Brown Film On Plant Leaves

[markandhisfish]

background tank info

4x2x2 100ukg / 118usg discus tank lighting just over 1wpg low turnover ( which i think is the root of the problem) 8 hour photoperiod. 25 to 30% w/c every other day .

i am getting a brown film on the leaves of my plants , mainly my large amazon sword which i think is probably brown algae caused by the low flow ,( i need to keep the current fairly calm in my tank for the discus) can i get rid of it easily ? i have just done my waterchange and added a good dose of flourish excel , and i have also put in an eheim internal filter rated for 200l tanks with no media to try and give a little more circulation. i cant go too high on the flow because the discus dont like too strong a current so i think t his could be a tough battle to win.

any ideas/comments/suggestions welcome .

thanks

 

[ian]

have you thought about a nano Korallia? They will give you 900 lph of flow and arn't to strong. You can spot dose you excel as well.

 

[RadaR]

Brown Diatoms. See James' guide for details.
Koralias are a good choice because they move "bodies" of water instead of producing a strong, jet like current which Discus would hate.
You can also try Zeolite as media in your filter as the last stage of filtration. Removes ammonia, but will eventually need re-charging with NaCl. Shouldn't effect your nitrifying bacteria so long as you put it as the last stage of filtration to ensure the bacteria get first dibs on ammonia and nitrite.

 

[markandhisfish]

the karalia nano sounds good. i had thought about a koralia but thought it may be too fierce for the discus didnt know you could get a nano version. how do you go about spot dosing the excel?

 

[ian]

either with a syringe or pipette, just dose it straight onto the leaf or where ever the algae appears.

 

[markandhisfish]

cool ive got a little pipette i can use. think il try that plus the internal , give it a week or 2 and see if there is any improvement , if not il get a koralia nano . i have rubbed most of it off by hand , so it doesnt look as bad now. if i can get the flow right etc will it die off of its own accord?

its proving quite a challenge getting a happy medium where the plants do well but keeping the discus happy at the same time. altho bit by bit im getting there. the polysperma has suddenly took hold and has got so tall its up to the top of the tank nd leaning over . it must be over 2 foot tall!! also where it is leaning over lots of new growth is coming up from the bottoms so it should end up nice and bushy too. im almost there , perhaps a little more cicrulation is all that is needed

 

[markandhisfish]

when i spot dose the plant with excell is this done with the plant in the water or do i have to takee it out?

 

[RadaR]

Leave it in the tank. Turn off filters/powerheads for a few mins for accurate dosing onto the plant. Dont forget to turn them on again.

 

[markandhisfish]

great stuff cheers il get on that today .