Gda?

[cnicula]

I have been running my tank for 2 months now and have not had any success with what I believe to be GDA but it is growing on the plants and the glass. Can GDA grow on plants? It seems to be growing on the slower growing plants more than the stem plants but it is on both. I have been doing weekly 40-50% water changes, following Excel but non-co2 EI dosing. It takes the glass about 4-5 days to get a light dusting on it but the plants get a dust looking cover on them after a day or 2 of cleaning them off.

My question: is this GDA? If so, I will leave it alone instead of continuing cleaning it and see if it will mature after a few weeks and then I will clean it. If it is not GDA, what recommendations do you have? Possibly get some Otos? Right now I just have clown loaches and they don't touch it and no snails. The algae is also growing a bit on the ecocomplete substrate. I am worried with how bad it is growing on the plants that it is suffocating them.

Pic 1

Pic 2

72 gallon
130watts CF lighting
4:1 RO/DI to tap water for water changes
Fluval 405 with full length spray bar with good surface agitation
Rio 800 powerhead with air venturi (added a week or 2 ago with little affect except slightly better plant growth)
EcoComplete substrate

 

[cnicula]

HELP! I am at a crossroads if I should leave my tank alone or continue cleaning it. I have taken some new pictures and attached is a slideshow with them that better illustrates the algae. To me, it looks like dust algae but doesn't match up with the details of green dust algae. This started immediately after setting up the tank and just hasn't left. I was cleaning the plants twice a week and water change 40% once a week. This slideshow shows what some of the plants look like after a week of not being cleaned:

Picasa Web Albums - Chris - 03_21_2009

Should I:
1. Clean up the tank again and continue to try battling this?
2. Let the tank sit (no water change or disruption) and see if the algae matures and dies off?
3. Change the water but be careful to not disturb anything?
4. Empty the tank and buy a betta bowl?

 

[crystalview]

I got 4 nerites to help with the GDA. Took several days for them to work on it. It then gave it a chance to go through its growth cycle and now its gone. Here is where I got my nerites

The Planted Tank Forum

 

[VaughnH]

I have been running my tank for 2 months now and have not had any success with what I believe to be GDA but it is growing on the plants and the glass. Can GDA grow on plants? It seems to be growing on the slower growing plants more than the stem plants but it is on both. I have been doing weekly 40-50% water changes, following Excel but non-co2 EI dosing. It takes the glass about 4-5 days to get a light dusting on it but the plants get a dust looking cover on them after a day or 2 of cleaning them off.

My question: is this GDA? If so, I will leave it alone instead of continuing cleaning it and see if it will mature after a few weeks and then I will clean it. If it is not GDA, what recommendations do you have? Possibly get some Otos? Right now I just have clown loaches and they don't touch it and no snails. The algae is also growing a bit on the ecocomplete substrate. I am worried with how bad it is growing on the plants that it is suffocating them.

Pic 1

Pic 2

72 gallon
130watts CF lighting
4:1 RO/DI to tap water for water changes
Fluval 405 with full length spray bar with good surface agitation
Rio 800 powerhead with air venturi (added a week or 2 ago with little affect except slightly better plant growth)
EcoComplete substrate

Is the tank a bowfront, 48" long, 22" high? Like this:

When I was struggling with GDA many months ago, I thought the green fuzz algae on the plants was GDA also. It appeared with the GDA, and went away with the GDA. Eventually I decreased my light intensity and that helped a lot in getting rid of it. If your tank is like the one above you may have too much light, even with only 1.8 watts per gallon, for a non-CO2 tank. If the light fixture has a good reflector I'm pretty sure it is too much.

 

[crystalview]

Vaughn had me reduce my light and raise my light above the tank. I bought brackets made for this, at AL's