manadesmalice 5 Posted February 13, 2014 So, a couple of years ago I made a post bemoaning a product and it's effect on my ranchu at the time. I nearly killed six ranchu, and did manage to take out four. They were replaced by (name of company shall remain nameless), who also refunded me the cost of the dangerous, poison algeacide I purchased. I followed the directions on the bottle to a tea! My tank had a massive algea bloom and I figured I had to take drastic action. About four hours later, I noticed my ranchu gasping. I quickly got them out and cleaned the tank, and ended up losing four of them. This was no small task to do! At any rate, skip ahead a few years. I absolutely decimated my tank on a much more epic scale. My elodea, my java moss, my snails, my goldfish, ALL DEAD. It looked like a nuclear holocaust in my 55 gallon tank! Incidentally, the water was pristine, crystal clear! Completely free of the algea bloom which had only recently consumed every thing and made it ugly green! I purchased this algeacide product at the biggest big name competitor of (name of company shall remain nameless). I will say that the first poison was sold to me by a mart, and the second was sold to me by a co. The second time, it was a white bottle. It required one drop per gallon, so I metiiculously applied 55 drops. It was safe for plants, crusteaceans, fish, etc. BULL HOCK! DON'T EVER BUY ANY SORT OF ALGEACIDE! I have had TWO terrible experiences with it! The best way is to drape a heavy blanket over your tank and let NO light in for a minimum of three days. Of course, turn your lights off! This does not kill any fish, plants, or snails. It puts your tank in a "resting" state, but starves the algea of the light that it needs to survive! I don't want this sort of thing to happen to anyone else, especially not my Koko's crew!!! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dnalex 13,633 Posted February 13, 2014 I'm so sorry you had to experience this, but I am in full support of your message. Not only do algicides not helpful, they can cause catastrophic issues. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GoldenSpoiledRotten 6,786 Posted February 13, 2014 My condolences on your losses. Algaecide is a terrible product. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cmclien 655 Posted February 13, 2014 Thats really a horrible experience for you. It baffles me how some companies can sell these products claiming they won't hurt fish. I don't understand 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manadesmalice 5 Posted February 13, 2014 Thank y'all. It should be taken off the shelves, in my opinion. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen so long as it makes money. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DieselPlower 2,123 Posted February 13, 2014 I have used it a few times before I knew what I was doing. The product does not kill the fish. The rapid die off of the algae creates an oxygen shortage which can kill things. If you want to use it, add air at the same time. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fishy 54 Posted February 13, 2014 I am sorry for the horrific experience you went through. I'm glad you shared the information and a safe solution for algae problems. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yafashelli 9,540 Posted February 13, 2014 I'm very sorry for your loss. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flipper 13,057 Posted February 13, 2014 Oh NO! what a terrible loss! I'm very sorry Thanks for sharing! I'll never buy a algaecide 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Justin 383 Posted February 14, 2014 Once as a newbie I added an algae removal product. Thankfully nothing happened. I'm sure it would have, had I dosed more than once. Thank you for sharing. I knew adding unnecessary chemicals is not good, but I didn't realize how catastrophic they could be. Thank you so much for sharing your experience, and I'm sorry for your losses. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daniel 5,668 Posted February 14, 2014 This is why a lot of people, myself included, don't recommend algaecides. A black out works rather well, as does spot Flourish Excel dosing, hydrogen peroxide or if you have co2, properly calibrating it. I'm sorry you had to go through this several times. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manadesmalice 5 Posted February 14, 2014 From now on, I'll ONLY do a blackout and water changes. I don't mind algea on the sides of the tank, because my ramshorns have a heyday with it. But I've only had the massive algea bloom with the green water twice - and both times algeacide had less than ideal outcomes! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jmetzger72 6,976 Posted February 14, 2014 (edited) I've had success in reducing algae by shortening my photoperiod (tank lights) to about 8 hours a day. The rest is just elbow grease! Edited February 14, 2014 by jmetzger72 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites