Brown stuff

[anthony96]

What is this stuff on my plant and how do
I stop it

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Is this a newish tank? It looks to be diatoms. It's a type of algae that grows in new tanks and feeds on silica. It will eventually burn itself out in a month or two. You can manually remove it if you like but it might come back.
The plant you have there looks like an aluminum plant which is not aquatic.

 

[ocminpin]

Yes those are diatoms. I have them in one of my tanks. I use a glass scrubber to get them off but they do continue to grow back. I'm told after the tank is well established 6 mths + that they will go away...

Luckily a scrubber is only $3.99 and it won't die on you

 

[anthony96]

I have had the tank for just about 2 year now. Also i have brought that plant at the fish shop so wouldn't that mean it is aquatic

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I have had the tank for just about 2 year now. Also i have brought that plant at the fish shop so wouldn't that mean it is aquatic

Diatoms can pop up in established tanks also. There's not much you can do other than manual removal. If your water supply contains silica you can have an on going problem. If that happens you can purchase fish like ottos to eat it.
Not necessarily. They either don't know or don't care that it's not aquatic. If it dies they think 'great that person will come back and spend money on more!' we've all been duped. I bought three huge bunches of purple waffle for one of my first tanks.

 

[anthony96]

Ok so is that plant any good and how do i get rid on the brown stuff

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Ok so is that plant any good and how do i get rid on the brown stuff

Scrub it off. One day it will just disappear.
If it where me Id remove the plant.

 

[anthony96]

Scrub it off. One day it will just disappear.
If it where me Id remove the plant.

Ok what is a good plant to get

 

[Mumma.of.two]

What lighting to you have? That will dictate what plants will do well in your tank. Most tanks with stock lights only have enough lighting to support the lowest of the low light plants like java fern, moss and anubia.

 

[anthony96]

Ok what i just have the stock light so what one do i need to get

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Ok what i just have the stock light so what one do i need to get

I'm assuming it's a single t8 (long bulb, one inch in diameter). To get more lighting to grow more plants you will need to upgrade your lights to t5 or t5ho fixtures and bulbs. What size tank? How tall is it?

 

[anthony96]

My tank is 2 foot long and 1 foot high

 

[Mumma.of.two]

My tank is 2 foot long and 1 foot high

You could try amazon swords and hornwort also. Look at the pictures if my 17g it has a single t8 and is roughly the same dimensions. It has windelov java fern, java miss and a val (which is kind of growing). There are plants that will grow under that light but as I said if you want others you need higher lighting. With higher lighting comes more demand for fertilizers and the need for co2 injection though.
Have a look around the planted tank sections.

 

[anthony96]

Ok what is the best fertilizer that you can get that helps them grow

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Ok what is the best fertilizer that you can get that helps them grow

Well that also depends in your setup. If you go low-med light most just use flourish, flourish excel and root tabs.