Algae Problem?

[vic fish]

Hi

I've had a small godlfish in a tank for around 2 months.

I have one real log and one real plant in the tank.

The log is covered in a brown "fuzz" - is this algae or something? It doesn't seem to be harming the fish or discolouring the water.

Any comments would be appreciated. Will I be able to go to my aquarium and get some treatment? I guess I could take out the log and clean it, but I am interested to know what it is.

Thanks in advance.

 

[bricko]

Sounds like algae to me. I have the same thing in my new tank. I believe this is quite common in new tank setups. The best way to combat algae in new tanks is to plant with fast growing stem plants which will out compete the algae for nutrients in the water. These will also make tasty snacks for your goldfish and will probably need to be replaced quite often.

How big is your tank?
What lighting do you use and how long per day?
Do you add ferts to the water for plants?

You can get hair algae treatment from most pet store (at least in the UK anyway) but you would probably be better off removing the log and giving it a good soak in hot water and scrubbing the excess algae off.

If you go to the planted tanks section of this forum there are some good pinned topics on combating tank algae in a planted aquarium. See link below;

http/www.fishforums.net/content/Plants-a...anted-Aquarium/

Good luck with the tank,

 

[Corleone]

Sounds like brown algae. It's fairly common in new tanks, as it thrives on silicates that leach from the seals and glass. It usually goes away or gives way to green algae over time. In the mean time, it's harmless and very easy to clean - a magnetic scraper will take it off glass, and you can wipe it off any smooth surface just with your finger.

I'd stay away from most treatments. It's usually best to find the root cause of algae and treat that, rather than using chemicals (some of which can harm your biofilter) or algae eaters (which can sometimes actually contribute to the problem). In this case, the root cause is just the young tank, and it should clear over time on its own.

 

[vic fish]

Thanks everyone, I'll try scraping off the algae and see how that goes.