Hi guys,

I recently added more plants and two piesces of rock to my tank to aquascape it. The tank looked awesome for a day or two but then the plants started getting discoloured. I looked closer, and saw what looked to be little hairy brown things (Possibly Algae) on the plant leaves. Most of the plants have these growing on them. Only the top most two or three layers of ambulia are actually green, and from that point on everything is brownish. The L. Mauritius (Spelling) has also developed this hairy stuff, and its green has now turned into a brown.

My cousin tells me brown algae grows due to lack of light. I have 2 x 10W flouoroscent (One is Arcadia and the other one is some random brand) lighting the aquarium. And the plants with the hairy leaves are directly below the hood. The ambulia that I have placed in the front of the tank is perfectly fine, only the other plants have the hairy brown leaf problem. I remember this happpened when I first got my aquarium and planted it, and then It went away when I added lots of plants. Today I will be adding many more plants, hopefully this will stop the hairy stuff growing.

I was wondering if any of you knew why this happens, and why the ambulia at the front of the tank is not effected by this. Also the L. Mauritius (Spelling) is very similar to grass. Could it be that the close proximity of the leaves is obstructing flow of water and causing this problem? But this still does not explain why the other plants have it. This brown stuff is also growing on the driftwood and the heater and the filter.

Any help appreciated

Is the tank getting any direct sunlight??

I know my plants went brown when phosphates got too high, i'm not sure if it was that the phosphates were to high for the plants of just high enough to create algea growth either way it is a pain. The link below goes to another discussion about phosphates and their bearing on algea growth.

http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?t=3749&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Is the tank getting any direct sunlight??

Not At All.

The link below goes to another discussion about phosphates and their bearing on algea growth.

My tank has algae only on the plant, and its brown, not green.

I have added some more vallesneria and some bananna plant in hope of out competing the algay growth. This has happened to me before, it went away when I added more plants. I will be shortly adding Anubias Nana, Pine Tree, Java Moss and some other plants. Lets hope it leeches nutrients from the algae.

Algae is :evil:

I seem to get brown algae with not enough light, although some think it's from too much light (e.g sunlight). Who knows with algae??!??

as i understand it brown algae in low light, and green algae grows in high light.

that said there has to be an imbalance in the tank causing the algae growth, eg high phosphate levels (having this problem myself with resulting green water)

My water aint green. Caryl sent me a heap of plants and now I have a heavily planted aquarium. Now only time will tell if the plants stop going brown. Some of the ambulias are going green now.

i have a mix of both colours in my tanks - my large leafed plant (dont ask wat type i will get a pic added at some stage cos i always forget names) started off with green algae and cos it didnt get consumed by my algae cleaning fish it has started to turn brown and start to grow wisps....oh yay

gonna have to give it a good clean now

How long has the tank been set up breakaway? New tanks can lack fertiliser for the plants so they brown off a bit until the tank matures more.

Hay Caryl

The tank has been set up for about 5 months. Ive had this problem before, and It just went away as I added more plants. I recently added the plants that you sent me, and now my tank has lots of plants in it. It is lit by 2 x 10w Floro Bulbs. I am hoping that the plants compete with the algae and that they starve the algae of the nutrients it needs to survive:

IMPORTANT: Only the plants are going brownish, the tank walls are flourishing with green algae.

PS: Ive added some fertilizer when I aquascaped the tank. I used JBL's "The 7 Balls Fertilizer" - They are balls which are supposed to be placed close to the plants.

Any help on how to get rid of this menace will be awesome.

Thanx in advance

breaka\/\/ay