Sandy Looking Tree on Glass

[Sadial]

I have no clue what is creating this artwork on the glass of the tank. It looks like a negative of a tree - only made of sand. I have been scraping the walls of the glass with an ice scraper (there has to be a better way?) and periodically I find these markings. If I scrape it, it peels off like a thin film. Can you tell me what it is or what is making the marks?

Back to the ice scraper thing. As you can see, I have this hard green algae growing on the glass (green diatoms?). It is super tough to remove. Is there a better way to clean the glass than with an ice scraper? I have an algae magnet but it won't make this stuff budge.

Thanks

 

[zach_1_6]

you could try a razer blade from an exacto knife i use that kind of blade on my tanks to get the algea off hope that helps

 

[Shrimp fan]

If you have live rock in the tank it could be something in there doing that when the lights are off.

 

[Sadial]

Thanks Zach - I'll try the razor blade.

 

[Sadial]

Shrimp fan - I do have live rock. I was wondering if something was climbing up the walls from the sand. I'll have to grab a flashlight and see if I can see anything later on. It happens in my refugium, too. Weird.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

...I have been scraping the walls of the glass with an ice scraper (there has to be a better way?)...

There is.

Pro Scrapers with Stainless Steel Blades | Algae Removal | PetSolutions

Mag-Float Cleaner | Algae Removal | PetSolutions

Regarding the tracks... I have *no* idea what those are from. Weird. Almost looks like some type of sponge, but I've never seen it grow up from the sand. Kinda looks like snot, which makes me think dinoflagellates. Might Goggle that and see if it looks like what you're seeing.

 

[Sadial]

Thanks Kurt - those look perfect. Glad I asked.

Yeah, it does look a little like snot and grains of sand. The trunk part looks sinuey and it forms really quickly (it can appear like that in under an hour). I checked out 30 pages of dinoflagellate images but I just don't know. I did have a problem with them a few months ago. There were air bubbles attached to the dinoflagellates in my tank and this has none. However, there are probably different types of dinos. I left it alone last night and it appears that the peppermint shrimp ate it.