have too little available creating a condition for BBA to thrive in. An example of fluctuating CO2 can be when using a DIY system. Most use something like yeast and sugar to produce a chemical reaction that creates CO2. One of the many issues with this DIY method is the yeast starts out strong creating CO2, and as there is less and less sugar available, their output starts to taper off, having it produce less and less CO2 over time. This fluctuation can also cause a depletion of CO2, again inviting BBA to take over.
SOLUTION - If you're not injecting CO2, then we recommend that you start! It's that easy. If you follow our CO2 method and you've dialed in your pressurized CO2 system, you'll never have to deal with BBA. Done and done. If you are injecting CO2, you probably are not injecting enough, or your method of injecting isn't keeping up. Remember that you need to obtain a 1.0 PH drop (Example, from 7.3 to 6.3) prior to your lights coming on to have your CO2 at that optimal level of 30ppm PRIOR to your lights kicking on. If you are not achieving that, turn up your CO2. We talk about how to dial your CO2 in this video. If your CO2 is to the max, then you need to look at a larger ceramic diffuser as yours might be too small and the bubbles it's creating are just shooting to the top and out your tank... or look into an inline atomizer from CO2Art, or a CO2 reactor from NilogC.
What if you can't run CO2?
There are 3 things you can to do help make sure you're tank isn't running out of naturally available CO2
Create more surface agitation - The best thing you can do is create some ripples across the water surface. Your plant mass is basically depleting your natural levels of CO2 and the ripples, not splashes, can help replenish more CO2 into your water column. I generally achieve this with the outlet of my canister filter. If you have the outlet closer to the surface, it will cause a small rippling effect which works perfectly. Again, no slashing or white water is needed. You'll get extra points if you're running a surface skimmer as well. The oil sheen on the water surface can prevent gaseous exchanges.
Decrease the intensity of your light - If you can, either dim your light, or raise it up a couple of inches. Either will reduce the amount of PAR your light in producing, slowing down growth, or the use of naturally available CO2. We do not suggest exceeding 80PAR if you are not injecting CO2, but may need to drop your PAR down to 60PAR if you are getting BBA at 80PAR.
Give your tank a nap - I know this sounds funny, but turning off the lights mid-day for 2 hours will shut down photosynthesis and allow natural CO2 levels to replenish... with proper surface agitation.
Utilize glutaraldehyde - (sigh) I'm not proud to recommend this, but something like Seachem Excel is an algaecide and will kill and can prevent BBA in tanks that are not injecting CO2. The reason I don't like recommending this is because we're really not addressing the issue of CO2 depletion, we're just killing the BBA. That and you'll be tied to buying bottles of this stuff delaying you from saving up for a pressurized CO2 injection kit.
How do people get away with not injecting CO2?
The only way people are able to get away with no CO2 injection is if they have a large enough body of water, that when plants are photosynthesizing, they do not utilize the entire 5ppm of CO2 that naturally occurs in the water columns. Surface or water agitation can also help include more CO2 back into the water offsetting what the plants are using. They are also probably using a low PAR light, causing the plants to grow SUPER slow. In addition, they probably have really slow-growing plants like Anubias, Java Fern, and epiphyte plants in general. This is why they are considered beginner plants. They are hardy and slow-growing. So don't let someone fool you by saying "I don't inject CO2, so you shouldn't as well". They have a well enough understanding of their tank's CO2 demand and can get around it. Regardless, CO2 injecting is ALWAYS going to help keep your plants thriving.
Less common issues that cause BBA
CAUSE (Rare) - Too much CO2. We can sometimes see BBA when the concentration of CO2 is too great. For example, if your diffuser is in the corner of your tank, and you're not getting proper water circulation, CO2 saturated water can build up in the corner and cause BBA to grow around it... even on your diffuser! This is rarer but can still happen.
FIX - If you can, either add a powerhead to increase circulation in the tank or position the outlet of your filter to shoot water in the direction of your diffuser. Overall, you just need a little more circulation in the tank. Not too much because of #3.
CAUSE (Rare) - Too much circulation. BBA really loves REALLY high water movement. Now I'm not talking about water trickling out of a hang-on-back (HOB) filter, but we're talking about putting a massive powerhead in a 30-gallon tank. We will sometimes see some BBA actually growing on the power. Now we are not sure why BBA like to grow on the powerhead, but we do know that it likes those high-flow areas.
FIX - Just slow it down. If you need to the circulation due to #2, just get a smaller powerhead or try to get a powerhead that is adjustable. I would only suggest powerheads in a tank that has 75-100+ gallons. Most tanks smaller than that have enough flow when utilizing a canister filter with 10x turnover per hour as we recommend. Now you understand why we do!
Final thoughts
Focus on overall plant health. We are going to say this whenever addressing algae because happy plants fend off algae. When plants are happy they produce allelochemicals which are a defense mechanism for agale. But they can only produce this chemicals defense mechanism when thriving. As they say, an ounce or prevention is worth a pound of cure. If you are not currently running the ASG method, we would highly encourage you to do so. In the ASG method we teach you to:
Lighting: Have your light on a timer for 6-8 hours and ensure its outputting 80 PAR for non CO2 injected tanks, and 120 PAR for CO2 injected tanks. Learn all about PAR in this video. Reducing the PAR for a week or two can help reduce the excitement of algae.
CO2: Ensure your PH drops one full point before your lights come on, and stays there for the duration of the photo period. You can check your PH with an API PH test kit. Learn all about the PH drop method in this video.
Nutrients: Combined an aquasoil with a holistic fertilization method, like Thrive all in one, or the EI Method. Since aquasoils have a high CEC, they will absorb the nutrients from the water column and feed it to root feeding plants. This is the most efficient way of providing nutrients for both root feeders AND water column plants like mosses and floaters. Learn all about providing nutrients in this video.
Water chemistry: Main a GH/KH of 4, unless livestock dictate otherwise. Example, neocaridina shrimp like harder waters as in a GH of 8-12, and a KH of 2-6. Let your livestock dictate the GH/KH. Your PH will be what it is. Learn how to properly adjust your GH/KH/PH in this video.
Filtration: Ensure your filter is able to turnover your entire water volume 10x an hour. Also ensure your have dedicated mechanical and biological filtration, and they are separate from eachother. Sponge filters just don't cut it. Learn how to properly set up your filtration in this video.
Husbandry: Once a week we should be processing a 50% water change. 75% water change when dealing with an algae issue until we can get things back under control. Remove 10% of the water to avoid splashing when cleaning surfaces. At this time you can scrape the glass/hardscape down THEN remove the rest of the water. This remove the algae we just scraped as we don't want it settling back into the tank if we can avoid it. Also make sure to kick up and remove any detritus from the corners or hard to reach places in our tank. Rotting organic matter in the tank can just cause unnecessary ammonia spikes which can lead to other alages.
If you are new to the ASG method, check out our Part 1 series on YouTube here! We cover all the topics above in more detail.
