Grey/brown "particles" all over everything. What

[bosk1]

My tank is nearing the ned of its cycle. Current water parameters are:
Ammonia: 0 (add 2 ppm every day, and after 24 hours, it is always back to 0)
Nitrite: just under 1.0 (color on test is darker than 0.5, but lighter than 1.0)
Nitrate: showing 5.0, but I was told by someone on this forum I won't get an accurate reading with nitrites in the water.
ph: 7.1

The tank has been up and running for about a month now. I little while back, I noticed some particle matter on one of the flower pots. I noticed it has accumulated more in the last few days, but didn't look that closely. Now, the particles are bigger, and are all over everything (plants, substrate, etc.). I thought it might be algae, but it doesn't stick to anything. I stirred up the water around one area where they were collected, and they just "flew away." So it is just some strange particles that have gotten bigger, and are on every horizontal surface. What is this? Should I do a pwc and just vaccuum everything, or do I have a serious problem?

Side note: Up until a few minutes ago, I had an old filter cartridge from a friend sitting in my tank to get some of his bacteria going in my tank. (it wouldn't fit in my filter with my filter media, so I just dropped it into the tank). It is pretty "gunky," and I suspect the particles are just junk from this old, dirty filter media. Now that it looks like I've got my own bacteria growing, I'm going to take it out and let my tank finish cycling on its own. But I want to know if anyone knows what this is, and if it's a big problem. Thanks.

*worried*

 

[bosk1]

Oh, and temp. is 82 (I need to lower it). Don't know if that makes a difference.

 

[Devilishturtles]

They are harmless diatoms, and are quite common in a new tank. Be patient, and they will go away on their own, likely after your tank cycles.

 

[chineseknife]

ditto- ^^^^

As a matter of fact, there will probably be lots of little "what are these" type critters that soon will be showing their faces.

Here's a link(scroll to bottom of page-"Pests") that will hopefully help indentify some of those creatures when and if they do show up.
http://wetwebmedia.com/mardisindex.htm

 

[Devilishturtles]

FYI, chineseknife. Your link is for Marine critters. There is nowhere close to the number of FW critters are there are to Marine critters. Just so bosk1 isn't freaked out.

 

[bosk1]

/freakout. Thanks.

But I did take out that old filter media and do a pwc since I hadn't heard anything from anyone initially, and I know I can't really hurt to do a pwc. My levels are about the same, so it doesn't look like I have disrupted anything.

So these...uh...diatoms...what exactly do they want? Are they peaceful, or do they plan to strip our planet of all its natural resources and take our chidren away to use for food?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I had the same thing when my 55G was cycling. It was all over my driftwood, pool filter sand, caves, etc. I still have some, not sure if it's going away on it's own or if it's the CAE's. It was some nasty stuff. Glad it's going away.

 

[chineseknife]

FYI, chineseknife. Your link is for Marine critters. There is nowhere close to the number of FW critters are there are to Marine critters. Just so bosk1 isn't freaked out.

Thanks for the correction. I forgot this was both FW and SW forum. Guess I should pay more attention. Sorry for the assumption and hope I didn't give bad advice..
Hope you find a solution to the "brown specs"--"Dilution is the Solution to Pollution"

 

[Devilishturtles]

Thanks for the correction. I forgot this was both FW and SW forum. Guess I should pay more attention. Sorry for the assumption and hope I didn't give bad advice..

Not at all! I was just pointing out. That link was very interesting however, I bookmarked it. 8)

So these...uh...diatoms...what exactly do they want? Are they peaceful, or do they plan to strip our planet of all its natural resources and take our chidren away to use for food?

Harmless and Peacful. They will not take over or kill anything in your tank. To put it simply, they are an overabundance of bacteria that will be killed off and dissapear once your biological filter catches up with them.

If you are looking for a good tank addition soon (after your cycle) you may want to consider Otocinculus Catfish. They love diatoms, and are a great addition to any tank. Beware though, they are a sensitive species. Put some on hold at your LFS and wait for them to stay alive for a few days in your store's tank, before you take them home.

 

[bosk1]

I've thought about maybe getting a couple of ottos, but I'm not sure. I plan to have some loaches as my main bottom feeders (I'm favoring clown loaches, but may go with yo-yos at the last minute), and was thinking about getting a group of cories to clean up what the loaches leave behind. But perhaps the ottos may be the better way to go. Not as cute as the cories (at least to me), but may help keep the tank cleaner. Hmm... Not sure. Knowing that I'm not crazy about ottos, would you still recommend getting them instead of the cories? As I understand it, they perform slightly different function in terms of cleaning.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Cories will not eat algae, where as oto cats will. What is holding you back from keeping both?

They are both compatible, and I've never heard of a gourami or loach being too agressive towards one. A school of cories for your tank bottom, and a school of otos (they like groups, and since they stay small, you could get a large school...more than 5 or 6) would be nice.

If you still aren't up for otos, then you can be patient and wait for the diatoms to go away on their own and get a pleco.

HTH