Slimy Aquarium?

I have a 10 gallon I’m currently setting up. So far I only have hornwort, pearl grass, and one moss ball in the tank. The water is treated with Seachem Prime. I’m not cycling it yet and it’s only filled up half way because I’m waiting for the rest of the equipment I ordered before filling it up all the way.
Basically it’s just a 10 gallon tank filled up half way with 3 plants.
The hornwort has grown a bit since I got it so I decided I should trim it a bit. I also tried getting some of the leaves(?) the hornwort shed with a cup and when I lifted the cup out of the water I realized that it was slimy? Some of the pearl grass is melting, so would that be why the aquarium is slimy? Is it some sort of algae maybe?

 

I have a 10 gallon I’m currently setting up. So far I only have hornwort, pearl grass, and one moss ball in the tank. The water is treated with Seachem Prime. I’m not cycling it yet and it’s only filled up half way because I’m waiting for the rest of the equipment I ordered before filling it up all the way.
Basically it’s just a 10 gallon tank filled up half way with 3 plants.
The hornwort has grown a bit since I got it so I decided I should trim it a bit. I also tried getting some of the leaves(?) the hornwort shed with a cup and when I lifted the cup out of the water I realized that it was slimy? Some of the pearl grass is melting, so would that be why the aquarium is slimy? Is it some sort of algae maybe?

I think the prime may have done that....but am not 100% sure, hou said your not cycling it yet so I would guess you have no filter pump going?? Maybe the prime just spread out in the tank and is sitting idle by waiting to get moved about?

 

I think the prime may have done that....but am not 100% sure, hou said your not cycling it yet so I would guess you have no filter pump going?? Maybe the prime just spread out in the tank and is sitting idle by waiting to get moved about?

I’m still waiting for my filter to come so I can’t cycle it yet. Also once I started moving the water around I guess it didn’t feel as slimy, so maybe you’re right. Ty!

 

Algae will grow wherever there is no flow, too much light, and anything that breaks into nitrates (anything organic and not alive, shed plant parts, plant food, fish food, dead bacteria, etc)

 

Algae will grow wherever there is no flow, too much light, and anything that breaks into nitrates (anything organic and not alive, shed plant parts, plant food, fish food, dead bacteria, etc)

I don't know if it's algae or not, but if it is, what do you recommend I do?

 

I don't know if it's algae or not, but if it is, what do you recommend I do?

Lets try identifying it first (there are a few things it can be).

Is your water clear, hazy, greenish?
Is the slime on all surfaces?
--if it is, does it come off with by brushing it gently with your finger, or does it need firm rubbing to get it off
Is the slime clear, clearish but milky, white, pink-ish, green, brown, black, brown-ish green?
--If you can't tell by looking, wrap a finger in a white cloth or paper towel (not something that will shed like a klenex), rub it across the glass underwater, you'll get will probably get enough of the concentrated amount of slime on the cloth to determine a color.
Is the tank getting direct sunlight? Are you running the lights?
Do you have gravel in there, if so what kind?
How long has water been in the tank?

 

Lets try identifying it first (there are a few things it can be).

Is your water clear, hazy, greenish?
Is the slime on all surfaces?
--if it is, does it come off with by brushing it gently with your finger, or does it need firm rubbing to get it off
Is the slime clear, clearish but milky, white, pink-ish, green, brown, black, brown-ish green?
--If you can't tell by looking, wrap a finger in a white cloth or paper towel (not something that will shed like a klenex), rub it across the glass underwater, you'll get will probably get enough of the concentrated amount of slime on the cloth to determine a color.
Is the tank getting direct sunlight? Are you running the lights?
Do you have gravel in there, if so what kind?
How long has water been in the tank?

—The water is clear and you can’t see anything algae like in the tank. I did the thing with the cloth and it was slightly yellowish/greenish.
—The tank has indirect sunlight and it doesn’t have a light yet.
—The gravel I used was Flourite Black Substrate.
—I had it set up like this for maybe 3 or more weeks. (I still haven’t received everything I ordered, so I could set it up more, but I needed a place for the plants that came in).

Also the hornwort I ordered had some algae like thing on it, but I removed it and dipped it in aquarium salt. I’m also planning on taking everything out of the tank because I wanted to make a black background for my tank and rinse my gravel again since every time I move it, it still becomes veryyyy cloudy.

Is there anything I should use in the tank to prevent/stop algae?

 

Little bit of algae is to be expected with stagnant water and any amount of light. As long as your water isn't green, and there isnt green growth that isn't tough to get off (like needing to scrap it off the glass with a razor blade) you're probably ok.

Water circulation from the filter will make the algae growth go down. The aquarium plants should also limit algae growth. If the algae gets big enough to see, clean it off.

If its really bugging you, products marketed as liquid CO2 (like Flourish Excel), is actually glutaraldehyde, it will kill
algae and make your plants grow faster. It isn't necessary though lot of people with low-tech planted tanks use it.

Alternativley you can move your plants somewhere else and cover your tank with some blankets/towels for a few days. Pitch black darkness will kill algae as well.

Diatoms are common specially in new tanks, it's not algae, has to die on its own, can be identified from it color and how it comes really easily (like dust). All you can do about that is wipe it off and wait for it to stop growing naturally.

Before a tank is cycled, When water is dechlorinated (with a chemical or just because it sat around long enough for the chlorine to dissipate, a first wave of bacteria will grow like crazy in the water making it cloudy/hazy. This type of bacteria is grows very fast but at the cost of being very weak. Then different types of bacteria grow based on byproducts from the previous type of bacteria As the beneficial bacteria builds up the bacteria builds up it will out-compete the bacteria making the water cloudy. By doing nothing except dechlorinating the water and putting plants in there youve already got the bacteria cycle started. The beneficial bacteria will leave a very thin clear or almost clear slime coat on everything, that's perfectly normal.

Id personally remove the chlorite, rinse it separately but not expose the tanks or anything in it to chlorinated water. The water takes a while to cycle. With 3 weeks under your belt your halfway there.

Flourite is a pain to get clean. Putting a couple of pounds at a time in a collander and letting water run through it will save you a lot of time than trying to rinse it in a bucket.

I think that covers everything

 

Little bit of algae is to be expected with stagnant water and any amount of light. As long as your water isn't green, and there isnt green growth that isn't tough to get off (like needing to scrap it off the glass with a razor blade) you're probably ok.

Water circulation from the filter will make the algae growth go down. The aquarium plants should also limit algae growth. If the algae gets big enough to see, clean it off.

If its really bugging you, products marketed as liquid CO2 (like Flourish Excel), is actually glutaraldehyde, it will kill
algae and make your plants grow faster. It isn't necessary though lot of people with low-tech planted tanks use it.

Alternativley you can move your plants somewhere else and cover your tank with some blankets/towels for a few days. Pitch black darkness will kill algae as well.

Diatoms are common specially in new tanks, it's not algae, has to die on its own, can be identified from it color and how it comes really easily (like dust). All you can do about that is wipe it off and wait for it to stop growing naturally.

Before a tank is cycled, When water is dechlorinated (with a chemical or just because it sat around long enough for the chlorine to dissipate, a first wave of bacteria will grow like crazy in the water making it cloudy/hazy. This type of bacteria is grows very fast but at the cost of being very weak. Then different types of bacteria grow based on byproducts from the previous type of bacteria As the beneficial bacteria builds up the bacteria builds up it will out-compete the bacteria making the water cloudy. By doing nothing except dechlorinating the water and putting plants in there youve already got the bacteria cycle started. The beneficial bacteria will leave a very thin clear or almost clear slime coat on everything, that's perfectly normal.

Id personally remove the chlorite, rinse it separately but not expose the tanks or anything in it to chlorinated water. The water takes a while to cycle. With 3 weeks under your belt your halfway there.

Flourite is a pain to get clean. Putting a couple of pounds at a time in a collander and letting water run through it will save you a lot of time than trying to rinse it in a bucket.

I think that covers everything

Tysm! This is really helpful!