Since I don't know much about lights and no one else has answered yet, let's determine what kind of brown spots they are this way:

You can scroll through this list of leaf-related symptoms or upload close-ups--let us know the top 3 most likely spots, and we can figure it out from there. Violets are finicky, but yours are looking 100% fixable from here.

Oh I've tried that site a million times. I find it frustrating.. I need photos to confirm.. And it'll say on the upper side or underneath where mine doesn't fall under. It's on every single av under that light

So ... It's on every plant, ... so that points to something environmental.

The discolorations themselves are small, ... so that doesn't indicate a major issue. It could be something like ... your water is too cold when you water tour plants, ... or ... you're not letting your water sit to allow chlorine to evaporate out before watering.

I seem to recall seeing this from time to time in my experiences growing AV's, ... and I think that the issue eventually cleared up on its own, ... and didn't cause any other problems ...

P.S. Your plants are reaching because they want to be closer to the light ... where they were before. I don't think that LIGHT has anything to do with your brown spotting.

Dr. Optimara led me to cold water or too little/too much manganese as the possible problems. I agree with aegis, I don't think it's light either. I think it's water or fertilizer related.

If water: Let your water sit overnight so chlorine etc can evaporate. If it's too cold, then the room, or the part of the room the violets are in, is too cold. I don't wick, but I keep my jugs of water up high in the room so it's a little warmer than my air-conditioned room.

If fertilizer: Dr. Optimara listed too little/too much manganese as a possible issue. Most fertilizers have this micronutrient as 0.05%. Or, if your fertilizer has no micronutrients at all, this can really affect the plants after a while, and could indeed be the problem.

Nice rack of plants there Heather. I have had some get that way in the past and I have to agree w Marina. Start w your water. It was my problem when I had some plants showing up w your plants symptoms.

Since I am sure that have already checked for chlorine based addatives to your water, ck your ph and ec. Ph is fairly easy, ec a little less so. My PH was way off which was browning up my leaves and would have eventually killed my plants. My EC was off too. I located the culprit and changed plant food.

I could be wrong but thats what it looks like to me. I hesitate to suggest this since you are a long time AV'er.

Good luck!

thats not even all of the avs..most were on the floor because i was looking at them and watering them..all of my water sits out..and if i use it right away its room temp..no chlorine in our water.

and i use this for fertilizer but not at full strength https://www.lowes.com/pd/Miracle-Gro-8-fl-oz-Flower-Food/50415156 and then superthrive to a gallon of water

Edit - I got to thinking because the brown spots are only on that shelf..I have others..but then realized their not as old either and haven't been on wick for very long. Plus I have one in the kitchen that isn't wicked but I do have it in my wicking soil mix that gets the same water as the others

So I checked out the link on the bottle (regulatory-info-sc.com) and this page doesn't seem to list micronutrients. The page for the All Purpose fertilizer lists micronutrients though, so I think it's safe to say that your current one does not have everything they need.

But no need to panic! Off the top of my head, I have four fertilizers to recommend, all Jack's Classic brand:

#1: All Purpose 20-20-20; includes micronutrients; not urea-free.

#2: Houseplant Special 15-30-15; includes micronutrients; not urea-free. (I use this)

#3: Orchid Bloom Booster 3-9-6; includes micronutrients; urea-free.

#4: Orchid 7-5-6 (linked in #3); includes micronutrients; urea-free. (I use this for babies)

All of these are water soluble. I listed all Jack's Classic brand because it has been my best match so far, and they have a lot of options. I have seen no difference between using urea-free and urea fertilizers. Sorry if those links aren't the best deals... it was 3 minute shopping. :o)

For real. I only ever used all-purpose, and while it didn't kill mine, they were surviving and not thriving.

But like Jeff said, you'll iron everything out. Your plants seem otherwise healthy and spoiled. :o)

Sorry to cut I In Heather...I was admiring how neat and tidy your shelf looks with the mason jars. I like the look. Very nice!

Honestly, I've used Miracle-Gro African Violet mix for years, ... and I've never had a problem with it ....

I think we just mean the fertilizers. I've always used the MG all purpose potting mix, no issues.

Well I can't really afford the fancy fert. .what I had is bought locally by someone else. I honestly didn't think it was all that high of anything because the ratio is lower then what many people here use.

I asked here because ove searched and racked my brain over what it is and all I do is watch the brown spots increase. Right now I don't even know why I thought I could grow a plant or have anything in my life to cope as everything and everyone has been taken..so maybe I'm better off just giving them all away and twiddle my thumbs from now on

Oh Heather, don't be upset. I know it can be really frustrating. Have you tried not fertilizing at all for a while? I agree that it looks like a water/fertilizing problem. You say it's not the water which makes me lean towards the other. Maybe they (and you) just need a little break from the micro-maintenance.

I understand your frustrations, but it's alright. I genuinely think you're doing really well with them, especially for a beginner. You can always downsize or stop whenever you'd like. Plain water for a few weeks wouldn't hurt.

When I first started, it was for similar reasons: My mind and life were a mess. And then my plants became a mess. And then I learned their language and now they're my favorite coping mechanism. It takes time. But their growth will, over time, very much reflect yours.

Good morning Heather. I have thrown several plants in the trash due to sheer exasperation. Nothing I did seemed to help. Some plants just don't get started in life very well. They never seem to get healthy, just barely hanging around, susceptible to every and any issue. Yours may be one of those.

I apologize if I came on to strong regarding your MG fert. Sure, it's whats in the big box stores and what a good many people use. I did too for about a year. I couldn't figure out why I was constantly dealing with small fires within individual plants.

I researched AV's on the net and discovered that AV's can be kind of picky about food. How much is to much and how much is to little. I discovered that the MG peat that I was using had food in it. The MG perlite that I was using had food in it and then I was watering w MG fertilizer. Too much fertilizer will really do a number on a AV. With so many sources of unknown strength food coming from so many directions, I was unable to consistently dial in the amount the plants needed.

My opinion of MG products will not change but a good many growers like yourself may well be able to use them successfully. I was not one of those. Within a week of buying the "Espoma Organic Violet" food and discontinuing use of ANY MG products, all my plants made a sigh of relief and everything was good.

The Espoma is available in every box store. It is a fish emulsion product that is no more expensive than MG. I no longer use it but I did for years because it was the only thing I could find in my area.

I was only trying to be helpful. Sometimes I go a bit overboard. Sorry.

When can you stop calling yourself a beginner and start using adjectives like experienced? Guess it's all relative: Heather's been at it a couple of years I think. Me--I'm still counting months on one hand.

I'm beginning to believe that no matter how long the experience, the wonderment, disappointment, surprises, as well as a change of luck now and then, may never cease. And so they'll always be questions which is really a good thing.

I almost threw in the towel on some yellow spots, lol. It showed me ya gotta hang tough! BTW, here's the latest on how my yellow spotted plant is doing. Advice I got to leave it alone was spot on...

I've been at it three years and still only consider myself intermediate, because I know there's a lot I don't know. You can't really master plants anyway when it's said and done, and for me that's the best part. Super love the complexity of plant life.

I like seeing new people on the forum that are googly eyed too, and I hope Heather sticks around. :o)