[APD] RE: A cheaper effective way to kill Green water.....UVeffects long term?

["Daphne Freeman" <daphne_freeman at charter.net>]

Tom Barr made some comments that got my attention with regards to
cladophora. 
"...Add 1/2 dose for the ich treatment. Wait 3-5 days. Do 2 x 80-90% water
changes. ...If you do a dip in bleach, peroxide, alum/lime etc after the
treatment with the plants...Many folks have troubles with Cladophora so this
might help them also but I have not tried it on it yet. "
Green water doesn't bother me I have a UV, but I've been battling cladophora
for over 2.5 years.  The thrill is indeed gone.  I realize Tom said he
hasn't tried this but I am willing to give practically anything a shot now
if there is any chance of eradicating this algae!  Sometimes it is worse,
sometimes better but always there.  I've broken my tank (92 gallon) down
twice but didn't bleach everything (some of the plants couldn't take it and
I was afraid I would never be able to get it all out of the gravel and
driftwood) so both times were a total waste of time.  I have been diligent
about water changes every week and try to keep my nutrient levels within the
"Barr recommendations" and it works for other algae's but I can't get rid of
this one.  The copper suggestion sounded good because it wasn't as toxic as
bleach and I didn't have to completely dismantle the tank.
If I removed all the plants, fish, shrimp and some snails could I hit the
tank with a double or even higher dose of copper and wipe out the cladophora
do you think?  The recommended dose is 1 teaspoon of Copper Safe per 4
gallons of water.  The question about increasing the dose is simply because
cladophora is on/in my gravel and is hard to kill, it takes a long time even
in bleach.  With no live animals in the tank, just gravel, driftwood and
equipment, what would it hurt except the algae and perhaps my bacterial bed?
By leaving the Eheim and CO2 running, the copper should kill anything
floating in them as well I would think?  I am not sure if the driftwood
would absorb copper or if the gravel would be a problem with overdosing. 

Afterwards, I could remove all water down to the gravel a couple times,
rinse out the Eheim and CO2 reactor and use the filter media (Cuprisorb or
Poly Filter?) that absorbs copper.  Then just leave the tank running for
another day or so replacing the filter pads till it no longer showed copper
in the water. The plants would be checked thoroughly and everything either
treated with peroxide or soaked in lime or whatever would kill it.  

Would the lime, alum or peroxide be more effective at killing the cladophora
on the plants rather than bleach and how diluted would you recommend or
would you dilute it at all? 

In the past, I have syringed a portion of driftwood with straight peroxide
(the water level was dropped below the wood and a drip pan held under it so
I would minimize  getting it into the water).   It helped but it still took
a couple applications over a few weeks to get rid of it even with straight
peroxide.  Wood is probably the worst because of the porosity but this is
still one tough algae.  There are several plants in my tank that can't
handle bleach but I have never tried soaking them in peroxide, alum or lime
to eradicate it.

Another APDer is currently trying Algae Fix in a tank to eradicate
cladophora with the plants still in it but I am concerned it may not be
potent enough and copper sounds pretty strong.  I am looking to fry this
algae once and for all!

Thanks as always for your help.


Daphne


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