Hair algae?

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jackreeman2

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Hi there, I set up my tank 10 days ago now, and I've had 2 danio in there to help start the "cycle". The last 2 days or so, I've noticed a type of algae starting to grow quite rapidly on a few leaves of the plant, the glass and on other ornaments in the tank. I read somewhere online that it is called Hair algae.
My question is, how do I get rid of this bloom that's popped up? Or atleast reduce it.
I'm intending to do a 25% water change every week so I'm assuming this will help?

There is also an oily substance on the surface of the water, is this something to do with the algae?

Thanks in advance!

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It will help to have more data. Algae is natural and normal, but with live plants we need to keep it under control, and the only way to do that is by having the light (intensity, spectrum and duration all factor in) balanced with the available nutrients so plants use them and algae is disadvantaged. In new tanks there is another twist, and that is the instability of the system, so algae again can take advantage. Still, I have always found that starting off on day 1 with the balance can beat even this.

Can you detail your lighting? Be specific. Also, are any plant additives being added, and if yes, what and how much? And what is the plant load like (a photo of the entire tank will answer this easiest). And what is the tank size?

The surface issue is probably a protein film that develops in some tanks, not in others, more or less. Planted tanks seem especially prone. It is not really a problem, unless it becomes thicker and this can impede the oxygen/CO2 exchange at the surface. I have this regularly in only one tank, and not every week at that. It comes and goes. The above info will relate to this too. The easiest way to deal with it is to siphon it off during the water change by inverting the water changer from under the surface so it sucks in the surface water. Tedious, but the best method.

Water changes can be increased (volume, the once a week is fine). I change 50-60% of each tank weekly regardless of plants or fish load, and this is a good habit to develop.
 
Here are some pictures of my lighting and tank.
I'm not adding anything to the water to help the plants as my local aquatics store told me it wouldn't be necessary.
9a3028fcbd51b485ed6fb5401f8d8f4a.jpg
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Do you know the name the store gave to the stem plant in the back? I thought at first it was an Alternanthera reineckii, but am more inclined to think it might be a Ludwigia glandulosda. Stem plants do need brighter light, though the Ludwigia might be OK if that is what this plant is.

The light, do you have a spectrum (Kelvin number, or CRI number)? It may be minimal in the red, which is important for plant photosynthesis.

The algae is brush algae, which has a couple of different forms. I don't know much about LED light, so my suggestion would be to get some floating plants and some lower plants like the chain sword. How long is the light on daily? And is it on a timer so it is consistent day to day?
 
I'm not adding anything to the water to help the plants as my local aquatics store told me it wouldn't be necessary.

That is probably your problem. Hair algae thrives in water with extremely low levels on nutrients. If you have all the nutrients plants need (there are 14) at a sufficient concentration for growth the plants will grow but algae will have a hard time and can die out.

Most tap water is generally missing some nutrients and two fish in the tank don't eat enough to produce a lot of nutrients.

The light, do you have a spectrum (Kelvin number, or CRI number)? It may be minimal in the red, which is important for plant photosynthesis.

Plants are mot efficient at gathering Red and Blue light. But they will also use yellow, orange, and green light although efficiency is very low at those colors. The white LEDs will provide green, yellow, orange, and some red with some blue. The additional blue less also help. But without a lumen rating it is impossible to know if they are bright enough. But if all nutrients are present in the water the plants should grow.
 

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