# strange brown web-like stuff? algae?



## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

The "webs" on the pennywort are roots. The dark stuff on the roots and your moss is algae. I'm not sure which algae off the top of my head.


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

Here we go. It looks like Rhizoclonium algae: http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm


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## pandamonium (May 14, 2012)

thanks vicki, i had no idea what it was. i knew the pennywort had the roots growing off the side, but the reason i mentioend it is because the roots are normally white, but they were brown here. its strange that the cause is lack of maintenance. i just did a water change and its been tehre since. my parameters dont suggest lack of maintainance. i guess its the flow. ill readjust it to get sufficient flow. in the meantime, can i just go through and pick up all the algae off with a stick or something?


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

I'm not positive it's that algae. It's hard to say with just pictures. You have to look at the suggestions and see if they match what you see and know about your tank. If they match, then it confirms the suggested ID. If they don't match, then the suggested ID is probably not right.

If it's not diatoms or rhizoclonium, then I'm not sure what kind of algae it is. Basically, run through the basics of algae control: check lighting, CO2, ferts, plant mass, water parameters, water oxygen levels, circulations, and anything else I may have missed. Try hitting it with H2O2 or Excel. Eventually, you'll figure out what will control it and, hopefully, what caused it so you can avoid it in the future.


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## pandamonium (May 14, 2012)

i dont run CO2 on my tank and i just dosed my weekly fert today (flourish comp). my water parameters checked out ok and oxygen i think is good? my fish are not gasping. i may have too much lighting (10 hours a day) i may dial down to 9 or so. see what happens. i dont think its toxic but its just aesthetically unappealing. im scared to use excel as i have heard about its effects. H2O2 i may try if i can find some around the house


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

What affects have you heard about Excel? As long as you don't dose the wrong amount, there's nothing wrong with it. It's just more expensive than H2O2 so I generally prefer H2O2 for algae treatment. I still use Excel for certain applications.


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## pandamonium (May 14, 2012)

i have read that a lot of people dont like using excel or it had negative effects on their tank. for me, i know its basically a medical disinfectant and handling it requires a lot of care. i dont really want to deal with it after seeing the MSDS of a similar chemical. i do know that it kills algae but from the sources i have looked at on this forum and others, they say that it has negative effects as well. personally i just want to avoid it to prevent any bad luck from going my way haha  i will use H2O2 if i can. how would i use it?


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

Okay, that's fine. Just don't look up the MSDS of H2O2. :biggrin:

Basically, measure out 1ml of H2O2 per gallon of water. Put it in a syringe. Turn off your filters. Squirt the H2O2 directly onto the algae. Once you've finished with all the H2O2 for the tank, turn off your lights. Wait 15 minutes. Turn on your filters but not the lights. Wait another 15 minutes. Turn on your lights. That's it! Do this daily until all the algae is dead.

This page may also help you with using H2O2 for algae: http://www.gpodio.com/h2o2.asp


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## pandamonium (May 14, 2012)

i swear everything is poison! yeah i looked it up. well as long as it can work to help me clear out this stuff. its like if biofilm rolled in saw dust. thats what it kinda looks like or if spiderman's web got covered in sand. 
ill try this method if my cleaning method does not work. probbaly only on the java moss not on the pennywort.


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

It's all atoms put together to form molecules. How we use them is what makes the difference between useful and harmful.

You can test a small area to first see if the H2O2 is even affective against the algae. If it is, then you can consider treating the rest of it. If not, then you haven't used it in the tank needlessly.


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## pandamonium (May 14, 2012)

yeah we learned that in organic chemistry. move 1 single atom or mirror the configuration and you have something either poisonous or life saving haha. or in the case of prilosec/nexium. one is a pure mixture of active medicine while the other is a mixture of an active and inactive form. conspiracy....
ill check today about the H2O2 after i clean out as much as i can normally. the weird thing was when i was pruning some java and pennywort to put into my other tank, the second i put it in, all my platies tore through it and those clods are spotless now


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

Well, that may be your answer. Put some of your platies in the tank to clean it up!

Actually, platies are known for eating algae. If you could find out which kinds of algae they eat, it might give you a clue as to which algae you have.


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## pandamonium (May 14, 2012)

i dont know why i didnt think of doing that. problem is my platies all died  they were about 4 or 5 generations in bred and they started dropping yesterday. i have had them for years so i guess its just old age. dang i should get them in here to do some clean up but they are also retired haha i guess ill just clean it on my own. shouldnt be too bad.


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