Best way to clean beard algae off drift wood

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Wire brush and scrubbing is really what you need. I have been battling this s**t for a coupe years. It started for me when I got new lights. Anyway...finally have the right combo of light and photoperiod and it is finally coming under control. The hydrogen peroxide s a good point...I would pour that on...soak it, once it starts to due of...scrub it den. But you gotta fix the original problem or it will come right back.
 
Wire brush and scrubbing is really what you need. I have been battling this s**t for a coupe years. It started for me when I got new lights. Anyway...finally have the right combo of light and photoperiod and it is finally coming under control. The hydrogen peroxide s a good point...I would pour that on...soak it, once it starts to due of...scrub it den. But you gotta fix the original problem or it will come right back.

This is correct about it being a light issue. Normally caused by to much light for to long of a photo period. With the peroxide you don't need to scrub. But you do need to adjust the lighting photo period.

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I have that crap on one of my four pieces of driftwood. Only ever on that one. I think it looks cool until it gets knocked off and settles somewhere. Then its nasty snotty stuff.

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I had it for ages, i took all the wood and rock out and jet washed it all. It came back a couple of months later until my starters on th lights packed in. It left the tank with no overhead lighting for a week until i could get replacements but the algea all fell off and died, product massive nitrate spike that nearly took out my gkf. After a good clean of the resulting debris all i did was put twinwall poly sheets as cover glasses to difuse the lighting a bit and five months later haven't seen the stuff since

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I am going to try to power wash the wood and let it dry out I think

One of the issues with doing this is the algae spores can still live and stay in the wood. Even dried out they can survive. Then when you put it back in the tank it can come back. The spores once established only need some light and nitrate. The hydrogen peroxide method is cheap and safe and will kill the algae and the spores after its been saturated with the peroxide at full strength for a good 15 to 20 minutes then a good rinse.

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Does the whole piece of wood have to be submerged in order to treat it ?

You dont have to submerge it at all. Just put it in the sink or bath tub. You can get some very large bottles of peroxide from about any store for really cheap. The last ones I bought cost me right at a dollar each. While the drift wood is in the bath tub or kitchen sink, just pour the contents of the bottle over all the effected areas of the drift wood. Then lest it sit there for a good 20 to 30 minutes. You can even re-apply more peroxide. If you do let it sit longer. Maybe another 20 minutes. Then rinse very very well. Let sit out to dry a little. Put it back into the tank and your good to go. You should see the algae turn colors and dye off and not come back. BUT be sure to adjust how long you leave your lights on for.
 
Hopefully this weekend I will be able to give it a shot, is there any risk this could harm my fish ?
 
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