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