If anyone's wondering, just letting you know how my battle turned out with the Green Dust Algae.
Round 1. I attempted the wait out period. It worked for the most part, I had some of it fall off and most of it brown. But after the first time I methodically wiped it off the glass, there must have still been at least one spore left. Needless to say, the cycle started all over again.
Round 2. This time I continued to wipe it off after each water change, making sure to have my gravel vac right by where I was wiping the glass and making sure to not let any of it back into the water column. Fail. It always came back week after week. Albeit, it looked less and less in appearance, but if given enough time, it would once again spit in my face and coat the glass.
Round 3. I have since KO'd the GDA algae. The cause? Phosphates were much too low. I ordered a Seachem phosphate kit to see what my levels were. They were not even detectable. I have since increased phosphate dosing dramatically, and the GDA is almost gone now. Very little remnants of it left. Well, and it certainly helped to add a bristlenose pleco to help with the cleanup. I reward him for his hard work frequently with fresh cucumber and algae wafers.
I'll be making sure to pick him up some lettuce and zucchini next time I go to the grocery store.
Moral of the story? Don't let algae get you down and keep trying different methods until you get to the cause of the problem. Since adding the phosphate, the growth on my glosso has really taken off. I think it was the growth-limiting-factor in my tank.
Hope this was a helpful read for anyone else dealing with the same issue.
