Brown stuff all over in my tank??

[Stephen Rollins]

Have brown stuff all over my plants and rock floor and decor. What gives ???

 

[Stephen Rollins]

Woops one of those pics wasn't suppose to be in there.

One thing that I'm thinking contributed to it was my heater broke and for a week my temp was down to like 72 degrees and I usually keep it around 80. I got a new heater and I had a spike in temp when trying to dial it in. One day when I got home it was at like 85 degrees. Now I have it at a steady 79 degrees. Could that have caused it?? Maybe some sort of algae ??
Please help me identify it ??

 

[Rutrag]

Looks like diatoms which ate a type of algae. What is your lighting schedule?

 

[Aquatic_Adam]

Looks like diatoms which ate a type of algae. What is your lighting schedule?

It is most definitely diatoms. They appear with newer aquariums. Although that last picture looks like your leaf may be dying.

I would be interested to know your lighting schedule also.

 

[Stephen Rollins]

It is most definitely diatoms. They appear with newer aquariums. Although that last picture looks like your leaf may be dying.

I would be interested to know your lighting schedule also.

My plants are all fake. And I do leave my lights on a long time. That might be the problem. I turn it on when I leave for work in the morning around 6 am and shut them off after dinner feeding at around 630 pm.

Is that my problem. Leaving the lights on too long.
I'm going to do my routine water change and cleaning on Sunday should I take all the plants and large rocks out and clean them off in tank water and the plants too and just gravel vac the gravel ?? How do I clean this stuff off. And what shoulda lighting schedule be?
Also some nights I turn on the blue LEDs for the moon light effect. Should I stop doing this ??

 

[Stephen Rollins]

It is a new start only about two months old

 

[jcolon]

Diatoms ... Aka brown algae. See the link below, occurs in newer tanks and diatoms need silica rich water to produce their shells that give that brown color.

The link below has some info
Greater Washington Aquatic Plant Association » Algae in the Planted Aquarium

 

[jcolon]

Too much light is not the issue with brown algae, the opposites's the case ... Older bulbs with too low a light I've read helps promote brown algae.

 

[Stephen Rollins]

Too much light is not the issue with brown algae, the opposites's the case ... Older bulbs with too low a light I've read helps promote brown algae.

Thank you

 

[Stephen Rollins]

How do I get rid of it ??

 

[Bobbybillymike]

You have driftwood in your tank correct? The brown film is coming from your wood. The spike in temp caused the tannins and dust of the wood to spread throughout the tank quicker, like putting a tea bag in hot water. It then collects on the usually hard to see algae film that form in all tanks. All you need to do is a 25% water change and scrub of the films on the hard surfaces then add new carbon to your filter.

 

[Stephen Rollins]

You have driftwood in your tank correct? The brown film is coming from your wood. The spike in temp caused the tannins and dust of the wood to spread throughout the tank quicker, like putting a tea bag in hot water. It then collects on the usually hard to see algae film that form in all tanks. All you need to do is a 25% water change and scrub of the films on the hard surfaces then add new carbon to your filter.

Yes I do have driftwood. But I don't use carbon in my filter only ceramic

It looks to be either. What your talking about and or the brown algae

 

[Bobbybillymike]

Driftwood gives off tannins which is the brown stuff your seeing in your aquarium. It then collects on film algae in the tank. Id just use carbon cause it's a lot easier than the alternative. It takes a very long time for driftwood to loose the tannins just sitting in the aquarium. You can speed it up by boiling the wood in water for a bit but it still may give off the tannins for a long time. Carbon will remove it easily though and it will improve the over all clarity and water chemistry of your aquarium. Ceramic is great for biological filtration but it won't clear your water.

 

[Stephen Rollins]

I am running a MAGNUM 350 filter. I don't have room in it to add more than one type of media. If I were to switch over to carbon I would loose most of my BB and risk a mini cycle.

 

[Bobbybillymike]

You might have to put an additional filter on for carbon. Or remove the driftwood.

 

[Borderlesscott]

It's just Diatoms - new set ups always get them, they not do any harm apart from annoy you. Easy to clean, though will probably be back shortly afterwards - they will go in there own after there food source is finished, usually happens close to the end of your tank cycle. IMO its nothing to do with your bogwood, you would have noticed the tannins in your water first if there was a huge release from the wood, boiling bogwood is advised though if you don't want tannins in the future.

 

[Rutrag]

I would get a cheap timer and cut the photoperiod to about 10 hours myself. It should go away on its own after they have consumed the silicates.

 

[Stephen Rollins]

I would get a cheap timer and cut the photoperiod to about 10 hours myself. It should go away on its own after they have consumed the silicates.

I put my lights on a timer last night so that they are only on for eight hours during the day thank you.

 

[Stephen Rollins]

It's just Diatoms - new set ups always get them, they not do any harm apart from annoy you. Easy to clean, though will probably be back shortly afterwards - they will go in there own after there food source is finished, usually happens close to the end of your tank cycle. IMO its nothing to do with your bogwood, you would have noticed the tannins in your water first if there was a huge release from the wood, boiling bogwood is advised though if you don't want tannins in the future.

Thank you for your advise

 

[Borderlesscott]

They drive me mad, I've an outbreak in a new 15g Ive set up recently. Not as bad once you have had them before in other tanks as you know what to expect, but the first time you get them, you clean and clean and clean, bloody things just come back until one day you clean and they don't return. I've found leaving them to go crazy for a week or two, letting them multiply and really getting stuck into there food source then doing a massive clean helps - maybe speeds up the process of them finishing there food in high numbers, rather than reducing numbers of them by cleaning and slowing down there process of eating silicates. Basically, the more of them there is, the quicker there food goes, the quicker they starve.