[Lee04]

This practically appears overnight! Every time I clean it out, it comes back. I've done research but I've come up with nothing on what it could be, or how to treat it.

Tank Specifications:
-Size: 10 gallon
-Lighting: LED, 10 hours usually
-Substrate: Sand, with a few root tabs
-Co2/Ferts: Excel and liquid ferts occasionally
-Plant: Dwarf Hairgrass (E. Acicularis)
-Filtration: Whisper 10x (also tried 20x)
-Animals: 1 Gold Tetra, 1 Ghost Catfish, 1 Amano Shrimp

Thank you!

 

[Lee04]

The tank has been established for about 5 months now, maybe more.
I feed the fish about once a day with a few flakes.

 

[Lee04]

It tends to form on the glass a lot, but it has only recently taken to growing on the hairgrass.
The amano seems uninterested in it, and the fish pay no attention.

 

[Lee04]

It's worse today, but good news...

...I think I know what this is- it's the dead form of brown algae.

"Minimizing their growth can be accomplished by turning the lights off during cycling.
These are photosynthetic creatures and will not do well in subdued lighting"
according to http://joejaworski.wordpress.com/2008/07/10/the-real-scoop-on-brown-algae/ .

Not only did I switch filters for a while, but I unintentionally left the lights off several days this week (finals coming, little sleep!).
I read somewhere that an abundance of nutrients can also cause this. I was dosing extra excel because I thought it was BBA.
Today I even noticed some live portions in a corner, thus confirming my suspicions of brown algae.

They say to get rid of it, I should add more plants to outcompete the algae, do extra water changes, or add sae's/ottos.