What The Heck Are These Bubbles

Since about two days after I started up this tank, I've been getting this weird kind of frothy effect on the surface of my water. It's all over the surface, but they tend to conglomerate against the tank walls and especially next to, behind, and underneath my filter baffle (a cut up plastic bottle). Removing the baffle doesn't reduce bubble production after I skI'm them all off, just spreads them around more as they continue to form. If I try to break them up by agitating the water or by touching them, they join up into bigger bubbles that I can't easily pop; they just slide out from under my finger or tool.

The tank has been reading at a steady 8.0 pH since I set it up. Nothing showing up for any of the other tests included in the API master kit, which makes sense. My liquid fertilizer hasn't arrived yet, and the ammonia I was going to use for cycling turned out to have other cleaners in it not listed in the ingredients on the label, so I haven't added anything to the water but Tetra Aquasafe Plus. Also waiting for my water hardness test kit to arrive, so I don't know where it lies there.

The heater I've got is pre-set to heat to 78F, but the thermometer I have is apparently very inaccurate so I don't actually know what the water temperature is. Room temperature fluctuates between 65-76F -ish, because my apartment thermostat is also confused about what its job is. The water is kind of brown and murky, but I admittedly messed up when adding the soil and didn't rinse it all, so I assume it's just overloaded with tannins. It clears up pretty well for a bit after an 18% water change, which I do every other day.

My plants aren't visibly melting yet (at least comparing them to online pictures and videos, anyway) but one anubias is curling up around the leaves a lot despite still being a fairly dark green, and another one had a short root suddenly die and turn fuzzy yesterday. I wasn't sure if it was algae or mold growth, so I cut that part off and pulled it out. None of the other plants have the same fuzz on them, though I'll keep an eye out for it just in case.

I don't know if the bubbles are a sign of something wrong with the water that's causing my plants to have issues, or if melting just doesn't always look the same, or if it's just because I haven't been able to fertilize them yet. But either way, I know those bubbles are most likely not at all normal, and I need to figure out what's making them.

 

If you have a betta, could be a bubble nest. The frothiness would steer me away from that conclusion, but there's pics online that look real similar and are bubble nests.

 

did you wash off tank decorations and substrate before putting them in the tank?

 

If you have a betta, could be a bubble nest. The frothiness would steer me away from that conclusion, but there's pics online that look real similar and are bubble nests.

The tank hasn't been cycled yet, so there are no fish in the tank. The only things in the tank are java fern, anubias, marimo balls, gravel, and soil.

 

did you wash off tank decorations and substrate before putting them in the tank?

I did rinse everything I put in the tank beforehand, barring some extra soil that got added when I was in a panic. I didn't use any soap or chemicals; everything was rinsed in dechlorinated water. Actually, the larger rocks were also boiled in tap water for about twenty minutes before taking a soak in dechlorinated water while I put in the soil and gravel.

 

Some filters will build up bubbles like this from when they return the water to the tank. I’ve had it happen with a few different HOB filters over the years. You can play around with the filter output and the baffle if it bothers you, but if that’s all it is then it won’t actually cause any problems for your tank or your fish when you add them.