# Algae Emergency



## Marmillian (Sep 25, 2012)

Hello one and all. I am a newbie to aquaria but am doing as much research as possible. My 55 gal is a week old and i have been monitoring levels every day.

An algae that I cannot identify has been propagating on my Mapani driftwood but only on the lighter surfaces. The algae has also began on a food wafer as well as on a algae wafer. I feed very slightly every day crushed flake for my two hatchetfish.


----------



## Marmillian (Sep 25, 2012)

*Helllooooo?*

Did I stump the panel? 16 views and 0 answers?


----------



## Tino (Sep 10, 2012)

Looks like Diatoms to me (brown algae) it's harmless, if you can scrape it off easy with your fingertip then it's definitely Diatoms

Welcome to the forum!


----------



## Y2KGT (Jul 20, 2009)

You have to remove uneaten food items such as algae wafers otherwise they'll start to fungus as yours are now. 

You are probably seeing the same fingus on your mopani. Did you soak the wood for a few days prior to putting it into the tank? You may want to take it out and scrub it and rinse it before putting it back into the tank. 

A successful tank is all about balance and a new tank will be out of balance for several weeks. Do your weekly 25% water changes in combination with gravel vacumming to remove all foods and fish waste from the gravel and eventually the tank will be in good shape.
--
Paul


----------



## Marmillian (Sep 25, 2012)

Thanks for the info, Will post outcome


----------

