SterlingSilver
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Hi everybody. I am new here, and new to planted tanks but have done a lot of research to figure out the right way to do things.
I have a 20 gallon tank, with water wisteria, argentine swords, java fern and an anubias. (They are all from the tubes sold at petco, and are thriving.) My tank was cycled, but when I changed the filter cartridge for the first time it went through a mini cycle. Right now my water parameters are 0 Amm, 8 Nitrite, and 30 Nitrate. pH is 8 - 8.2.
For lighting I bought a clip lamp with one 13w cfl 6,500 daylight bulb, placed a few inches above the water. It is on a timer for 12 hours, which I am slowly decreasing. The lamp can hold a max of 13w, or I would have gone higher. But it looks, to me, to be bright and wide enough to cover the entire tank.
My question is about the java fern and anubias. It should show in the pictures there is a white, floss like substance on the base of the plants. I originally thought it was from the cotton twine i used to tie them to the rocks, but there is other cotton twine in the tank that has not done this. I have cleaned the plants, and used new twine but 2 to 3 days later it is back. If anyone could help me identify what it is i would be very grateful.
Oh, and when I take it out of the water, it looks brown...
I have a 20 gallon tank, with water wisteria, argentine swords, java fern and an anubias. (They are all from the tubes sold at petco, and are thriving.) My tank was cycled, but when I changed the filter cartridge for the first time it went through a mini cycle. Right now my water parameters are 0 Amm, 8 Nitrite, and 30 Nitrate. pH is 8 - 8.2.
For lighting I bought a clip lamp with one 13w cfl 6,500 daylight bulb, placed a few inches above the water. It is on a timer for 12 hours, which I am slowly decreasing. The lamp can hold a max of 13w, or I would have gone higher. But it looks, to me, to be bright and wide enough to cover the entire tank.
My question is about the java fern and anubias. It should show in the pictures there is a white, floss like substance on the base of the plants. I originally thought it was from the cotton twine i used to tie them to the rocks, but there is other cotton twine in the tank that has not done this. I have cleaned the plants, and used new twine but 2 to 3 days later it is back. If anyone could help me identify what it is i would be very grateful.
Oh, and when I take it out of the water, it looks brown...
