mold? Smell?

[ElanaJoy]

Hi! I have a few pics to show what I am wondering is mold or not. The tank water is low now (too complicated to get into at the moment) and at one point some of the black spots were not covered in water. Does mold grow when submersed, or just wet? Is there any way to know what is is by watching if it progresses in a certain way? Also, there is what I would define as a mildew-y smell especially around the ball joint for the waterfall which, again, has been above water for a few weeks. There is a glass lid that rests on top with a half inch gap all around. So I know it's "moist" but not submerged, even some of those fake plants that are sticky out of the water, are those a concern?

I obviously want to fill up my tank ASAP. but I am on a well and my ph is all over the place, and any water I buy at the store is vastly different than mine, so I have been mixing and adding gradually.

One option I have is to use my QT tank and use vinegar to wipe everything down, and I have aquarium safe silicone I could use to fill in that crack that stuff seems to want to grow in after cleaning it. Thoughts?

Should I be concerned about the water quality? Would I not want to place this water back in the tank after I clean it?

Any advice is appreciated!

 

[Toad]

Looks like regular algae/tank muck to me, not much to do but clean it out when it starts to bother you.

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[_Drago_]

I agree with toad, it seems like algae. Scrub it with a toothbrush if it's aggravating to you! To keep a more steady ph, why not go out and buy a few gallon jugs of water? These tend to be safer anyway and generally have a neutral ph considering the fact that they're a "human grade" product

 

[ElanaJoy]

Thanks guys! Yeah, I think someone said I should buy distilled to cut my water with. I was buying spring, but it just kept creeping back up to 8.2 no matter what I did! It's a small tank, so I won't mind buying water.

So it's okay for that stuff to get scrubbed off and into the water? I shouldn't bother emptying the tank and filling that crevice in really, right?

Any ideas about mildewy smell? Just a hazard of things being damp but not submerged?

Thanks!!