Diatoms or algae?

[Lonewolfblue]

When I set up my 29G, it started getting diatoms, which is normal. Had it in all my other tanks when starting them up. But I've never seen anything like this. Is this diatoms, or is this a form of algae? It's texture is like diatoms, but I've never seen it this bad or long. And it's all over everything, plants, driftwood, parts of the gravel, etc. Should I even be worried? lol. It also rubs off real easy, and floats all over the place.

 

[GlitcH]

Wish I had a clue.......but I can't say that I've ever seen that before.

 

[Purrbox]

Looks like Staghorn Algae to me.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I had staghorn in my 75G, and no comparison. Staghorn is tough to remove. This stuff wipes off with ease. And it's real soft.

 

[czcz]

That looks like stuff I'd treat as hair algae. Many twirl a toothbrush in it for easier removal. You should check your nutrients -- ime it is related to N deficiency but my guru gets it when he lets N climb past 40ppm under high light. It is almost always an N or CO2 thing.

But maybe its just diatoms that are stretched out. Diatoms are always more "clumpy" brown masses for me though.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I checked my parameters today.

Ammonia 0ppm
nitrite 0ppm
nitrate ~10ppm
phosphate 1ppm

Today I dosed 6ppm nitrate and .5ppm phosphate after running the tests.

No CO2, I only use Excel in the tank.

I'm used to them being clumpy masses too, but in this tank there's a little bit of current flow, which I'm thinking is why they are stringy. Could be the hair algae too. Does the hair algae feel kind of like slime, and is soft? The stuff breaks apart real easy. I tried a brush slow and easy, but the stuff just disintegrates. I just now turned the flow down a little.

 

[malkore]

I had junk like that too in one of my 20gals that was always getting BGA. I eventually treated the BGA with antibiotics, and that wiped out whatever this stuff is.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

So would I use something like Maracyn Two?

It's getting worse, lol. It's covering everything. Here's the pics.....

Edit:
Well, cleaned up a little more of the mess, lol. Bet you can't figure out how, lol....
Turkey Baster
Yes, it actually worked very well. It just sucked right off the plants, no pulling necessary. So it it's not diatoms, then it's BGA? It's soft, no real consistancy, and falls apart when you try to remove it manually with a brush.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Wel, after looking and looking and looking and looking, lol, I've come to the conclusion that more than likely, it's brown algae, or diatoms. From what I read, brown algae prefer low light. So that is the reason I'm thinking this, as during the day, there isn't much growth, but at night, the growth explodes, and everything is covered in sheets of the stuff. I did read up on hair algae as well, and it said the easiest way to remove it is by twirling it in a stick. But this stuff, if you try to twirl it on a tooth brush, it just discintigrates. Impossible to remove. So that's my conclusion. Any other comments out there?

Also, here's the site where I got some good info on it.
http://www.fishpondinfo.com/plants/algaetypes.htm#hair

 

[fishshl]

From your latest pictures, it looks like brown algae. I have them two weeks ago.
It grew quite fast, on the glass, plant leave and gravel, almost everywhere.
After I upgraded my light from 15w to 65w 50/50 on 20 H, it stopped growing.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Yup.....

But my only problem was is I've never ever had it this bad, lol. I had it in all my other tanks, but this one was really bad.

Oh, and if you get it again, Turkey Basters work great, lol

 

[czcz]

Got otos? If it is in fact diatoms a crew will clean that up in no time.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

The lfs here won't get any otos for some reason. I'd have to order online to get them.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Update:

I now believe it was diatoms. Just a real bad case. It's now virtually all gone. I do see a little left in the L. repens, but it's about gone. Which is a good thing, lol. Never seen it that bad before.