My 10g tank is now about 2-3 months old and it is a divided
betta tank with a fliter on either side. I have java moss and do a 25%
water change weekly. My water parameters always seem pretty good/stable and where they should be. I used Prime and Vita-chem ( although when I test my tap water it shows no
chloramine or
chlorine but I use the prime anyway). The temp is 80.
A few weeks ago I was battling a really bad case of GW algae. It was caused by too much lighting (I had 40watts on for 12 -14hours per day). I did a blackout, changed the lighting to 20watts ( on for 10-12hours per day), took out the carbon filter and replaced it with polyester and added some
phosphate removing media. This solved the problem and no more green water!
BUT, now I have a problem with brown spots/patches on my fake plants and rocks. On Saturday I did a mass cleaning and scrubbing of all the decorations and the gravel along with a 25% water change, when I put everything back in it looked perfect. Now this morning I notice the brown spots are already back
Here are the parameters:
nitrite 0
nitrate 10
pH 7.5
ammonia 0
Oxygen 7
Why am I having this problem? Am I doing too much water changing?
I have taken out the phosphate removing media to see if that helps. My boys get 3-4 Hakari pellets twice a day and one or two bloodworms per week.
This is driving me crazybecause it makes my tank look dirty! So, any help would be much appreciated, thank you!
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you can scrub it off with a regular old algae scrubber but they will come back within a day or two of you scrubbing them off. i've found that that it's easier to scrub off a little of it during weekly water changes, but otherwise just let it go away with time.