Major Algae Dilemma

[richardhmc]

I have a 10g planted tank and I've been having some algae problems due to the over use of light

-two 19w spiral bulbs
-eco complete dirt substrate
-3 anubias nanas
-microsword
-java fern
-AC 20(MINI)

I can see green and brown algae on the glass, but there is like this brown dust looking like stuff on everything - driftwood, substrate and plants. Is this another form of algae?

Also, on the glass there are these long strands of something that looks like spider webs on the glass. What should I do?

[jpappy789]

Diatoms is the brown algae. Common in new tanks and should go away on it's own. It may take a while though. I've heard up to 8 months. Just scrub it off for now.

[Fordtrannyman]

How long has this aquarium been set up? Do you have fish in it? are the bulbs Daylight Bulbs?
Looks like diatoms to me. Which is pretty characteristic in new aquariums.
Diatoms are usually lack of light in established aquariums.
Use an aquarium sponge scraper or magfloat to clean the glass.
Rub the leaves of the Anubias, it should come right off.
50% Weekly water changes, and some Excel dosing should be all that is needed.

Do the things on the glass move and wiggle? If so, might be Planaria.

Is your substrate 100% Eco? Did you buy it new? When did you buy it?

I have a couple 10gal tanks with 2X14Watt Spirals, 1XEco Complete-1XSMS & AC20's.
I run the lights for 12 hours, no excel, no C02, no ferts. Both Heavily Planted. They do great.

[richardhmc]

The filter itself has been established over couple of months... maybe when i added the dirt and and new water it reset the establishment?

No, it isn't planaria I know what they look like. These things look like spiderweb strands hanging off the sides of the wall and algae.

100 eco complete, i bought it about a year ago? a little less maybe

What kind of plants do you keep?

[shapeshifter]

Diatoms...like has been said. some of it is due to the slow growth of the anubias, lighting adjustments and manual cleaning of the leaves may be helpful

[Fordtrannyman]

The filter itself has been established over couple of months... maybe when i added the dirt and and new water it reset the establishment?

No, it isn't planaria I know what they look like. These things look like spiderweb strands hanging off the sides of the wall and algae.

100 eco complete, i bought it about a year ago? a little less maybe

What kind of plants do you keep?

So, is this a new setup? And is it 100% Eco? Or did you add dirt?

I don't know what the spider web things are. Could be Hydra, the start of Staghorn Algae or Fuzz Algae.

The plants in the tanks that were mentioned. Consist of Lace Java Fern, Java Moss, Corkscrew Vals, Asian Ambulia, Dwarf Sag., Regular Java Fern, Anubias, Stargrass, Tropic Sunset, Water Lettuce?, Hornwort, Needle Leaf Java Fern, Peacock Moss, Guppy Grass.

[johndoughy]

I've heard people doing counter-intuitive things like fertilizing when they get blooms of algae. It increases the rate and quality of growth of the plants, and if you have rapid growers in the tank, it will out-compete the algae. But your plants are a bit hardy for that, I think.

Unless you have something in your tank that LOVES a variety of algae(nerite snail, etc), any algae you don't like you can just scrub off. Get a magnet scrubber, they are ingenious and readily available. :thm:

[richardhmc]

Okay, I completely cleaned the tank, got rid of all the algae, and put new water into it so now there is just driftwood in there. However, there is still all this dusty looking stuff floating around. Could it be from the dirt? I took the substrate right out of the bag, nothing added.

[Jag1980]

Might want to try a larger filter or a power head at the opposite end of the inlet to keep debris from settling on your plants.

[jpappy789]

I've heard people doing counter-intuitive things like fertilizing when they get blooms of algae. It increases the rate and quality of growth of the plants, and if you have rapid growers in the tank, it will out-compete the algae. But your plants are a bit hardy for that, I think.

Unless you have something in your tank that LOVES a variety of algae(nerite snail, etc), any algae you don't like you can just scrub off. Get a magnet scrubber, they are ingenious and readily available. :thm:

Adding more nutrients wouldn't be a good idea, in fact, it would probably cause different types of algae to grow. Anubias are slow growers therefore they don't use a lot of nutrients. Adding fertilizers won't change that. If you are looking for a fast nutrient absorber to out compete algae something like hornwort would be much better. But with diatoms nutrient levels isn't the issue. It's generally said to be caused by leaching silicates in the aquarium glass, thus it's common in new tanks. Other people say it's low light or trace amounts of ammonia...whatever the cause I would say waiting is the best method. In most cases it just goes away on it's own.

[richardhmc]

Okay, I still have the problem and I took some better pics

I googled up "spider-web in fish tank" and I found out that it could be fungus?

Can anyone confirm that?

You cant really see it but on the glass there is a wall of the same stuff