# Help please!..New tank - long light brown algae strings



## Chris 2020 (9 Nov 2020)

Hi all,

I have a newly setup 75L heavily planted tank, that I’ve been cycling for about 4 weeks. It got hit with long greyish, light brown algae strings mainly on the the moss around week 2.5.

Mostly all plants were grown from culture pots and have grown like a rocket in Tropica soil, in addition to medium co2 running one bubble every two seconds & 16W of LED for 8 hours. Most of the plants are easy & medium category.

The algae is very easily removed by combing with a toothbrush, and once out of the water looks much more brownish.
Once removed it strangely reappears again by the next day, just as bad, but never on the glass or hardscape and not like usual dusty diatoms.

I Initially started the cycling off with seachem stability & am still dosing prime every couple of days, owing to 1ppm nitrite. Nitrates aren’t too bad at 25ppm. .

I’ve been dosing 1 squirt of Tropica specialised since week 2 daily & been doing 50% water changes twice weekly after clearing the algae, as it also leave a lot floating in the water column.

Please see the attached picture, where you’ll also notice it strangely looks like cobwebs!

I found another picture of something looking the same on a new tank, mentioning it may be filamentous diatoms?

Thanks
Chris


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## Wolf6 (9 Nov 2020)

I recommend starting with 6h of light maximum on starting tanks, and recommend lowering it back to 6 until you have it under control for now. Keep manually removing and remove plant parts where you cant salvage it, you can try spot dosing excel of easycarbo onto it as well, though mosses dont like that either. What colour is your CO2 meter? I only had these algae once when I just started, and I didnt manage to get it under control because my light intensity and duration were too high. I started over and lowered both from the start, didnt see them again. I had a platy who loved to eat the strings, perhaps that can help?


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## Chris 2020 (9 Nov 2020)

Thanks, I thought of lowering the light duration, although I was concerned that it might effect the other plants that are thriving and have grown so incredibly well in just a month.

Seeing that it’s pretty much on the entire moss and little else, I’m guessing that I would loose all the moss if I spot dosed it or removed it, so will keep pulling it out with a toothbrush every couple of days.

Co2 is running quite slow, only 1 bubble per seconds with the drop checker a dark green once its running. I’ve kept it down as all but two of the plants are easy category and even the medium category have grown very well too.

I’m just wondering if this is a type of diatom from the tank still finishing its  cycling, it may clear up on its own when the cycling is complete.


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## Pawmoc2323 (18 Oct 2021)

Hi 
Did it go away? 
I have similar issue at the moment. 
Similar set up and it is mailny on mosses.


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