Hi could someone please help?

Me and my dad have set up my first fish tank, we have read books and tried to set my tropical fish tank up properly.Its 120L tank, and in the tank is gravel, 4 plants and some ornaments we put the water in 6 days ago (the pump has been on all the time) However we have just noticed that there is white fluffy stuff on some of the ornaments and part of the gravel, we think this is Fungus?

Why has this happened? what can we do to stop it? and will I be able to put 5 tetras in my tank on sunday?

thank you

Luke

Just remove the ornaments and wash them in hot salty water, then rinse them well in clean water and let dry out for a day, I wouldn't advise adding tetra's to a new set up tank as they are very senstitive to water quality.
What about a fishless cycle.

Hi thank you we will do that? is that the gravel as well? or should we use a gravel cleaner?
What is a fishless cycle?

Thank you

luke

Other than a fishless cycle there are a few other options you could use. Fishless cycle is the most humane but there are other options.

First option is that you could add a few very hardy fish and do daily water changes to deal with the Ammonia and nitrite build ups that will occur. This is very tedious and time consuming, It is usually the longest method, and it puts your fish in a lot of danger because they are swimming in poison for as much as two months.

Second method is to buy some form of speed cycler such as biozyme, and to add this to your tank with a light stock in it. These chem's are of dubious quality. Some people report great success and complete cycles in as little as 6 days. Personally these chems have not worked for me and I consider them a waste of money. You can try them if you want but you should monitor your water quality closely and be prepared to revert to option one incase the biozyme does not work.

The third option is perhaps the best one. There is a chem called BIO-Spira it is refrigerated has a shelf life and actually contains all the bacteria you'll need for a full stock. You can add all of your fish at once and as long as you monitor your water quality you can expect a full cycle in as little as 24 hours. I have not personally used biospira but i've heard nothing but positive feedback about it.

The fourth option is to buy some sort of Ammonia and NI Lock. These chems lock up the bad chems in your tank into a form that will not hurt your fish but the bacteria in your filter will still be able to consume them. The problem with this method is that I don't know anyone who has done it and the chems cause you to get false readings with your test kits. That last method is very risky and I don't recommend it because I have no experience what so ever with it.

the fifth option is to seed your tank with filter media, gravel, plant, or other ornaments from a healthy established tank. This will speed your cycle up quite a bit but you'll still need to monitor your water quality closely and perform partial water changes when the quality gets close to toxic.

Finally you can clone your tank. This is much more difficult than seeding your tank but in theory you should not experience a cycle at all with this method. In essence you need to get a whole filter cartridge and as much gravel ornaments etc from an established tank that has a bioload equal to or preferably greater than the bioload of the tank you are setting up. It's not very likely you'll be able to do this because it will cause the first tank to start the cycle all over again but if you can somhow manage it Then buy all of your fish and add them to your tank. Put the used filter cartridge into your filter and run it and put the other media (gravel etc...) into your tank. This should prevent your cycle but I make no guarantee's you should still monitor your water quality closely.

Having said all of that take a look at the pinned topics in the beginner's section as well as chit chat and emergencies. Then read through related topics in beginners using the search function.

Fishless cycle is by far the best option because it keeps your fish out of danger I just wanted to get out that there are many ways to cycle a tank.

If there is not alot of fungus on the gravel i would just remove the gravel with the fungus on it, use the same method salt water let dry then just add it back to the tank.

Thank you i will try that as well