Algae Issue

[CambridgeFish]

I've had my 29 set up for about 6-8 weeks now, with the same lighting timing for that entire time. [12-2, 4-10]

In the last week or so, algae has sprouted up all over the tank, including the rocks that I have dug into the substrate. All four walls of the tank have fairly significant algae growth. It looks brownish to me, definitely not a bright green, and the water is clear.

Is there a way to tell if this is Diatoms or a different kind of algae? I have read the stickied algae info, which says that if it's Diatoms it's likely to fade away after a short while. If it isn't diatoms, do I need to reduce my lighting amount? And will that affect my plants, or is the algae showing up because the plants aren't processing everything as it is?

[Lab_Rat]

Can you rub the algae off easily? If so, that's diatoms. They should go away on their own, they're typical in a new tank set up. You can also wipe them off if they're bothering you.

[Jeddi]

Yup, diatoms most likely. It it sort of dusty? They'll go away on their own eventually once they suck up all they can use but you may want to wipe the glass down anyway every so often-- I once went weeks without doing anything to them and the diatoms formed a really hard film on the back that was almost impossible to get off.

[CambridgeFish]

Can you rub the algae off easily? If so, that's diatoms. They should go away on their own, they're typical in a new tank set up. You can also wipe them off if they're bothering you.

Yep, it comes right off if i slide my finger along it, and i can even rub it off with the net if i slide that up and down the slide of the tank, although that leaves streaks.

Should I ignore it then temporarily? If I clear it off the walls of the tank will it come back, as it hasn't finished eating the silicon?

[Spardas]

You can clean it off weekly when you do your water change. It'll keep the tank nice and clean looking.