# Brown dust all over?



## n4tive (Oct 3, 2015)

There is brown dust looking things on my plants and rocks, what is this? How can I get rid of it? 

Thanks!


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## ApochSaint (Oct 9, 2015)

the pictures arent great but I think its Mulm. which is basically liquid gold for plants and shrimp. outside of that it can dirty up the tank.


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## rtfish (Oct 2, 2014)

How old is the tank? It could be a brown diatom outbreak.


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## Daisy Mae (Jun 21, 2015)

...or dust from the active substrate, looks like Aquasoil type


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## rtfish (Oct 2, 2014)

What are your tank specs, etc?


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

If you wave your hand causing a current to flow against the plant, does the brown stuff fly off? If it does, it is just small particles/dust of the substrate. In which case, you could vacuum up the little pieces, stir it up even and do water changes, or use fine filter media (sponges, polyfil, micron) to filter/screen out the sucked in little particles.
If it doesn't really fly off, or is soft to the touch, it is probably brown algae/diatoms which should be able to rub off with your fingers. Diatoms are common in newly set up tanks. They usually clear away on their own after a while, but in the mean time you could regularly wipe the diatoms off so they don't overtake plants, and/or get something that eats diatoms.


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## shattersea (Sep 6, 2013)

Did you ever have luck removing this? My tank has been running for over a year, and has been stable. All of the sudden I have similar brown dust over everything. It floats away when a current hits it, it's not stuck to the leaves or bottom at all. I've tried siphoning it off, cleaning my HOB filter sponge and doing several small water changes, but it keeps coming back. Before I do a larger water change, I'd thought I'd see if you had any suggestions?


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## meowschwitz (Sep 6, 2011)

I've experienced something similar. I recently set up two tanks at around the same time, about two months ago. Both started off with the same problem, loose brown fluffy dust scattered around the tank, sitting on any and all surfaces. Doesn't seem to do any harm, but it's certainly unsightly. Siphoning it out as much as I could each week, it would only come back. However, now one tank no longer has it, while in the other it's still annoyingly abundant. Not sure why the difference. Never really had this problem in any of my previous tanks. Maybe the second tank will clear up eventually like the first.


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## shattersea (Sep 6, 2013)

I would expect it on a new tank (diatoms), but I'm not sure what causes it on an established tank. Hoping it's something that will go away and not a substrate breakdown!


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## meowschwitz (Sep 6, 2011)

What I think I have is excess decompositional matter (mulm), and maybe some diatoms. I've been doing 30-40% water changes weekly. Just not completely sure where all this organic debris is coming from...

shattersea, did you introduce anything new to your established tank? Any changes in your feeding or fertilizer dosing routine or water parameters?


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## Daisy Mae (Jun 21, 2015)

I get this loose brown fluff with my dirted tanks. 
I think it's the combi of soil particles that seep through the gravel from water movement combined with mulm. The tank with sponge filter gets it the most, the one with internal filter gets it the least (I think it gets sucked up well in this particular case).


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## meowschwitz (Sep 6, 2011)

Well, I think that explains it for me, Daisy Mae. While both of my tanks have sand (no soil/dirt), the one tank with the standard HOB filter with the regular intake is clear now, while the other tank has a sponge/internal filter combo where the debris can't be taken in out of the water column as readily so it accumulates.


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## Daisy Mae (Jun 21, 2015)

meowschwitz said:


> Well, I think that explains it for me, Daisy Mae. While both of my tanks have sand (no soil/dirt), the one tank with the standard HOB filter with the regular intake is clear now, while the other tank has a sponge/internal filter combo where the debris can't be taken in out of the water column as readily so it accumulates.


Cool, your experience mirrored mine and we got our explanation right there!


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## shattersea (Sep 6, 2013)

My experience has been a little different. Mine is in a tank with a standard HOB filter. No changes in feeding or dosing. All of the sudden it appeared (overnight, not gradually). I cleaned it out, and it came back in a matter of days. My large leafed plants seem to be suffering a bit (maybe because they are covered in this stuff?)


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