Rusty Substance On The Rocks, Bubble-wall And Decorations?

[arbatey]

So, my love for fish rubbed off onto my mother and she bought her first tank about two months ago. We got her a 20 gal to start off with and see if shes really into it before we go big.
I went over the house today to visit and there was this rusty substance on the bubble curtain, on the shell decoration that she has, and also is now on the rocks. If you scrub the rusty stuff, it comes off, but then it comes right back a bit later. Looking just like rust. It is a rust color, brownish-redish.

Does anyone have ANY clue what in the heck this could be? If so, how can I fix this for her?
She looks to me for answers b/c she is quite a newbie, however I have never experienced this problem before, therefore I dont have an answer.

Any help on the subject would be much appreciated.
Thanks a bunch .

 

[wendywc]

How quickly does it come back? I want to say brown algae, but I'm not certain.

 

[arbatey]

Comes back the next day really. I have never seen it in any of my tanks.
I just have no clue what it could be.


It is growing not only on the decor and bubble wall....but now ALL over the rocks. None on the glass at ALL. But it is on everything else.

HELP!

Thanks...AMY!

 

[cujoho78]

Hi. It sounds like brown algae or "diatoms" to me. I have it in my tank. People say it is common in new tanks, yet my tank is 4.5 months old and i still have it. I clean it off every now and then and it takes a few weeks before it covers everything again. It's not really a big deal. Do a google search for diatoms and you'll find more info.

 

[arbatey]

No, this stuff is back within a DAY.
I have NO freaking clue what it could be. It definitely isnt brown algae.
Help!!!!

 

[Shelly_Otterkin]

If she does not have any live plants clean the "rust " off and then turn the lights off for a couple days. See if that helps. If it does limit the amount of time the lights are on daily.

 

[kuruptedseed]

Could be from hard water.. I get that on my glass and decorations.. Little different than brown algae I think.. as my pleco eats the brown algae and leaves the rust looking stuff

 

[helterskelter]

It's not lime scale caused by hard water thats white.

I'm sure it's an algae, get a small pleco, a BN or clown as these stay under 6" and will clean it up.