Hi all, new to the group, nice to meet ya! I have a new tank, cycled, with 2 emerald crabs and a cutie of a Lawnmower Blenny. I also have a bit of algae growth, kind of brownish/green so not sure if it's brown or green. all the images I have seen in my research are either such a bad case I can't really compare or they show the image through magnification and I just haven't picked up that high powered microscope yet:)! Maybe someone can identify it for me. It doesn't look real worrisome to me but what do I know. I really wrote because I was wondering if anybody knows why it seems to grow in horizontal lines a symmetrical distance from each other? I'm just very curious about this growth pattern and can't find it referenced anywhere.
Thanks, Jennifer

Diatom algae. Nutrient problem. No biggie. Do a water change after you scrub it off. Or even better.scrub and siphon it out at the same time if you can. That would be optimal. Your tank must be pretty new....?

Thanks you two, did some reading and looks like you are right on the mark. Do you use a silicate test kit to maintain that fine line between just enough and too many diatoms or do you just eyeball it? We had not much success with the first couple fish, ich, so put in meds and took the carbon out of the filter, maybe this is why it grew so much this week. I know this, the Blenny (Benny, probably the equivalent of Snowball for a white cat:) would not be so happy if it were all gone. He leaves the funniest little pucker marks all over the tank! (There is a question in there, I'm babbling on - having so much fun with this, maybe I'll make up for that D in high school chemistry after all.)

Jig, you can take a turkey baster and gently blow this garbage into the water and let the filter take care of it. double up on your filter maintenence until its gone [its a normal phase in a newer tank] might i suggest a couple power heads too, the more water movement the less chance algaes have to settle and grow. keep the tank out of direct sunlight as some algaes are photosyns, watch the amount of food your feeding, you've prolly already read all this but it caan't hurt to repeat - - -

i have 2 clowns and I love them, healthy happy charectors your son will love em, god bless and continuous recovery to him and your fasmily, welcome to the fish world!!!!!!!!!!!!

the Snowboss

What kind of filter are you using? Do you have a protein skimmer? If not, buy one, a saltwater system without a skimmer is like a car with four doughnut tires. Sure it will roll....but not for long. Welcome to the site. These guys are about the most friendly people of any site.

Thanks everybody! My son now has 2 emerald crabs, 4 scarlet hermits, a cleaner shrimp, and one Blenny with a voracious appetite. Algae a problem NO MORE! The Blenny is hilarious to watch and my son gets a kick out of putting his finger in the tank for the shrimp to "clean". Very cute:)