# Plants turn brown 24 hours help please



## Leelew32 (29 Apr 2017)

Hi all, 

My second hand 55g has been setup since Christmas but I've been having massive problems with brown algae and brown plants. The tank had 2 old t5 on and I thought brown algae was low light so I upgraded my light to 4 t5's now. I had though I would help having the Extra light but no change if anything it's worse. I've read on here about Brown algae and ceg says its too much light so I intend to only use 2 bulbs for 8 hrs per day? My plants are really bad and I'm wondering if I should chuck them out and start again. Should I do a black out or what. I setup co2 and started e. I dose about a week ago but have seen no real change in my plants. Any help and wisdom greatly appreciated. 














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## HiNtZ (30 Apr 2017)

Those look like diatoms for sure. Horrible stuff. My problems went away more or less when I upped CO2, added some epsom salts and had only 6 hours of high light. A 3 day black out doing 50% a day water change completely cleared it up. 

Tank specs:

130L
EI
CO2
Westland pond substrate
56W high output cree LEDs (RGBWG)
120w LED strips (RGBW)
medium bioload
medium fish stock

Give it a go, you've got nothing to lose.


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## Leelew32 (30 Apr 2017)

Yep thanks that's exactly what I'm planning. I removed all plants cut off all bad stuff and replanted. Took ages but it was worth it I think. Thanks for your help. 


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## dw1305 (30 Apr 2017)

Hi all, 





Leelew32 said:


> I setup co2 and started e. I dose about a week ago but have seen no real change in my plants


Did you feed that plants before you started EI? Is your water hard (high dKH/dGH)? and does your ~EI addition include magnesium sulphate (MgSO4.7H2O)?

The brown dust may well be diatoms, but the plants should be growing much better than they are. 

Assuming that the tops of the plants are really as pale as they look? and your EI includes Mg? It might be a deficiency of iron (Fe). Iron (Fe+++) ions are difficult to keep in solution, and this is more of a problem at high pH and hardness. 

Have a look at <"Help! plant deficiency.....">

Iron isn't mobile within the plant, which means that the pale leaves will never green up, but when iron becomes available new leaves will be greener and growth better.

cheers Darrel


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## Leelew32 (1 May 2017)

Cheers Darrel. I've been thinking of going over to to for a while for my fishes benefit since there SA chiclids. Would that help with the iron as well

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## Leelew32 (4 May 2017)

I think I'm turning things around. I have bought my self some dtpa iron and am going to dose that. I've changed my photo period down to 8 hours. I've noticed also that I've got a slight bit gsa now could that be low phosphate from the iron reacting with it? 

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## Leelew32 (4 May 2017)

The Rotala Bosii has not changed at all tho it's just sitting there all brown with no green new growth on it. Should I get rid or leave it another week and see

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## Leelew32 (4 May 2017)

I'll try and get some better pictures later on

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## dw1305 (4 May 2017)

Hi all, 





Leelew32 said:


> Should I get rid or leave it another week and see


I'd leave it, but it may take more than a week, if it is iron deficiency.

cheers Darrel


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## Leelew32 (4 May 2017)

Thanks Darrel, should I not be seeing new growth on it though as it looks no different from when I got it. 

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## dw1305 (4 May 2017)

Hi all, 





Leelew32 said:


> should I not be seeing new growth on it though as it looks no different from when I got it.


Plant growth is nutrient dependent in the same way that cars are built on an assembly line, at the speed of the limiting nutrient (or the limiting operation in car assembly). 

If one nutrient, or car component, is missing then the whole process grinds to a halt. For plant nutrients this was quantified as <"Liebig's law of the minimum">.

It doesn't matter how much you have of all the other <"essential nutrients for plant growth">, if you don't have any plant available iron (Fe++(+)), you don't get any growth.

cheers Darrel


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## Leelew32 (4 May 2017)

Makes a lot of sense. I've just got in so I'm going  to do a large water change and start adding the iron I got from TNC.  

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## Leelew32 (4 May 2017)

I will try to post some non rubbish pictures on here. Just in case you feel anything else is a miss. Thank you both for your help so far. 

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## Leelew32 (6 May 2017)

Ok I've made things much worse, the more I read the more I get confused. I now have a major fog for want of a better word in my tank. It looks white to me not green. I do a massive water change wake up and it's back to cloudy again. Any advice should I keep doing big water changes or leave it. 

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## Leelew32 (6 May 2017)

I have a few more question too  but would like some help on this first

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## Leelew32 (6 May 2017)

Looks like this







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## Leelew32 (6 May 2017)

My only explanation for this is I cleaned my filter as u usually do but I gave my bio media a good shake in tank water maybe I over did it. When I first saw this I did an ammonia test which came back 0 but just in case I added loads of fluval cycle but no change

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## HiNtZ (6 May 2017)

That fog is what I had a month after setup. It's suspended in the water and gets on the glass and hardscape. The only way to get rid of it is blackout completely for a few days while still doing water changes. Some people say waiting a few weeks for it to finish its cycle works too, but I had no luck with this. 

I opted to keep CO2 going and kept dosing half EI during those black out days.


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## Leelew32 (6 May 2017)

Ive heard of black outs for algae but not bacteria. I've got nothing to lose at this point so I will do a big water change then try that. Thanks hiNtZ

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## Leelew32 (8 May 2017)

I've started a blackout tonight I'll keep everyone posted

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## Leelew32 (16 May 2017)

Hi all, the black out cleared the fog but brown I still have brown algae any other ideas I can try

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## Leelew32 (16 May 2017)

Dw1305 I have been dosing with different iron and the Rotala Bosii still looks the same, it gets new growth but the brown algae eventually smothers it. 

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## Leelew32 (19 May 2017)

Anyone

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## Leelew32 (19 May 2017)

Brown algae is covering my ants faster that they grow

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## dw1305 (19 May 2017)

Hi all,





Leelew32 said:


> Dw1305 I have been dosing with different iron and the Rotala Bosii still looks the same, it gets new growth but the brown algae eventually smothers it.


I don't really know what to suggest. Looking at the pictures, on page 1., the internodes on the plants look very long, which is often a sign of low light levels.





Leelew32 said:


> My only explanation for this is I cleaned my filter as u usually do but I gave my bio media a good shake in tank water maybe I over did it.


How often do you clean the filter? and what filter media do you have?

cheers Darrel


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## Leelew32 (19 May 2017)

Hi Darrell, I agree with the light part as I had old lights on there for the last 2 months I have been running 4 t5 at 54 watts each for 8 hours. I also did what you said with the iron a day that has helped alot. The issue I'm having is that fast stems have nice fresh green growth and within days it gone brown from algae. I'm starting to think it's my tap water. 

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## Leelew32 (19 May 2017)

Should I leave the lights on longer maybe, I lowered the photo period due to the brow algae 

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## Leelew32 (19 May 2017)

My media is sponge then finer sponge then sinted glass for bio. Lastly is carbon and purigen

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## Leelew32 (19 May 2017)

I have a fluval 406 with a spray bar a cross the back like ceg always says with a 300l power head below that

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## Leelew32 (19 May 2017)

I think I'm getting a little blue green algae right next to the brown on the glass and sugar straight. The funny thing is my betta tank upstairs get no love and it's clean as a whistle 

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## dw1305 (19 May 2017)

Hi all,





Leelew32 said:


> My media is sponge then finer sponge then sintered glass for bio. Lastly is carbon and purigen


I'd take the fine sponge out (but just because it clogs really quickly). 


Leelew32 said:


> The funny thing is my betta tank upstairs get no love and it's clean as a whistle


Hopefully if you wait the diatoms should go away of their own account in this tank as well as it matures.

cheers Darrel


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## Leelew32 (19 May 2017)

I hope so it's coming upto 6 months now that I've had this. I clean my filter every week and rinse the sponges in old tank water

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## HiNtZ (19 May 2017)

Did you try MgSo4 like DW1305 suggested?


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## Leelew32 (19 May 2017)

Yep I'm dosing E. I

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## Leelew32 (19 May 2017)

The only other change I've made there is a different iron

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## Leelew32 (19 May 2017)

I'll post some new pictures once I'm home

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## Leelew32 (19 May 2017)

The plants look healthy until the brown gets it

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## Leelew32 (29 May 2017)

I think I have fixed it!! 

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## Leelew32 (29 May 2017)

I woke up Friday and the brown algae is definitely going. I think I needed to balance my kno3 and phosphate. I now add alot more phosphate and no kno3 as my tap water is always 20 plus. I also drastically reduced my micro nutrients as I thought I had been over dosing and add iron on its own now 2 times per week. My plant growth has exploded over the last few days. Thanks for everyone's advice

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