Black mould in tank

[Elmo1738]

I’ve only recently become a fish owner! Started my tank about 6 months ago, I’ve noticed some algae or mould furry looking on my castle ornament and wondered if this is harmful or dangerous? And if so the best way to get rid of it

 

[Byron]

That furry stuff is algae, a type of black beard algae. You cannot really get rid of it, but you can control it. Like all algae, it is caused by nutrients in the presence of light. If you have a tank with live plants, the lighting needs to be sufficient for the needs of the plants (and not more), and balanced with adequate nutrients. As soon as light becomes more than what the plants need, whether this is the intensity or duration or both, algae has an advantage because it is not as fussy over light. Same holds for nutrients.

Algae is not harmful or dangerous per say, but if it increases to the point of suffocating plant leaves the plants will die. And the algae is also a sign of nutrients being plentiful, which may mean more frequent water changes, vacuuming the substrate in open areas, keeping the filter media well rinsed, not overfeeding , not overstocking.

We will need to have more data on the aquarium in order to suggest options.

 

[Sgooosh]

That furry stuff is algae, a type of black beard algae. You cannot really get rid of it, but you can control it. Like all algae, it is caused by nutrients in the presence of light. If you have a tank with live plants, the lighting needs to be sufficient for the needs of the plants (and not more), and balanced with adequate nutrients. As soon as light becomes more than what the plants need, whether this is the intensity or duration or both, algae has an advantage because it is not as fussy over light. Same holds for nutrients.

Algae is not harmful or dangerous per say, but if it increases to the point of suffocating plant leaves the plants will die. And the algae is also a sign of nutrients being plentiful, which may mean more frequent water changes, vacuuming the substrate in open areas, keeping the filter media well rinsed, not overfeeding , not overstocking.

We will need to have more data on the aquarium in order to suggest options.

i had this problem too
i had a very strong light but once i got the finnex planted 24/7 it got controlled
i reccomend getting params under control, maybe lessen the ferts.
then pick off the leaves that have the bba in them
let it grow first though

 

[Elmo1738]

That furry stuff is algae, a type of black beard algae. You cannot really get rid of it, but you can control it. Like all algae, it is caused by nutrients in the presence of light. If you have a tank with live plants, the lighting needs to be sufficient for the needs of the plants (and not more), and balanced with adequate nutrients. As soon as light becomes more than what the plants need, whether this is the intensity or duration or both, algae has an advantage because it is not as fussy over light. Same holds for nutrients.

Algae is not harmful or dangerous per say, but if it increases to the point of suffocating plant leaves the plants will die. And the algae is also a sign of nutrients being plentiful, which may mean more frequent water changes, vacuuming the substrate in open areas, keeping the filter media well rinsed, not overfeeding , not overstocking.

We will need to have more data on the aquarium in order to suggest options.

Thankyou for your knowledge! I do have live plants in the tank and have noticed the leaves looking covered with green algae. The light I have came with the tank, the make is Aquael and has 3 settings light dim and night. I’ve also noticed green stringy algae coming out from the filter so I’m sure it’s becoming a problem! I vacuum and water change every two weeks so I might do it once a week and see if the problem resolves? Thanks again

 

[Sgooosh]

Thankyou for your knowledge! I do have live plants in the tank and have noticed the leaves looking covered with green algae. The light I have came with the tank, the make is Aquael and has 3 settings light dim and night. I’ve also noticed green stringy algae coming out from the filter so I’m sure it’s becoming a problem! I vacuum and water change every two weeks so I might do it once a week and see if the problem resolves? Thanks again

yea once a week is better

 

[Elmo1738]

yea once a week is better

Great I’ll do that! I just had to google all your smart aquarium slag to understand your previous message ? The black algae is on artificial leaves so I may throw the ornament away if it keeps growing!

 

[Sgooosh]

Great I’ll do that! I just had to google all your smart aquarium slag to understand your previous message ? The black algae is on artificial leaves so I may throw the ornament away if it keeps growing!

sorry, bba is black beard algae
ferts is well, fertilisers
theres a whole thread about these things
oh that is good
dont throw it away, that is a big waste (since it does not grow back)
scrub it outside of the tank

 

[Byron]

Thankyou for your knowledge! I do have live plants in the tank and have noticed the leaves looking covered with green algae. The light I have came with the tank, the make is Aquael and has 3 settings light dim and night. I’ve also noticed green stringy algae coming out from the filter so I’m sure it’s becoming a problem! I vacuum and water change every two weeks so I might do it once a week and see if the problem resolves? Thanks again

Provide as much data on the light as you can. Type, wattage, spectrum...anything written on the fixture or box. And how long is it on every day? The "light" is presumably the strongest light and the plants will use this but it can't be on for too long. The dim and night light will not benefit plants, but algae might be able to use it.

Once a week partial water change is advisable, and make it substantial, 60-70% of the tank volume can be changed once a week. Provided the parameters (these are GH, pH and temperature) are reasonably the same between tap water and tank water, there is no harm in a good water change.

 

[Elmo1738]

Will attach photos of the light! I usually turn the day light on around 9am and then daybreak light at 5:30pm and then night light at 9pm then all lights off at 11.00pm. Thankyou for your advice I will start the weekly water changes asap! I hope my pictures are useful

 

[Sgooosh]

Will attach photos of the light! I usually turn the day light on around 9am and then daybreak light at 5:30pm and then night light at 9pm then all lights off at 11.00pm. Thankyou for your advice I will start the weekly water changes asap! I hope my pictures are useful

i reccomend just turn the light on at 6:00, and at 14:00 turn it off
no need to hassle with the night modes, i never use it(old light)

 

[Elmo1738]

Unfortunately I’m not a great morning person so would these hours still work later in the day? Also will the fish still be happy without some night light ?thanks for all your advice!

 

[Sgooosh]

Unfortunately I’m not a great morning person so would these hours still work later in the day? Also will the fish still be happy without some night light ?thanks for all your advice!

oh sure yea
just have 8 hours of light, the bare minimum
10 hours is also good
7-15 is good too
etc. etc..

 

[Byron]

Will attach photos of the light! I usually turn the day light on around 9am and then daybreak light at 5:30pm and then night light at 9pm then all lights off at 11.00pm. Thankyou for your advice I will start the weekly water changes asap! I hope my pictures are useful

I tracked down the website, have a look and see if you can find your particular model there, it may give us more info.
LED fish tank lights | Best aquarium lighting - Aquael UK (aquael-aquarium.co.uk)

In the interim, "daylight" to fish and plants means direct sunlight (if their habitat receives this, many do not) or the brightest light. Six hours, seven hours, eight hours is sufficient for all plants, provided there are sufficient nutrients in balance. Light drives photosynthesis, so when this brightest period is finished, plant are no longer using the light...but algae can. This is the danger with dimmer light, night "moon" light, and such gimmicks.

Fish and plants also need a period of several hours of continuous total darkness...no moon light, no ambient room lighting, etc. You can arrange the "daylight" for the time when you are normally home to view the aquarium, and then make sure there is also a period of several hours of total blackness.

 

[Essjay]

I suspect this is the tank as the photos show it is a 7w tube and this tank has a 7w tube.

Aquael

Najwyższej jakości sprzęt akwarystyczny od polskiego producenta - bogata oferta z szybką dostawą!

www.aquael-aquarium.co.uk

Looking at the leaflet pdf, there are 3 lighting options
Daylight, sunny tube, 6500 K, 650 lumens. Note - it may be 6500 K but there is virtually no red in the spectrum
Daybreak - sunny + blue
Night - blue

This is from the leaflet

Is there any way to have it set just on Daylight and use a plug in timer to turn it on and off?

 

[Elmo1738]

Yes that is the tank! 35L! I have looked on their website and seen they sell a “plant” light, would you recommend this?. The light can just be set to daylight so I’ll avoid using the other blue settings!