mold or algae issue

[Crowsmuse]

My anubis is blooming and there's white fibrous stuff on it, is this normal?
Also, is this fuzzy stuff and algae normal in other pics?
Sorry.. Newb :-(

 

[Rivercats]

In pic 1 it looks like mold/fungus on the flower, pic 2 hair algae, pic 3 diatoms.

Is the tank newly set up? How many hours a day are you running your lights?

 

[Crowsmuse]

It's been set up for about two months now.
Just put a dwarf puffer in there a week and a half ago.
Probably run the lights too much. About 10 hours :-(
I will /can keep them off during day and then them on when I get home, reducing hours to
Around 4.
I put in 1.5ml excel flourish per day, 50percent water change a week (for puffer)
I'm not thrilled with the built in filtration.. 5g fluval spec.
What can I do to cut back on or cease the mold.?
I want to add an otocinclus for the algae, but I'm concerned the dogs may nip.

 

[Rivercats]

Six hours is good for keeping algae down. The tank is also still new enough it will have diatom growth. Since you use Excel you can spot treat the hair algae with 2-3ml of Excel to every gallon of tank water and slowly squirt the hair algae with it. This would count as your daily dose of Excel. You can do this daily until you get it all treated.

I've personally never had to deal with mold/fungus but have heard Excel can also work on it for spot treating.

 

[Crowsmuse]

thanks, by spot treat, does that mean pull it out and squirt the excel directly on it?
or can i stick my hand in tank and squirt excel on the parts (hoping it hits it lol)
on the mold and hair algae only?
does this remove it?
and diatoms are good then i assume.
another question, there is always an oily film on the water, is this the excel?

 

[Rivercats]

You spot treat via squirting the plants underwater, don'[t remove them. Excel will kill the algae and should the mold. If it doesn't work on the mold we can talk about using Hydrogen Peroxide on it.

Diatoms aren't good, they are unfortunely part of a new tank set up. Diatoms use excess silicates in new water and once they are used up the diatoms die out. By keeping lighting on for few hours less of them grow. You don't want to many on plant as they can suffocate the plant. One good thing is the easily wipe off if you gently rub the leaves between your fingers.

The oily film isn't the excel, it a protein layer. This happens when there isn't enough surface aggitation. If you have an HOB filter you need to drop your water level just low enough that the outflow water falls into the tank like a waterfall. If you have a canister you need to readjust your outflow more towards the surface of the water or use a spray bar at the top of the water line.

 

[Crowsmuse]

This happens when there isn't enough surface aggitation. e an HOB filter you need to drop your water level just low enough that the outflow water falls into the tank like a waterfall. If you have a canister you need to readjust your outflow more towards the surface of the water or use a spray bar at the top of the water line.

i have a Fluval spec 5, it has an odd filter system, im not sure i like it.

 

[Rivercats]

Try aimming that outflow up towards the surface to create surface movement. It has an over flow so I'm surprized you have a protein layer at all! Also try dropping your water line just a bit.