Weird Plant problem

[Ellenquacker72]

Don't know what to do about this, my plants (java fern and moneywort) are covered with a brown kind of crust. I can't tell if the money wort is dying or not (I suspect it is because it is currently only under 30w in a 20g tall) because I can't see the green beneath it. Sometimes if I bend a leaf, the crust peals away. At first I thought it was diatoms, but it doesn't cone off easily. It has to really be rubbed. On the fern it's different because one time I left the brown on for awhile (about a month) and rubbed it off, the fern had a richer greener colored spots underneath. And some of the leaves look ripped sort of... It's hard to explain, but it's really getting annoying. And some of the JF leaves have brown spots? I dose some flourish comprehensive every few days. All I have for fish right now (and have ever had) is 2 platies... Could this still be diatoms? I have it starting to grow on my rocks. I have almost no nitrates in my tank ( don't know why) not sure about silicates (is that what they're called?) but I'm on well water if that helps at all. I've heard they cause diatoms.
I really would like to get some otos sometime, but I almost always seem to have a trace of ammo in my tank. Which is kind of weird... But the tank is cycled.

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[jcolon]

Does kind of sound like Diatoms, it's about what's happening to my ferns. Ground water can have a high silica content. Ottos may be your best bet since PWC's just bring in more silicas.

 

[aqua_chem]

Ottos are a definite possibility. Also, dosing Excel will go a long ways towards eliminating diatoms. Worked like a charm in my 10g.

 

[-Mac-]

Your tank and mine got up and running about the same time, yes? I noticed a crazy outbreak of red/brown type of algae that I needed to pretty much scrub away. If you're able to rub it off a fair bit and then do a pwc and perhaps move to 2ml/day dosing of excel? When I came home from the family visit, I had to do that and in the month since I've been back, it hasn't returned.

 

[Ellenquacker72]

Must now do research on excel...

 

[Ellenquacker72]

Research didn't really help haha. What is excel and how does it help diatoms?
Thanks

 

[-Mac-]

Algae Control With Flourish Excel | Aquariums Life

You should be well beyond the diatoms phase, I'd think. You may have the red/brown algae that I had, which is much stiffer? I guess than diatoms. This was the first link I found that explains why it works, there used to be a better one.

 

[Ellenquacker72]

Yes Mac, that sounds exactly right. It came the aame time as diatoms, (which went away) but the stiff stuff stayed. Il try the excel when i get to the petstore soon.