# Could someone please tell me what this is?



## Dman911 (Nov 24, 2016)

Looks like Clado to me.

Dan


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## JMally27 (Jan 19, 2017)

Thanks Dman911 But it's not Clado. Clado has more defind strands this is pure fuzzy like in texture.

I appreciate the help and response here.


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## Dman911 (Nov 24, 2016)

JMally27 said:


> Thanks Dman911 But it's not Clado. Clado has more defind strands this is pure fuzzy like in texture.
> 
> I appreciate the help and response here.



Hard for me to tell from the picture but its looks like clado but could also be cyanobacteria (BGA) if its more fuzzy like.


Dan


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## JMally27 (Jan 19, 2017)

Hey again Dman911

I found this pic and it is exactly what mine looks like. Apparently it's some form of Filament diatoms? 










Still no clear course of action


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## Dman911 (Nov 24, 2016)

JMally27 said:


> Hey again Dman911
> 
> I found this pic and it is exactly what mine looks like. Apparently it's some form of Filament diatoms?
> 
> ...



If its diatoms amano shrimp and otto's will love it. maybe try 4-6 otto's and manual removal for as much as possible?


Dan


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## klibs (May 1, 2014)

i have encountered this beast in the past. nobody could tell me what it was. i also believed it was filamentous diatoms which is NOT an algae and therefore really hard to kill. does not respond to chemicals and nothing would eat it despite others claiming they would. it crushed my HC and was really hard to pick out

people claim it is caused by excess silicates in the water (like other forms of diatoms) and I tend to agree for the most part. I only get this stuff under the following circumstances: too much light in a newer tank

if it is growing slowly then you are fortunate. remove as much as possible and tone things down a bit IMO. in my case it BLEW UP and covered everything like the above pic in a matter of a few days. this was back when I was starting my first high tech setup.

my issue was i had a newer tank (diatoms are common in newer tanks) with too much light and not enough healthy plant mass. once I let healthy plants grow in it went away and I could get away with higher light again. was not an easy battle.

because of this experience whenever i start fresh i do the following... I highly recommend this method. never again will I start out with something like a carpet plant. they always get crushed by algae of some sort while the tank becomes established... IMO this is hard to avoid unless you take things slow:

run medium light, plenty of CO2, moderate but adequate ferts
use lots of healthy, fast growing, easy plants that suck up tons of nutrients (rotala, water sprite are two of my favorites)
keep an eye on things
when diatoms come (they always do in some shape or form for me) just keep things controlled and continue to focus on growing huge plant mass with easy plants
once things are stable begin to swap out starter plants for long-term plants for the scape. do this slowly (aka not all at once) so that the tank remains balanced
eventually you will be fine

patience is key... this whole process takes me at least a month. also, I stock a few batches of fish during this time so the tank is in good shape by the end of the starter period. always QT the fish!


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## JMally27 (Jan 19, 2017)

Thanks for the suggestions kibs

As basic as it may seem I've been thinking it may be a light issue. Thankfully this algae hasn't taken over and falls off pretty easily. I'll remove my reflectors on Sunday during the WC and see if that helps. I already have the scape so I'll have to add to it. And on that note do you have a specific rotala you think I should go for? I'm asking since there are several.

Also, I have watched a onion nerite eat this algae before. Not enough to address the amount that's in there but I'm certain they eat it in small doses. 
@Dman911

Pretty stange that I there doesn't seem to be a name for it. At least, one that I can find.


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## Dman911 (Nov 24, 2016)

JMally27 said:


> Thanks for the suggestions kibs
> 
> As basic as it may seem I've been thinking it may be a light issue. Thankfully this algae hasn't taken over and falls off pretty easily. I'll remove my reflectors on Sunday during the WC and see if that helps. I already have the scape so I'll have to add to it. And on that note do you have a specific rotala you think I should go for? I'm asking since there are several.
> 
> ...



I'm at a loss but will be paying attention here as there are lots of people with immense experience I'm hoping can shed some light. I took note of Klibs comments as it seems he has dealt with this before incase I ever run into this.

Dan


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## Zorfox (Jun 24, 2012)

It looks like rhizoclonium to me. 

I would do a 3 day black out (cover tank and turn off lights). Turn off CO2 during the blackout. Change at least 50% of the water 2-3 times a week adding Excel at the full recommended dose.


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## GrampsGrunge (Jun 18, 2012)

If you turn that tank over to about a 100 CRS they'll beat it down good, it'll take a few months. It's what I'm feeding my CBS as it grows well in really soft water.

@ the OP have you checked your tap water for general hardness? This kind of algae will disappear if your calcium levels are sufficiently high. Buy some Calcium Sulfate and get your GH up to about 4~6.


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## JMally27 (Jan 19, 2017)

Zorfox said:


> It looks like rhizoclonium to me.
> 
> I would do a 3 day black out (cover tank and turn off lights). Turn off CO2 during the blackout. Change at least 50% of the water 2-3 times a week adding Excel at the full recommended dose.


Finally :x:x:x:x:x

At first I didn't think it was the same strain of algae mainly because the first google images all have this as a green alage. But a little digging confirmed it can also be brown in appearance.


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## guvmarley (Oct 3, 2015)

GrampsGrunge said:


> If you turn that tank over to about a 100 CRS they'll beat it down good, it'll take a few months. It's what I'm feeding my CBS as it grows well in really soft water.
> 
> @ the OP have you checked your tap water for general hardness? This kind of algae will disappear if your calcium levels are sufficiently high. Buy some Calcium Sulfate and get your GH up to about 4~6.


Were you saying that rhizoclonium doesn't like high GH? Or did you mean diatoms? I seem to have the same algae as the OP but my GH is much higher than 6.


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## GrampsGrunge (Jun 18, 2012)

guvmarley said:


> Were you saying that rhizoclonium doesn't like high GH? Or did you mean diatoms? I seem to have the same algae as the OP but my GH is much higher than 6.


I should say that the stuff that grows in my outdoor stock tank over the winter has a strong resemblance to rhizoclonium, and my CBS shrimp go absolutely nuts over the stuff. Because of the rain that wakes it's way in my stock tank sometimes ends up being about 1~2 GH by the time I get it prepped for spring, and it coincides with the bloom of 'fuzzy' diatoms.


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