Plastic Plants Turning Brown

[woody111]

I have a new 80 ltre tank which has been running for 3 weeks and have noticed that some of my plastic plants are turning black/brown. Is this algae or are they discolouring as i have tried wiping them and it does not appear to be coming.
Thanks for any advice.

 

[Matty P]

It will prob be algae. You will need to take them out, give them a good soak and a good scrub.

 

[DarkEntity]

YOu need real plants to combat algae, without them you just need to scrub the plants to remove it.

 

[charlie4486]

its actually not really algae it's a diatom. the way to get rid of this is to leave your lights on for an hour extra. it should take about a week or two. i know it sounds backwards since most people think it's algae but it will definitely work. . it won't harm your fish. here is a link that explains it a little better. http/www.fishforums.net/content/forum/95...hl-brown-algae/

 

[Meds081603]

Yep sounds like diatoms to me. Just about every newer tank goes through a period with this problem. I wouldnt worry about it other than to take the plants out and scrub them off and put them back. You will probably need to clean any other ornaments you have and scrape your glass. A phosphate and or silicate remover in your filter can help keep it from being so bad. Fortunately they dont last too long and dont pose any real threats to anything, they just dont look nice.