Algae?

[dan290888]

I recently bought an aquastart 320 on ebay. I thoroughly cleaned it (just water btw, no soap) and thoroughly rinsed the gravel. I left it half full and the next morning I noticed some snails... they have now been removed and fortunately there doesnt seem to be any more (2 weeks later). I enquired as to what the previous owner kept and it would seem they had live plants, hence the snails.

Anyway fast forward a week or so and my betta has been in there for about a week along with his decorations. The filter and heater were moved over from his old tank so didnt cycle. He was flaring up quite a bit at his reflections but was soon comfy and happy in his new tank. In the last 3 or 4 days I have noticed a brownish furry algae on the ornaments, filter and plastic plants. I have now moved him to his old tank untill I sort this out. There is also now some on the glass...

Light was on for probably 10 or 11 hours a day which I guess is partly to blame? Also with the weather the temperature has been a little higher than normal but not to much.

Just wondering what type of algae it is, what causes it and what I can do to remove it and prevent it from happening again.

I am currently planning on thoroughly cleaning the tank and ornaments again and replaceing the gravel with new gravel.

 

[lljdma06]

The algae here are diatoms which are very common in newly setup aquarium and it indicates that the tank has not yet fully matured (cycled) or you are undergoing a min-cycle, or you have minute traces of ammonia that triggered the algae. It can be wiped with a soft sponge for aquatic use and usually goes away once the tank is cycled completely and the substrate matures.

llj

 

[dan290888]

so nothing for me to really do then? accept wiping it off? is it ok for my betta to be in there still?

Thanks

 

[lljdma06]

so nothing for me to really do then? accept wiping it off? is it ok for my betta to be in there still?

Thanks

Yes, wipe it off and do regular waterchanges. Your betta will be fine.