Brown algae bloom on plant leaves?

[sushiray]

I occasionally get this brown bloom in the tank (I think some say it's not algae but diatom bloom) due to lighting being on too long.

I normally scrub everything down when I do a w/c b-4 I intro'd my plants. just did an 80% w/c scrubbed the tank glass & bare bottom but not the plant leaves.

will the bloom hurt/kill my plants?

thks all

p.s. how does one get rid of this brown bloom?

 

[dudey]

you can get rid of it / prevent it by getting your nutrients in sync. Do you dose the tank? The algae is caused by an inbalance in the tank. Your not dosing enough or too much, leaving the lights on too long, or co2 is out of wack

 

[sushiray]

dose the tank means what?

I guess I have an imbalance so how do I get it balanced?

pH6.6
AM=NI=0
NA=10
temps=88
2-AC110's
1-sponge filter
in 72gal BF discus juvie tank (14)

 

[chadders8903]

Dosing mean you are adding too much ferts or not enough.
Brown algae can also be caused by feeding too much. Make sure your fish can eat all the food that you are feeding them in five minutes, but don't feed them any more.
Try doing more frequent water changes too.
Brown algae, or diatoms, will clear itself up in a few weeks. You can go to your local fish store and buy an Otocinclus and it will clean this up for you if this is a reoccurring bloom. The best part about Otocinclus is that they will eat the algae and not your plants.
You can also go buy some algae control (I know Tetra sells one that works for clearing up all algae including brown) and dose it according to the directions. I would not recommend you buying the fish and also using algae control as this will completely remove their food source.
I would recommend using the chemicals if this bloom is bothering you too much. Since it is a large tank, the Otocinclus will take a long time to clear it up. The chemicals will also not harm your plants, which is a big plus.
It is up to you to decide how you want to handle this.
And Brown algae will not harm your plants. It can harm them if there is too much on the leaves that it blocks photosynthesis, but you said you have been clearing it off the leaves so the plants shouldn't be harmed.

 

[sushiray]

Dosing mean you are adding too much ferts or not enough.
Brown algae can also be caused by feeding too much. Make sure your fish can eat all the food that you are feeding them in five minutes, but don't feed them any more.
Try doing more frequent water changes too.
Brown algae, or diatoms, will clear itself up in a few weeks. You can go to your local fish store and buy an Otocinclus and it will clean this up for you if this is a reoccurring bloom. The best part about Otocinclus is that they will eat the algae and not your plants.
You can also go buy some algae control (I know Tetra sells one that works for clearing up all algae including brown) and dose it according to the directions. I would not recommend you buying the fish and also using algae control as this will completely remove their food source.
I would recommend using the chemicals if this bloom is bothering you too much. Since it is a large tank, the Otocinclus will take a long time to clear it up. The chemicals will also not harm your plants, which is a big plus.
It is up to you to decide how you want to handle this.
And Brown algae will not harm your plants. It can harm them if there is too much on the leaves that it blocks photosynthesis, but you said you have been clearing it off the leaves so the plants shouldn't be harmed.

thks, because I have discus, I feed a few times a day. they do consume the food pretty quickly & I have 2 AC110's running. I w/c now every other day, but do a major once a week.

water crystal clear now after 90% w/c & plants cleaned/pruned so will see how far they get.

as for the octo, I have my temps at 88-89, will it tolerate it?

thks again

 

[chadders8903]

I don't think they will make it in that temperature. I would probably go with chemicals. They shouldn't harm your fish or plants.