what kind of algae is this

[gaya]

I have what looks like stringy dust on some plants. It's beige in color. It almost looks like food or poo that is real fine. If i shake the plant some of it comes off. I can't seem to get rid of it. For now i've decided to do daily water changes and hopefully that will do some good. I'd like to know what it is and haven't come up with much in my searches.

 

[George Farmer]

Hi Gaya,

It sounds like a form of filament algae very similar to a type I had when I just started out in the hobby. I could actually syphon the individual hairs off using an airline.

What's your tank size, lighting type/spec, planting etc?

Nice homepage BTW

 

[gaya]

Hi Gaya,

It sounds like a form of filament algae very similar to a type I had when I just started out in the hobby. I could actually syphon the individual hairs off using an airline.

that's the same as hair algae right? Is that what i should do to get rid of it...or w/c's?

What's your tank size, lighting type/spec, planting etc?

I can't remember the name of the plants. They are free floating and grow like vines. Tank is 30g and lighting is 1.5 watts/g

Nice homepage BTW

[snapback]899658[/snapback]​

thanks! and thanks for responding

 

[George Farmer]

Remove as much algae as physically possible first. You then need to identify the cause of the algae and remedy that. That is the hard part.

My pinned algae article should help but is quite long - in summary you need to balance your lighting, nutrients and planting. Is your lighting suitable for a planted tank? How long do you leave the lights on for. 5 hours on, 2 off, 5 on works well - a plug-in timer is ideal if you don't use one already.

 

[gaya]

I really should invest in one of those timer things. Right now my lighting schedule is all screwy due to my screwy class schedule.