5 Gallon Tank Is this mold or algae?

Hi, so I bought an amazon sword plant a few weeks ago and today I saw there were algae looking growth on my sunflower house. However there were also some brown dots along with it so I don’t know if they’re all mold or algae.. If they are mold, what should I do?

 

Cant really tell from the picture but if its brown it could be diatoms. Is this a recently set up tank?

 

Cant really tell from the picture but if its brown it could be diatoms. Is this a recently set up tank?

Pretty much, yeah. I had this tank set up less than a month ago.

 

Is the flower the only place you are seeing it?

 

Is the flower the only place you are seeing it?

Yep, just the flower. I noticed it this morning so this probably happened overnight.

 

Im guessing it is diatoms (brown) and algae (green) because the flower is up closer to the light. How long is the light on?

 

Im guessing it is diatoms (brown) and algae (green) because the flower is up closer to the light. How long is the light on?

The pet shop employee had advised me to do minimum 10 hours so I keep mine on for about 10-15 hours a day.

 

The pet shop employee had advised me to do minimum 10 hours so I keep mine on for about 10-15 hours a day.

Yeah you are headed for some big algae. I would start at 8 and see how it goes and work up. You dont want to have to work down. Thats a nightmare.

 

Yeah you are headed for some big algae. I would start at 8 and see how it goes and work up. You dont want to have to work down. Thats a nightmare.

Lol. You saved my life Thanks for the help!

 

You will still get algae but you dont want a forrest...lol