Brown Spots on plants and decorations??

[JackieFish84]

Ok so I have been noticing a few brown spots forming on a fake silk plant I have in my 10 gallon tank for a while but today when i came home it seems like way too much. Plus there are brown spots also on a coral decoration (not real coral, just decoration from petco). I've had my tank for over a month...is this normal?? Is it algae?? Something else?? Is it safe? Do I need to do anything???

Helpppp!

Thanks

 

[DesignsOnYou]

Here's a recent thread on different types of algae. It sounds like it might be the diatoms that can just be wiped off.
http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/freshwater-general-discussion/54030-weird-algae-will-not-go-away.html

 

[ishar]

It is not actually algae, but a microorganism called diatoms. They are very small and appear as these brown patches/spots on hard surfaces. Don't worry about them too much. They are not harmful (to my knowledge) and they will eventually go away. If you hate the looks too much then you can always try to manually remove it.

 

[unwritten law]

Its pretty common in new tanks. I got it in mine and I just wipe it off. I think they say it from lack of light, and the usual bad water stuff, like over feeding and stuff. google brown algae and thats probably what it is.