A few questions about brown algae on plant leaves

So I've had my tank for almost 2 months now and the plants have grown a lot, but I have brown algae all over the leaves and it looks pretty bad. I worry for the health of the plants because they may not get enough light if the algae keeps growing.

I used to have the lights on 12 hours a day, but after researching last night I saw it should be reduced to 8 hours so I have set the lighting for 8 hours a day instead.

So I have a few questions:

-Is 8 hours too much light time when trying to reduce algae?
-Can I clean off the leaves, or will that get rid of too much beneficial bacteria?
-How long will it take for the algae to go away/will it disappear on its own?
-Will fertilizer be feeding the algae more than the plants?

Sorry for all the questions but I just want to make sure I'm not doing anything that'll be worse off in the long run. Thank you!

 

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Algae in a Fishtank

Diatoms - Brown Algae:

Normally disappear over time.

I rub it off gently with my thumb, not all but some will come off. Snails and shrimp will eat them. I've been considering some shrimps or snail.

Reducing your lighting will help (good thinking, 8 hrs should be a good set point), it could take a couple weeks to a couple months. I read somewhere up to 6 months as the tank cycles and such. Keep up with water changes, and maybe cut back on liquid fertilizer.

 

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Algae in a Fishtank

Diatoms - Brown Algae:

Normally disappear over time.

I rub it off gently with my thumb, not all but some will come off. Snails and shrimp will eat them. I've been considering some shrimps or snail.

Thank you very much, that's helpful to know it can be safely rubbed off. I'll also give that article a decent read over

 

Floating plants like duckweed or frogbit, and hornwart suck up excess nutrients to starve out algae, also. Marimo moss balls too.

 

I had similar problems and by mistake wound up with an Otocinclus Catfish from the LFS. Changed my life. These little guys are superstars and don't know what I'd do without them. I run a 120 gallon heavily planted tank and they are my superstars. I use light control to manage algae growth, but when it does show up on my plants the Otos are my superheroes to keep things clean. Other tactic is to have short lighted periods interspersed with periods of darkness; even if there's ambient light it cuts down on algae development and sustainment.

Best of luck and hope that helps.

 

Floating plants like duckweed or frogbit, and hornwart suck up excess nutrients to starve out algae, also. Marimo moss balls too.

Oh that's good to know, I was looking at getting some hortnwort so I'll definitely go for that. Sadly I can't get marimo moss balls here in NZ - they're actually illegal I'll always be sad, I think they look so amazing in tanks lol

I had similar problems and by mistake wound up with an Otocinclus Catfish from the LFS. Changed my life. These little guys are superstars and don't know what I'd do without them. I run a 120 gallon heavily planted tank and they are my superstars. I use light control to manage algae growth, but when it does show up on my plants the Otos are my superheroes to keep things clean. Other tactic is to have short lighted periods interspersed with periods of darkness; even if there's ambient light it cuts down on algae development and sustainment.

Best of luck and hope that helps.

Wow they're cute little things I was looking to get a bristlenose pleco in the future, would they be as helpful? I know they mostly feed on driftwood so I don't know whether maybe I should try for the catfish instead.

Thank you for the advice though, I have done 1 day complete blackout and now it's set for 6 hours a day for maybe a week, we'll see how it goes

 

Oh that's good to know, I was looking at getting some hortnwort so I'll definitely go for that. Sadly I can't get marimo moss balls here in NZ - they're actually illegal I'll always be sad, I think they look so amazing in tanks lol

If you're not opposed to fake, you could get a Fluval moss ball. Long before I knew anything about aquatic plants (or fish), I bought a fluval moss ball from the pet store that was being sold as a real marimo ball. It was in one of those little containers like the betta fish.. but I still like it.

 

If you're not opposed to fake, you could get a Fluval moss ball. Long before I knew anything about aquatic plants (or fish), I bought a fluval moss ball from the pet store that was being sold as a real marimo ball. It was in one of those little containers like the betta fish.. but I still like it.

Oh my gosh!!! That would be the perfect substitute, I think that's the closest I'l ever get lol thank you so much!

 

Oh my gosh!!! That would be the perfect substitute, I think that's the closest I'l ever get lol thank you so much!

You're welcome. I think they're pretty neat.
They do vary a bit; some of them you can see seams, but I don't think it'd be noticeable in the tank.

 

You're welcome. I think they're pretty neat.
They do vary a bit; some of them you can see seams, but I don't think it'd be noticeable in the tank.

Yeah and I'm sure it'd grow out in time as well. Def. gonna get some of those

 

I run both bristlenose plecos and the Oto C's and they tend to complement each other. Bristlenose won't get too big so 1 or 2 in a smaller tank might work.

 

Getting Diatoms at this point is pretty common and it will usually go away if you keep up your tank maintenance. You can remove it by rubbing it off but nerite snails and shrimp will clean it off for you. Oto's are great for brown algae but can be very difficult to keep in a newer tank. They do best in groups of 6 or more in a very established tank so just keep in mind that you may have trouble keeping them alive but they are great algae eaters. The easier path IMO is just getting 5-6 Nerites and let them go to work.

 

Very true they're not the most hardy fish. Extremely sensitive to tank conditions and even with an established tank I usually only expect a % of them to survive. Def recommend waiting to let them acclimate at LFS then attempt to choose the strongest looking.

Shrimp and snails are also a great recommendation. I have both RCS and Blue Dream shrimp as well as gold and blue mystery snails and they're awesome. Haven't noticed them cleaning plants necessarily but they do a good job on deco. They may help with the plants too, just haven't noticed that as much.