Is this algae? What do I do about it?

[jlinsey]

We have a 6 gal tank started up a month ago. We have a platy and a tetra plus 8 baby mollies which are in a hanging plastic frame/mesh enclosure. There is starting to be filmy stuff growing on the rubber parts of the heater and the thermometer. The platy eats this stuff. Is this OK or should I remove and clean the heater and thermometer? Also, more recently, there are dark gray/green patches of stuff growing on the mesh of the baby enclosure. Do I need to clean this and if so, how? TIA
Today's params: ammonia 0, nitrite 0.5, hardness 75, alkalinity 0, pH 6.8, nitrate 10

 

[jcarlilesiu]

is the stuff on the heater and such brown?

can you describe in more detail the stuff on the net... or include a picture?

Many new tanks have a small outbreak of algea. Most likely this is due to not being aged and stable... usually these small outbreaks go away on their own, but I would think a little encouragement from you wouldn't hurt... i.e. rinse the items under water and it should come right off if its what i think it is.

Don't worry about the platy eating it, think of it as him having a salad

 

[YuccaPatrol]

It can take a few months (at least) for a new aquarium to reach a steady balance. During this time, you are likely to have algae blooms from time to time. Eventually, things will settle down.


Like the other poster said, you can clean most anything in the aquarium with just a little scrubbing.

More partial water changes over the next few weeks will help too.

 

[Japola44]

I have the same sort of problem in my 55gal i just take a sponge and wipe it off the sides. Its pretty easy to get off. If you don't want to get your hands wet you can buy an algea scrubber from petsmart. I don't expect they would cost too much.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Sounds like diatoms (the normal brown algae that new tanks get). A good way to get rid of it...is patience. It will eventually go away on it's own. But, if it gets to be too much of an eyesore, you can simply scrub it off.

 

[anythingscales]

If everything in the tank is brand new, it will be 4-6 months to establish. You will go through brown algae and green algae, which is normal. Just clean it regularly and it should go away with water changes. Do 30% water changes every couple days and it should help alot. I started a tank 3 months ago and Im barely getting established.