Wondered if anyone has ever done a Flourish Excel bath for driftwood with black hair algae? If so what amount of Flourish verses water? After reading many reviews I am not nuts about putting it in my tank since I have read it can kill Anarchis and some fish....would rather just treat the driftwood alone out of the tank.

I wouldn't use excel that way. It can be pretty expensive. Take the wood and clean off as much as possible. Then just pour peroxide on all the algae spots, let it it set for about 10 minutes then cover with water. In a couple of hours the algae should start changing colors then scrup with a wire brush.

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DeeDee, I agree with Susan but my method of application would be to clean the drift wood in the sink and apply Excel with a spray bottle. H2O2, can be applied the same way (cheaper).

I know weak solutions of potassium permangenate can be used to sterilize plants, maybe a strong or pure solution of it can be used to sterilize driftwood? Just be careful putting it back in your tank as the wood will absorb some of whatever you put it in.

I've also heard baking the wood in an oven is a great way to sterilize it, or sticking it in a pot of boiling water.

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I tried treating with H2O2 and it didn't work for me. Excel took care of all of it, but I treated in the tank when things were exposed during water changes. If it isn't real bad and you're talking about brush algae, just leave it. It's not going to hurt anything and if it is the only place it is growing looks fairly natual to me. I have it in patches on some wood in my 75g. In a spray bottle or a pump bottle works well for things I've treated outside the tank.

I agree with Ben - I've got brush algae on my rocks and driftwood and I think it looks awesome. However, it's been attacking my hygro and crypt leaves so I've had to up my shrimp population to deal with it (transferred 4 out of 5 Amano shrimp from my 10 gallon to my 29 to get to work on the stuff - results so far are good).

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Hello DD. If you've taken the driftwood out of your tank, just take it outside and hose it off with a pressure nozzel. Then, let it dry outside in the sun for a day or two. This time of year, the the sun will kill anything that's left on the driftwood.

Seachem's Flourish Excel has a small amount of "Gluteraldehyde", 1.5 percent. It's an industrial form of carbon that's toxic to very primitive plants like ferns, Vallisneria, mosses and algae. Most of the more complex tropical plants do well with it. It's pricey, so the advice to not use a lot of it as a bath is very good.

B

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Thank you all for your suggestions!