# Brown Hairy Stringy



## DANIELSON (Jul 15, 2010)

I have the same problem but in the early stages of this not sure what to do either just reduced the photo period and picked up 6 oto cats that seem to be cleaning it up.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Increase circulation by adding a powerhead in that area if you can. Also, excel and H202 will quickly kill it if you want a quick fix, but it'll come back if you don't fix the issue.


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## Sharkfood (May 2, 2010)

Looks like there's alot of crud built up on the algae and plant leaves, so yeah, I'd say you need more circulation. Kill the algae, then put your hand in there and shake the muck off the leaves. You're always going to have problems if you let detritus cover the plants. Algae likes the stuff, and it keeps the plants from photosynthesizing adequately. If CO2 is king for the high tech planted tank, then circulation is the queen, or a high ranking noble at the very least. 

add:

I see that you have a Fluval 405. That's a pretty good sized filter for a 30gal. Im surprized you have junk settling on things. Maybe just repositioning the outflow pipe might give you better circulation.

I'm not a lighting expert, but it doesn't seem like your lighting is too excessive. Maybe a more knowledgeable forum member can comment on this.


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## Green024 (Sep 19, 2009)

I think sewingalot was correct about this stuff, snag a power head and increase your water circulation. Maybe its just me, but spraybars for filter outputs tend to slow your flow down some as it is. Try to suck out as much as you can during your water changes as well.


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## Justice Bucket (Jul 24, 2010)

Thanks for your replies. I have the spray bar directed partially at the back glass because I don't want too much surface agitation. I have a betta plus keeps co2 bubbles longer. I really don't think it's circulation because the plants are always jiggling from the power of the filter.


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## littlefish (Aug 6, 2010)

Is Staghorn Algae and it's cause is poor water circulation and low co2 level.
Make sure you have good water circulation, reduce feeding, vacuum the substrate and remove mulm. Overdosing Flourish Excel usually helps.


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