Do I have Green Dust Algae zoo spores?

hywaydave

I started a brand new 45 gallon planted tank about 3 weeks ago. I noticed hundreds, maybe thousands of single tiny grey matter stuck to the glass swaying with the current. It seems to be getting thicker but not much over 3 weeks. It doesn't appear to be green so I'm not sure if this is the zoo spore stage of GDA. Am new to keeping live plants so I've been trying to figure out what this could be and if I could simply just clean the inside of the my glass. I know that if it's GDA, then I should just let it run its course. Hopefully these pics will help.

Byron

I have never seen this myself. If it is true GDA, here is some info written by Dusko Bojic that may help:

Green Dust Algae are actually zoo-spores and are commonly found on aquarium glass. They form a dusty looking, green patchy film and in severe cases can cover the whole aquarium glass. It's not known what actually causes this algae. Intense light is favored by GDA. Scraping it off the glass will not help remove this algae since it stays in the water and will float for 30-90 minutes before attaching it self again to the glass. For some reason those zoo-spores are avoiding plants, rocks and wood and always go for the glass. Limiting nutrients will not help fighting this algae but rather cause problems in planted tanks where plants will be exposed to nutrient deficiency and that condition will just favour other algae types. The best known solution, for how to get rid of GDA, has been discovered by Mr. Tom Barr. He claims that this algae should be left alone to grow, without wiping the glass for about 10-20 days. After this period GDA will start forming ticky patchy film that will start falling off the glass. When this starts happening it is good to remove this algae out of the tank. This method should keep this algae at bay.

hywaydave

Well, it didn't turn out to be GDA. I think it was just dead organic matter from when I had to almost completely empty my tank to move it just days after I started this brand new tank. I was able to wipe it off and it hasn't come back.