I have a 30 gallon long, with 2 amazon swords and dwarf hairgrass. I've noticed that my swords and hairgrass are turning brown and I also got some brown algae. For lights I have 2 26w 6700k spiral cfl, which I leave on for 12hrs during the day and a 13w red spiral cfl bulb for at night. I put flourish tabs on the sand about a week ago and this Sunday I dosed with flourish phosphorus. Please help me on why this is happening.
brown algae on glass & plants
- Thread starter alex07
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rich311k
Aquarium Advice Addict
Does the brown algae wipe off easily almost like dust? If it does it is probably diatoms which is a microscopic organism which feeds on silicates. it is common in new tanks and will go away on its own.
The swords and hairgrass turning yellow could be a lack of nutrients, which you just added so give them sometime to recover. It can take 30 days to see the effect of ferts on the plants.
It could also be a lack of light. It is hard to judge your light as those spiral bulbs have quite a bit of restrike and just may not be producing enough intensity for the swords and the hairgrass. A 12 hour lighting period could very well lead to algae and you may want to back that down to ten hours.
The swords and hairgrass turning yellow could be a lack of nutrients, which you just added so give them sometime to recover. It can take 30 days to see the effect of ferts on the plants.
It could also be a lack of light. It is hard to judge your light as those spiral bulbs have quite a bit of restrike and just may not be producing enough intensity for the swords and the hairgrass. A 12 hour lighting period could very well lead to algae and you may want to back that down to ten hours.
jcolon
Aquarium Advice Addict
How long has the tank been set up? Brown algae / diatoms is common in newly set up tanks and do go away when the silicas in the water are used up. However, if you use tap water for your pwc's .... The water may have silicas and the BA may stick around. Ottos I believe make short work of BA.
rich311k
Aquarium Advice Addict
That is on the low side for the plants in question, hopefully the ferts help. The brown is diatoms and should go away on its own.
jcolon
Aquarium Advice Addict
Ok ... the diatoms should go away on their own.
See the link below for info on diatoms
Greater Washington Aquatic Plant Association » Algae in the Planted Aquarium
Good luck!
