Black/Brownish Algae or Diatoms? Help!

[marqhead]

First post - sorry if this is the wrong place.

I have a 55 gallon tank freshwater tank, it's been set up for a couple of years. I have this blackish, brownish algae on everything which has been persistent for several months. I think it is diatoms, but i am unsure.

Can anyone identify this? If so, how do I get rid of it?

Photo attached

 

[ImACoolguy]

Yarr!!

The scourge of many, myself included at one point...

Black beard algae! Also known as black brush algae or BBA for short.

BBA can be caused by a number of things.

Do you have any invertebrates like shrimp in the tank?

If not, I would do spot treatment with Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2). You get to watch that devil burn! And in a few days it will die and you can remove it by hand.

Typically I don't recommend more fish to fix a problem but if you have the tank size and the space, a Siamese Algae Eater will clean the stuff up like a buffet! I have one and he has eaten every last speck of it in my 75g in a matter of a few weeks.


Caleb

 

[marqhead]

Thank you!

No invertebrates, and I definitely have the tank room. I was looking at solutions to the wrong problem, now I should be able to handle it.