Good morning everyone! I am completely new to the forums (I have been lurking for a while, reading a lot of posts - I am using the (almost) complete guide to cycling your tank for my new tank), and I need some help.
I have not had a fish tank since I was around 14 (I am 26 now), and back then I knew absolutely nothing about fish. These days, thankfully I am good at Googling - for the most part. I am in the process of cycling my tank, and I have noticed that there is some whitish/clearish fuzz growing on the roots of my anubias plants (there are 4 total) and my (I believe) java fern. Two of the anubias are tied to a rock, the other two and the fern are tied to a holed cube decoration. None of the roots/rhizomes are buried in the substrate, which is just white aquarium rocks. The light I use on the tank is the light that came with it, I turn it on around 9-10 am and turn it off around 7-8 pm.
There are also white particulates floating on the top of the water, it is very slimy. In addition, it's growing around the top of my heater. I have a Fluval Spec V 5 gallon tank, everything is right out of the box (filter, pump, etc.) except the heater (I don't remember what kind I bought, I no longer have the box). It's uncycled, I am on roughly day 7 of that. The tank has been set up ~10-11 days, but I couldn't get my hands on ammonia until last weekend.
As of this morning, my pH was 7.2, my ammonia had dropped to 1 ppm (so I dosed back up to 4 ppm), and I had more than 0 ppm nitrites, but less than .25 ppm. The temp in the tank is between 78 and 80 degrees, and has been holding at that temp for the last week.
I have tried to research the white fuzz, and I have found everything from bio film to algae to fungus (not harmful or KILL IT WITH FIRE!!) to "it'll go away in a few weeks", so I am not sure what the correct answer is or how to proceed from here. Do I need more agitation of the water? A different filter? (I have been reading the planted tank forums, and I guess I need to get rid of the bag of charcoal that came with this tank's filter sponge), A water change? Kill it with fire? Or leave it alone?
I have attached photos for you guys, hopefully so you can see what I've got. Thank you in advance for your help!
I have not had a fish tank since I was around 14 (I am 26 now), and back then I knew absolutely nothing about fish. These days, thankfully I am good at Googling - for the most part. I am in the process of cycling my tank, and I have noticed that there is some whitish/clearish fuzz growing on the roots of my anubias plants (there are 4 total) and my (I believe) java fern. Two of the anubias are tied to a rock, the other two and the fern are tied to a holed cube decoration. None of the roots/rhizomes are buried in the substrate, which is just white aquarium rocks. The light I use on the tank is the light that came with it, I turn it on around 9-10 am and turn it off around 7-8 pm.
There are also white particulates floating on the top of the water, it is very slimy. In addition, it's growing around the top of my heater. I have a Fluval Spec V 5 gallon tank, everything is right out of the box (filter, pump, etc.) except the heater (I don't remember what kind I bought, I no longer have the box). It's uncycled, I am on roughly day 7 of that. The tank has been set up ~10-11 days, but I couldn't get my hands on ammonia until last weekend.
As of this morning, my pH was 7.2, my ammonia had dropped to 1 ppm (so I dosed back up to 4 ppm), and I had more than 0 ppm nitrites, but less than .25 ppm. The temp in the tank is between 78 and 80 degrees, and has been holding at that temp for the last week.
I have tried to research the white fuzz, and I have found everything from bio film to algae to fungus (not harmful or KILL IT WITH FIRE!!) to "it'll go away in a few weeks", so I am not sure what the correct answer is or how to proceed from here. Do I need more agitation of the water? A different filter? (I have been reading the planted tank forums, and I guess I need to get rid of the bag of charcoal that came with this tank's filter sponge), A water change? Kill it with fire? Or leave it alone?
I have attached photos for you guys, hopefully so you can see what I've got. Thank you in advance for your help!