Brown Algae...pearling?!

[trojannemo]

hey guys.

need a little bit of help. i'm getting a lot of brown algae (exclusively brown, no green, no bba, etc).
its very soft and easy to scrub off with my thumb. it comes off completely off the leaves when i do that.
then it comes back again.


I know you want to know all the information about the tank lighting, nutrients, etc - but before i get into that, i'd like
to know, in a vacuum, what you think kind of algae this is? what's typically the cause?


also, for the first time ever, i'm seeing pearling in my tank, but it's not the plants, it's the ALGAE...all over the tank
where there is algae there are many oxygen bubbles too...i thought pearling came after having enough CO2,
and algae typically from not having enough, so how do i have both?

thanks as usual

 

[aaronnorth]

it is diatomic algae, common in new setups or after a overhaul of the tank due to detectable/ undectable ammonia.

Not by silica as commonly thought.

pearling occurs when the water is saturated with O2, so therfore anymore produces is seen through bubbles on leaf tips,
the other way is when the rate of production is faster than the rate of absorption.

this is achieved more frequently through CO2 injection due to quicker growth rates, but is still possible in any tank.