Please Help

[Luke Griffis]

Hi, I have no clue what this is in my tank. It has completely taken over and is all on my plants and on the side of my tank. It it like little clear tube things all over. Can someone help me determine what it is and how to combat it? I will attach some pictures below. It is in a 20 gallon with 10 danios, 4 albino corys, and some ghost shrimp. I do 35% water changes every 5 days and 60% every 2 weeks. I also vacuum the gravel to make sure it is clean. My main concern is if it is harmful or not.

 

[75g Discus Tank]

I can’t see it well enough to get a positive ID.

It looks like biofilm to me though.

 

[Luke Griffis]

I can’t see it well enough to get a positive ID.

It looks like biofilm to me though.

Here's some better pictures

 

[poppinpinto]

Here's some better pictures

Looks like hair algae growth. U have an imbalance in your tank. Could be to much light or to much fertz or to little fertz. Nothing to worry about. Just got to find the right balance.

 

[Luke Griffis]

Looks like hair algae growth. U have an imbalance in your tank. Could be to much light or to much fertz or to little fertz. Nothing to worry about. Just got to find the right balance.

So it's not harmful? Also, could I put a sheet over it to block out all of the light for a few days to kill it like you would with regular green algae?

 

[poppinpinto]

I wouldn't block out the light. Is your light on a timer? And what light do you have ?

 

[MN Mike]

it looks like you have live plants, so there is definity an imbalance in the tank. It sounds like it has a fairly high stock. What are your test readings?

 

[Luke Griffis]

it looks like you have live plants, so there is definity an imbalance in the tank. It sounds like it has a fairly high stock. What are your test readings?

I'm not entirely sure. I ran out of test strips and I haven't been anywhere to get more. I have had this tank set up for over 4 months now and have had 0 issues and then last week the stuff I was talking about appeared all over. And yes they are live plants. I will get some test strips sometime this week.

 

[poppinpinto]

Florida flag fish Siamese algae eaters amano shrimp could help you get rid of some algae.

 

[Luke Griffis]

I wouldn't block out the light. Is your light on a timer? And what light do you have ?

It is a florescent light that came with it. It is on a timer and comes on at 10 am and goes off at 9 pm

 

[poppinpinto]

It is a florescent light that came with it. It is on a timer and comes on at 10 am and goes off at 9 pm

To much light. Plants only need (don't quote me on this) max 7 hours of light. I would reduce your light time to 7 hours. After 7hrs plants stop photosynthesizing almost like they go to sleep. That's when your different algae take advantage of the unused light. Try it it's an easy fix. Can't guarantee that is the problem but it's something u can cross off the list.

To much light. Plants only need (don't quote me on this) max 7 hours of light. I would reduce your light time to 7 hours. After 7hrs plants stop photosynthesizing almost like they go to sleep. That's when your different algae take advantage of the unused light. Try it it's an easy fix. Can't guarantee that is the problem but it's something u can cross off the list.

Again don't lose sleep over it. Algae is not a bad thing. It can be very beneficial. People give it a bad reputation because it's not pretty.

 

[Inactive User]

Again don't lose sleep over it. Algae is not a bad thing. It can be very beneficial. People give it a bad reputation because it's not pretty.

Agreed, and it looks like to be a very small accumulation of hair algae. I'm currently in the process of establishing (tweaking ferts, adjusting photoperiod) a 1-month old, cycled planted tank and there's long tendrils of hair algae and spots of diatoms all over the place.

 

[Luke Griffis]

it looks like you have live plants, so there is definity an imbalance in the tank. It sounds like it has a fairly high stock. What are your test readings?

Just got some test strips

Nitrate: 30
Nitrite: .5
pH: 7.4