they aren't dying...it's like a brown algae that can be rubbed off to an extent. what gives? it's a 10 gallon with zebra danios, corys, and neon tetras. the lighting is pretty weak....8w flourescent. The leaves are on an anubias. The amazon swords are doing fine though and i'm not dosing with Co2 or ferts. this is my fist go at real plants.
brown on leaves
- Thread starter whyzee250
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Well, diatoms are just a normal phase during the maturing period of a tank. How often do you do water changes? I would just do small weekly water changes and wait it out. Your tank is establishing itself right now and the "brown on the leaves" is just a passing hurdle that we all overcome to get to a fully established tank. Good luck! 
Diatoms are just a sign of a healthy aquarium. New glass, silicone sealant, some substrates and even your tap water can be sources of silicates that the diatoms munch on to make their rigid brown shells. Ottos and snails should make pretty short work of the mess. But fear not, given six months or so they won't be much of an issue, even without a cleanup crew.
It's estimated that 25 to 30 percent of the earths crust is made of silica. Diatoms are everywhere, not just in your tank. Unfortunately, we can't make everything in life out of formica. LOL!
It's estimated that 25 to 30 percent of the earths crust is made of silica. Diatoms are everywhere, not just in your tank. Unfortunately, we can't make everything in life out of formica. LOL!
what is best way to get rid of diatoms ? i have a tank that has been running for almost year and a half, still get the brown slime mentioned. was thinking bunch of snails and SAE or something along them lines could help but seems the brown has slowed down but still there and kinda annoys me.
Pond snails keep my tank pretty clean. My tap water has silicates in it. But it only took the snails about a week to completely rid my tank of diatoms. Visibly anyway.
You can wipe diatoms off and do water changes but time is the only thing that will rid your tank of them completely. Once the silica in your tank is used up they will go away on their own. Every newly set up tank ends up with them at one time or another.