OMG Brown Crud on my Plants!

[TMaier]

Ok what is this! I tried wiping it off and it's stuck on there good...
I have read about Brown algae and Diatoms. But I'm not this is either one.

How do I kill it.

It offends...




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[TMaier]

Here is another pic.


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[LiQuiD]

Here is another pic. View attachment 287798

You can spot treat with peroxide and see if that helps. Also, do you use C02? I have had this kind of algae when it was a little unbalanced.

 

[Caliban07]

So tell us little bit more about the tank.

Is it any of these ?

http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm


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[TMaier]

I don't use Co2. It looks like brown algae but it does not wipe off. It is not slimy or have filaments.

My ppm run about 250. PH is 6.8 to 7. Ammonia and nitrites are 0. Nitrates have been increasing of late to 40 so I have been doing 30% weekly changes and vacuuming well. Gh is 60 and Kh is 40.

AqueoN LED lights, 2 strips running 13 hours a day. I do not know the PAR.

Here is a pic from one week ago.


I have been slowing replacing my biological medium to Biohome mini and ultimate over the past 3 weeks. Removing the ceramic rings and bioballs a bit at a time.

I suspect I need to take the ornamental air bubbler out. This is robbing plants of co2.

I need to treat the plants with peroxide(3%).

Vacuum well and perhaps a 50% water change.

I think I may have way to many nutrients in the water.

My plants are in glass containers so I can remove them to treat them. I'm thinking I spray with a little peroxide and let it sit for a minute and then rinse in tank water?

The plants are all due for a new root tab as well. It's been almost 2 months since the last one.

What do you think? Sound like a good battle plan?


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[TMaier]

Here is info on the lighting.
http://youtu.be/d5exK6JWRPc




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[johnt2k14]

I am having a similar issue and would like some suggestions for how to treat, please.

year and half old 30ga.
fully stocked with fish and half dozen amazon swords, floating pennywort and a few small single plants here and there and some java moss.
0 ammonia/nitrites
50% pwc 1/week at time of change, nitrAtes 40-50 ppm
single 30" finnex fugeray planted+ on 8 hours, 7-11am and 5-9pm

Attached is an example of the brown crud in my tank. It is kind of fluffy looking and doesn't really wipe off easily. I've had diatom issues when the tank was first stood up but hadn't seem them for a long time. Now this brown stuff has shown up.

Would anyone know what this stuff is (is it algae?) and an appropriate way to treat it?

So, what is different if the brown stuff is new. Only guess is that my otos (5) died during an ich outbreak 2 months ago and I haven't replaced them. They may have been keeping this stuff in check? But my tank is already fully stocked and so I can't add them back at this time.

-John

 

[Caliban07]

I don't use Co2. It looks like brown algae but it does not wipe off. It is not slimy or have filaments.

My ppm run about 250. PH is 6.8 to 7. Ammonia and nitrites are 0. Nitrates have been increasing of late to 40 so I have been doing 30% weekly changes and vacuuming well. Gh is 60 and Kh is 40.

AqueoN LED lights, 2 strips running 13 hours a day. I do not know the PAR.

Here is a pic from one week ago.
View attachment 287821

I have been slowing replacing my biological medium to Biohome mini and ultimate over the past 3 weeks. Removing the ceramic rings and bioballs a bit at a time.

I suspect I need to take the ornamental air bubbler out. This is robbing plants of co2.

I need to treat the plants with peroxide(3%).

Vacuum well and perhaps a 50% water change.

I think I may have way to many nutrients in the water.

My plants are in glass containers so I can remove them to treat them. I'm thinking I spray with a little peroxide and let it sit for a minute and then rinse in tank water?

The plants are all due for a new root tab as well. It's been almost 2 months since the last one.

What do you think? Sound like a good battle plan?


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What do you mean glass containers?

If defo start by reducing the photoperiod by about 5 hours.

We've talked about flow before and established this is adequate. Spraybar?

Water changes will help. Vacuuming not as important. Can't remember the last time I did that but you'll want to remove any dead/dying leaves.

I'd remove the bubbler and focus on good surface ripple. Add the tabs after some nice water changes.

What's your bioload? I'm trying to think of everything else I would do before suggesting additional co2. Some tap waters are naturally high in co2 and so it can help to do more frequent water changes.


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[TMaier]

Yes my plants are potted. Think of me as a woman who likes to move furniture.

I know plants do not like to have their roots disturbed. This was my solution. So I could move them around, vacuum and focus the root tab ferts.

Not sure what you mean by defo? But I do think the lights are on too much and need to get a timer.

Yep I have a spraybar. But I still wonder if the flow is adequate.

I have no idea what my bioload is. I monitor weekly and no issues so far. This is the first time I have had this happen. No new fish. Just the new media.

My tap water is toxic, I'd don't even let my dog drink it. I use RO/DI water with Seachem Equilibrium to add back the needed minerals.


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[Caliban07]

Yes my plants are potted. Think of me as a woman who likes to move furniture. View attachment 287842

I know plants do not like to have their roots disturbed. This was my solution. So I could move them around, vacuum and focus the root tab ferts.

Not sure what you mean by defo? But I do think the lights are on too much and need to get a timer.

Yep I have a spraybar. But I still wonder if the flow is adequate.

I have no idea what my bioload is. I monitor weekly and no issues so far. This is the first time I have had this happen. No new fish. Just the new media.

My tap water is toxic, I'd don't even let my dog drink it. I use RO/DI water with Seachem Equilibrium to add back the needed minerals.


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Defo means definitely sorry. Must be a British thing.

Your water seems ok and we can sort the light out.

Flow could be an issue. If your unsure, many recommend flow in the 6-10 x turnover bracket for planted tanks.

I'm not sure about these pots. I worry about oxygen to the roots but not wholly convinced it would be an issue either.

Let's get light sorted first and we can take it from there. I've had this algae before mainly on plastic plants.


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[TMaier]

Hahaha thanks for the new slang. I'm a California girl and had no idea what you meant.

My canister is supposed to run 265 gph. That's close to 9x the tank capacity of 30g. But I know they never seem to flow like advertised.

The pots are a bit of an experiment. The glass is 1/2 diameter so I am hoping there is a bit of flow in those little roots.

Thanks for your advise. I tore it all out as planned and honestly down in the bottom was an unspeakable horror the amount of uneaten food and crap. My nitrates are reading at 10 at the moment now that I have cleaned a good amount of it out and changed the water.

I also purchased a few tiger snails. My mystery snails really don't eat the algae. Hoping the Tigers will take care of it or keep it down. Once they get out of the bag they can get to work.


Now off to hunt through the garage. I know I have a timer out there somewhere.


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[Caliban07]

Hahaha thanks for the new slang. I'm a California girl and had no idea what you meant.

My canister is supposed to run 265 gph. That's close to 9x the tank capacity of 30g. But I know they never seem to flow like advertised.

The pots are a bit of an experiment. The glass is 1/2 diameter so I am hoping there is a bit of flow in those little roots.

Thanks for your advise. I tore it all out as planned and honestly down in the bottom was an unspeakable horror the amount of uneaten food and crap. My nitrates are reading at 10 at the moment now that I have cleaned a good amount of it out and changed the water.

I also purchased a few tiger snails. My mystery snails really don't eat the algae. Hoping the Tigers will take care of it or keep it down. Once they get out of the bag they can get to work.
View attachment 287847

Now off to hunt through the garage. I know I have a timer out there somewhere.


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Haha you're welcome. I'm sure there's lots of weird and wonderful Californian slang that awaits me.

So what is your substrate now? Is this a very recent picture? Have the plants been removed from the pots?

The Tigers will not let you down. I can attest to that.


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[TMaier]

Plants are still in their little pots with fresh root tabs and the glass. I'm sure it seems positively sacrilegious to you. Or ludicrous.

I guess I am more of a fish tank with plants as opposed to a planted tank.

If my little experiment fails I will remove the victims and just invest in a broader range of Java and Anubis species. Anything with above ground roots.

Can't wait for lights on this morning to see if there is improvement.


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[Caliban07]

Plants are still in their little pots with fresh root tabs and the glass. I'm sure it seems positively sacrilegious to you. Or ludicrous.

I guess I am more of a fish tank with plants as opposed to a planted tank.

If my little experiment fails I will remove the victims and just invest in a broader range of Java and Anubis species. Anything with above ground roots.

Can't wait for lights on this morning to see if there is improvement.


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Not at all. If that's how you want to keep your plants that's your prerogative all I can do is offer my advice. ?

Hope it works out for you. Keep us posted.



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[TMaier]

Not at all. If that's how you want to keep your plants that's your prerogative all I can do is offer my advice. ?

Hope it works out for you. Keep us posted.



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Thank you!

Just flipped on the lights and the fish are not gasping. So the air bubbler being removed hasn't had a negative impact on the fish.

The brown crud might have decreased but too soon to tell.


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[Caliban07]

Thank you!

Just flipped on the lights and the fish are not gasping. So the air bubbler being removed hasn't had a negative impact on the fish.

The brown crud might have decreased but too soon to tell.


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I didn't think switching the bubble off would be an issue. Just aim for a nice surface ripple without breaking the surface at all times.


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[TMaier]

How's this? Too high?


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[Fresh2o]

The only issue I can see with using pots and stem plants is proper stem spacing. Stem plants should not be planted in "bunches" like a bouquet. The stems need adequate spacing for light penetration and water circulation. Else, the lower leaves fall off and the stem eventually rots.
I prolly vacuumed my planted tank 1-2 times in the last 3 years. There is a TON of crud in the substrate. Moving plants results in a brown cloud.


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[Caliban07]

How's this? Too high?View attachment 287858


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Looks OK to me. Although you are correct when implying that surface agitation drives of co2 there is another notion that surface movement is a good thing In a non co2 injected tank.

Surface agitation encourages equilibrium levels of co2 with atmosphere. In aqueous solution of pure h2o depending on temperature and atmospheric pressure this is around 0.5ppm. I have seen literature that suggests that in an aquarium this rises to about 1-3ppm depending on tank dimensions and other internal factors.

This may not sound like a lot when compared with the magic 30ppm number aimed for when gas injecting but the theory is that because the agitation is constant, supply is continuous and therefore the plants are not carbon limited. The other benefit is that oxygenation is also increased which is always beneficial to the ecosystem.

This is one of the reasons I believe my Walstad attempt failed. Surface agitation, filtration and water changes are discouraged and flow is usually minimal. Soil substrates also add to the biological oxygen demand due to the bacterial breakdown of organic matter. Low oxygen levels and poor flow leads to stagnant areas and anaerobic conditions which places extra burden on plants and fish. When the plants are suffering they begin to exacerbate these condition due to leaf dropping/decaying. The plants may then carry out the process of photo respiration whereby they use more oxygen and stop producing it efficiently which means they are unable to supply oxygen to the rhizosphere to keep the substrate well oxygenated and the microorganisms happy.

I was losing a fish a day at this point. Night time must have been rough ?This is why I now try to encourage good flow and distribution so that gases are adequately circulated to all areas of the tank.

The surface agitation method for non co2 tanks hasn't been tested by me personally but it seems to have worked for others along with a large surface area to volume ratio and it's worth noting. I know what I would do differently now if I ever went no co2 again.

This is my rationale when it comes to keeping plants in glass pots at least but I am probably theorising too much as usual. ?





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[TMaier]

Hahaha you're theorizing and I'm just doing without enough theorizing.

Fresh I will separate my stems!

Caliban some of the plants are definitely doing better than others. But I realize it could turn any time.

Here is my corkscrew and you can't even see the dwarf sagittaria back early May.

Here they are today.


The corkscrew will need to be put in a bigger container next month if the roots keep growing at the current rate. The sagittaria has sent out side plants and they are as big as the original plant I bought. I may have to split it too!!!

I can't remember what the little reddish plant I have is called but is definitely struggling.


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