Brown Stuff on gravel?

[Mecha Ghidrah]

Alright so far my tank has been mostly incident free except for a disastrous water change that I attempted and I want to keep it that way and I have noticed Brown Stuff on the gravel. I have no idea if it is some kind of algae or just gunk accumulating on the bottom (my cories take no notice.)

I have scrubbed some of the gravel to get rid of it but a week later it reappeared in a different spot.

Help incase it is a problem that gets out of hand.

 

[tomtom14]

It could be hair algae. This looks like brown hair. Could you post a pic of it.

 

[Mecha Ghidrah]

Sadly I cannot but it definitely wasn't hair algae as the stuff I have is just a fine layer of brown.

 

[bogart]

Sounds like alge to me.

 

[jwh0818]

Sounds like diatoms. They feed on silicates in the water. How old is your tank?

 

[Mecha Ghidrah]

A few 4-5 months I had this tank.

I made an interesting development while cleaning the filter. On the back of the cartridge thing their were clumps Brown black stuff that looked like hair? Could it be both as my brown gravel came before I replaced the filter yet it hasn't grown up, only spread to other gravel and decorations.

 

[jwh0818]

Dont replace the filter pads. Thats normal. Just rinse them in a bucket of old tank water to preserve the bacteria