White algae/fungus on driftwood

[BEAUCASTLE]

You nailed it.. following is my reply from the manufacturer...

Thank you very much for contacting us regarding our products. All of your comments and questions are valuable. We use your feedback to create the most effective line of aquarium and pond products available.

Barbara in response to your question, each reagent bottle has a Lot # printed on the bottle. The last four digits are the month and year of manufacture. Example: Lot # 28A0108. This is a pH reagent manufactured in January of 2008. Wide Range pH, High Range pH, Ammonia, Nitrate, Phosphate, Copper, Calcium and GH all last for three years. Nitrite and KH will last for four years. Freshwater pH (low range) and Pond Care Salt Level will last for five years. I would not use or trust these kits after they have expired. The only level that should not be 0 ppm is your nitrate reading. Liquid Nitrate Test Kits from any manufacturer can have a common problem with their last test solution. For some companies, it is bottle number 3, but for us it is bottle number 2. One of the ingredients wants to solidify out of liquid solution. If the test bottle sits for any period of time, this can happen. If this does happen and the test is performed without Bottle # 2 mixed properly, then you can get a falsely low reading. I have never heard of falsely high readings with Nitrate Kits. I would try tapping your Bottle # 2 a few times on a table or counter top. This should loosen-up anything that has solidified. Then I would shake this bottle for about 2-3 minutes, to really mix it up. Try the test again and hopefully this will fix you problem. With regular weekly usage, this bottle should only need to be shaken for 30-60 seconds.

If you have any other questions or wish to discuss this further, please email back or give us a call at 1-800-847-0659.

Best Regards,

Nathan Fekula
Technical Service and Research
Mars Fishcare

50 EAST HAMILTON ST
PO BOX 218
CHALFONT, PA 18914-0218

E+nfekula@AQUARIUMPHARM.COM


Welcome to Mars Fishcare - Mars Fishcare

I did the banging and shaking am now at about 7 ppm for my nitrates. Is that ok? Also my water is clear but has a white haze. I changed out the carbon last night but is does not seem to have had an effect. Suggestions?
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[MichaelsLilGray]

when you do water changes btw.. how much are you changing out?

[BEAUCASTLE]

I will try that and see if it changes the readings. The low readings do make me nervous.

[MichaelsLilGray]

low nothing... they are not there lol

[BEAUCASTLE]

20 % normally.. little more if time is longer.

[MichaelsLilGray]

someone else can chime in if they feel im wrong on that.. but 0 nitrates in a 5 month established tank sounds kooky.... lol

[kaiofcanada]

Originally Posted by MichaelsLilGray

someone else can chime in if they feel im wrong on that.. but 0 nitrates in a 5 month established tank sounds kooky.... lol

I agree about the nitrates. You should have something there if you have anything alive in the tank. And without live plants to soak up the nitrates I would expect them to read higher.

As for the white stuff on driftwood...it is likely brown algae/diatoms. They appear typically in association with high nitrates and silicates, and often with weak lighting. What type of lighting do you have? They will work themselves out with increased light in a cycled tank. Would not hurt to add some otocinclus or another algae eater to the tank like a pleco, even though I don't prefer plecos. There are a number of other great community algae eaters you can of course consider.

I already mentioned how overstocked I think your tank is. And even if you are not interested in breeding angels as you have stated, you can not force them to be celebate as they mature. They will pair up, and with the numbers you are keeping...you may get more than one pair. They will become aggressive and territorial and as HN1 said...anything but angels.

I have a friend who sells off pairs once they faithfully produce, and she makes a good income at this. But to be certain you will not be able to stock your tank with that many angels for very long. I love angels too. They are beautiful fish, but I would recommend against waiting until they mature and become aggressive and territorial to find homes different homes for them.

I suggest looking for a pair amongst the school that you have and then selling back the rest to the breeder or to interested buyers. If you get lucky, or unlucky, depending on your perspective, and get several pairs, you will need a tank per pair. I say this as I don't think your 65 gallon is even large enough to divide more than once or twice with plexi screens to seperate pairs without too much stress. Do you have other tanks that you could move some into?

[BEAUCASTLE]

I'll shake shake shake and test when I get home.. I'll post results.

[DragonFish71]

The white stuff is normal for some woods. It will eventually go away on it's own. Some fish nibble at it, some like corys and otos devour it. (IME) I keep a toothbrush that I bought just for use on the tanks handy to give spots a little scrub.

[HN1]

If it looks similar to this, it's fungal and definitely not diatoms. I've seen it appear quite often on newly introduced DW and it cures itself. Neocaridina will also feed on it, but I wouldn't recommend trying them in that tank.