MarkWVU02

Hey i have white fuzzy growth on my mopani wood and roots of the plastic plants in my aquarium. I heard it may be mold. anybody know what it is and how to get rid of it? should i take the driftwood and plants out and scrub them?

I vacuum when i change the water every other to every third day...i only vaccuum sections at a time. the tank has been running for about 2.5 months and is cycled 0 ammonia 0 nitrite and minimal nitrate. pH is 7.8. i was thinking of taking all the decorations out today and scrubbing them and maybe replacing the mopani wood with plastic driftwood. any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

thanks in advance

aquarist48

Hello. The white fuzz on your wood and plants is a type of algae. It will go away in time on it's own. Too, some of the fish you have stocked may enjoy eating it. I wouldn't worry about it.

MarkWVU02

What fish would eat it? I have 6 danios and 4 tiger barbs right now. The water has a musty sort of mildewy smell to it.

aquarist48

Pleco's, Cory Cats, Algae eaters. Many different species of fish will enjoy algae at one time or another. If your tank is beginning to smell then I would suggest adding some activated carbon or replacing the carbon that you have in it now. It should remove the bad odor. Chances are if you clean it off yourself it's going to return. I'd give it about 3 weeks to disappear.

MarkWVU02

Which algae eaters would mix well in my 29 gallon aquarium with the tiger barbs and zebra danios? Would upgrading the filter help? Right now I have an aqueon 30 HOB power filter...it just doesn't seem to be that great. I looked at eiheim classic and eccos, marineland c series and magnum, and fluval 205. Would any of these help improve my water?

It just doesn't look like algae. It's looks like mold...white and fuzzy and almost black in spots and the water definitely smells musty or mildewy. I'll change my filter cartridge but it's only been about 3 weeks since I replaced the last one.

aquarist48

Hello. As to which algae eaters would be good for your tank I can't say. I don't have personal experience with them so I don't want to give you any wrong information. Additional filtration is always good as long as your fish can handle a stronger current. However, more filtration will not prevent the algae from running its course.
Carbon should be changed every 3 weeks. If not then there is a chance it will leak all the impurities it has collected back into the tank.

ER9

sounds like fungus...take the wood or decorations out and scrub it off. its not harmfull.