What is this and how do i get rid of it?

[MyCatsDrool]

I believe this is also the film on my glass that i scrape away with a credit card.

 

[rich311k]

The leaves looks like BBA. Which is normally caused by low of fluctuating CO2 levels. How much light is on the tank and do you fertilize? Are you injecting CO2 or adding Excel? What are your test readings?

 

[MyCatsDrool]

All in my 55 log.

 

[rich311k]

Looks like your dosing is ok. That means this is a CO2 problem. DIY in a 55 is borderline at best. i saw you had 24ppm. I imagine that it bounces around a lot as mixes age and ambient room temperatures change. You really need to get a pressurized system. If you do not have any vals or anacharis supplementing with excel may be a good idea.

 

[Purrbox]

Some of that looks like it could be diatoms. Does it brush off easily? If it does, it's diatoms and will go away on it's own after awhile.

However if it clings stubbornly to surfaces and plants, then it's BBA and Rich is dead on with his assesment. If you can't go pressurized right away then I'd recommend adding another gallon bottle to the rotation. This will help to get levels above 30ppm. If you can keep it above 30ppm, then the fluctuations won't be as likely to encourage algae.

 

[MyCatsDrool]

Thanks. with the new powerhead, adding another gallon of CO2 shouldn't be too hard

 

[Gillie]

If you get a few Florida Flagfish they would absolutely love to take care of the bba on your plants.

 

[MyCatsDrool]

would an excel OD work to get rid of this?

 

[Gillie]

Not sure, I was plagued by this algae at one time no matter what I tried it would not die finally it killed all of the plants in my 55 gal Apisto tank. I later found out it was a delicacy for the Flagfish.

 

[fish_4_all]

Spot treating with Excel in the rtecommended dose works to kill. Overdosing can kill your fish so it is not a good idea. I don't know what levels are toxic but have heard a couple different stories of it killing the fish.

 

[Zezmo]

Might not be BBA, the blurry pic makes it hard to tell. The color suggests a thick grown Stag algae. Also the shape, though blurred, is more like stag tha that of BBA. BBA tends to grow little tuffts, eventually the tufts will grow together.

The second pic just looks like basic mulm or brown diatoms building up... i vote mulm. Very typical to find it in hardware aspects of the tank.

Either BBA or Stag are easily killed by Excel. Many animals each algae, but no animal will keep you algae free as long as conditions favor algae over plants. CO2 is usually the best first place to look in preventing algae.