Manzanita driftwood has black fuzzy mold

I picked up some manzanita a couple months ago from a hill near my house. It was very dead and very dry. I hadn’t found the thread about how to treat it prior to placing it in my tank. I was just starting the process of a fishless cycle, so I put it in the tank. It floated for a couple of weeks then sank. I figured all was well. Then I noticed the white stuff growing on it and found this section of the forum. Everyone says the white stuff isn’t harmful so I didn’t worry about it. The tank finally cycled and yesterday I did a big water change, vacuuming the white stuff off the driftwood in the process. Except the white stuff was mostly black. And now there is some black fuzzy stuff (mold?) on the wood. Do I need to pull the wood out and bake it? Or is it fine? Or should I toss it and get some new pieces and start over? I hope I haven’t bungled this all up. Thanks in advance for your advice, this is my first time with driftwood.

 

Just guessing but I’d say the black stuff is black bread algae. I like to remove the wood when the white stuff grows on it and clean it all off than put it back. When you don’t you can get bba. I think it’s eating the white stuff. But for now I would remove and just scrub off the black stuff and put back in.

 

I have to wonder if the black fuzzy stuff might be black beard algae. If that is the case pull the drift wood out and spray it down good with hydrogen peroxide. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes saturated with HP.

ninja'd by 86 ssinit They say great minds think alike

 

BBA is almost impossible to scrub off and get it all. The HP will kill it. You will know the BBA is dead if it starts turning red after a couple of days. Eventually it will flake off and your filter will pull the dead stuff out.

You don't want to put a strong solution of HP in your tank as it will also kill off your bacteria if not done correctly.

 

I have to wonder if the black fuzzy stuff might be black beard algae. If that is the case pull the drift wood out and spray it down good with hydrogen peroxide. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes saturated with HP.

ninja'd by 86 ssinit They say great minds think alike

I will definitely pull it out and scrub it. Hydrogen peroxide may be difficult for now, that’s one of the few things still not back at the store here. As soon as I can find some I’ll do that.

 

I will definitely pull it out and scrub it. Hydrogen peroxide may be difficult for now, that’s one of the few things still not back at the store here. As soon as I can find some I’ll do that.

I was able to order some on line through walmart.com. I don't know if it is still available right now though.

If you can't get any HP bleach will work too. Just be sure the bleach has no extra scents added to it. Do it the same way you would if you were using HP. If you use bleach just be sure to rinse really well once the BBA is dead. After rinsing rinse it again in a bucket of water with double your water conditioner to remove any traces of the chlorine.

Bleach actually kills it faster than HP but some folks are afraid of using bleach.

 

I'll ask around. Most of my neighbors keep 10 years worth of everything they use in their basement. If no one has HP, I'll use bleach. That I do have. It does make me a bit nervous to use bleach, but I do have a bottle of prime so I should be able to get the chlorine out. Should I let the wood soak in the bucket of water with prime for a specific length of time to make sure any bleach that soaked in gets out?

 

I was able to order some on line through walmart.com. I don't know if it is still available right now though.

If you can't get any HP bleach will work too. Just be sure the bleach has no extra scents added to it. Do it the same way you would if you were using HP. If you use bleach just be sure to rinse really well once the BBA is dead. After rinsing rinse it again in a bucket of water with double your water conditioner to remove any traces of the chlorine.

Bleach actually kills it faster than HP but some folks are afraid of using bleach.

Also, should I mix the bleach with water? Or should I just go 100% bleach?

 

I'll ask around. Most of my neighbors keep 10 years worth of everything they use in their basement. If no one has HP, I'll use bleach. That I do have. It does make me a bit nervous to use bleach, but I do have a bottle of prime so I should be able to get the chlorine out. Should I let the wood soak in the bucket of water with prime for a specific length of time to make sure any bleach that soaked in gets out?

Your prime or any water conditioner should work quickly but since the wood will soak up a bit of the bleach go ahead and soak the wood for 15 minutes or so. Stir it around in the water to make sure the conditioned water rinses it well.

I have used bleach to clean tank decor for many years and have never had a problem using it. Should you decide you are comfortable using it, wear gloves an do it in a well ventilated area. The only reason I wear gloves for this is because if the bleach gets on your hands they are going to feel like they still have bleach on them although they won't.

Also, should I mix the bleach with water? Or should I just go 100% bleach?

If you are going to spray it on you can use it full strength but it might be better to mix it half and half with water. If you are going to dip it, mix it 1 part bleach to 10 parts water. Dipping it will take longer because it will be a weaker solution. I normally don't measure. I just pour the bleach in and add enough water to cover whatever I am cleaning at the time. I usually use a pretty strong mixture. The more bleach the quicker it works.

 

I found some HP. Do I need to wash it off the same way as bleach, with water conditioner? Or just rinse it off with water? I’m nervous as I’ve finally got this tank cycled after 2 months, I really don’t want to go backwards.

 

I found some HP. Do I need to wash it off the same way as bleach, with water conditioner? Or just rinse it off with water? I’m nervous as I’ve finally got this tank cycled after 2 months, I really don’t want to go backwards.

I would go ahead and rinse it off but there is no need to soak it in treated water like you would if you used bleach.

 

I’ve sprayed with hydrogen peroxide. I’ll try to keep it damp for 30 mins (it’s hot and dry today so it may be difficult). Hopefully this does the trick. I guess I’ll know in a few days. Thank you so much for the help.

 

After the peroxide bath, the little bit of algae I couldn’t get off, sure came off easily in the rinse. Back in the tank and the driftwood looks much better! Hopefully it will stay that way. Thanks again for the help today!

 

You are so very welcome. Hopefully it won't come back but if it does you now know how to kill and get it back off of there.