I Need Help :(

[Natty80]

......I have set up a tropical tank with Chilhids witch has been set up for 2 weeks prior to adding the fish to make sure everything was perfect for them, ive had the fish in the tank for about a week now and today i have noticed white fluffy stuff on my heater??? does anyone know what this is and is it deadly to my fish at all??? i do have bristlenose catfish in there as well.
I did set it up like 4 to 5 weeks ago because i noticed white fluffy stuff on heater and there was no fish in there at all so i empyed it and brought a new heater thinking it was a dud heater but obviously not...
all i want to know is what is the white fluffy stuff on my heater and will it kill my fish???

i would put this topic in the right section but im not allowed to post in that part for some reason >.< so im asking here cause i dont want to lose my fish if its a problem

 

[BigIan]

could well be a bacterial or algal growth not harmfull at all,

did you cycle the tank?

 

[fluffycabbage]

does sound like a bloom - i had that when i started out too. have you got a test kit at all, to check your water? Are the fish ok, feeding and swimming normally?

 

[Bazza57]

Hello Natty80..

It sounds like you live in a hard water area, the white stuff on your heater is calcium. just like the stuff that forms in your in your kettle.
it is harmless to the fish, unlikely to impair the effectiveness of your heater. but please check your PH - any higher than 7 means you have hard water (high alkalinity) perfect if you want to keep platys!

 

[Natty80]

I have a ph test kit and the ph is right, the fish seem happy swimming around normal theres no sign of infection etc on them at all, could it be due to over feeding (left over food)there fed morning and night?? with tropical flakes also i add a algae disk for the bristlenoses a day (my daughter put 2 algae disks in this morning tho)
well i had tank set up 2 weeks prior to getting fish (i have been told tank should be cycled for 6 weeks before adding fish something pet stores DO NOT tell you obviously)

 

[Natty80]

i have chilhids and the ph level it says on a website is 7.5 to 8.5 range on the pH scale would be ideal for the cichlid aquarium water. my ph is 7.4???

 

[BigIan]

what are your readingd for:

ammonia

nitrite

Nitrate?

also how long do you have your lights on for?

 

[Natty80]

Im not sure what it tests for it measures the ph level it doesent say anything but that....
i probably leave my lights on to long they get turned on at 7:30am and turned off around 10:00pm, i guess thats to long huh
whats the time frame lights should be on for 8 hours could that be the problem???

 

[BigIan]

Ph is much less important, Most fish can acclimatise to ph outside of there normal remit, and as your tapwater ph will usually remain constant the tank ph remains constant.

ammonia nitrite, and nitrate are the chemicals that will harm your fish. A tank is considered cycled when the bacteria colony in the filter is large enough to process all the ammonia from fish waste into nitrate.

it sounds to me like you may not have cycled your tank before adding fish.

is this the case?


If so you need a test kit for ammonia nitrite and nitrate,

and you will need to do regular water changes (daily) to keep the ammonia down below 0.25 ppm and keep this up until you tank is processing ammonia its self.

there are many helpful threads on here about cycleing.

 

[Natty80]

Thanks for all ur help guys ill grab a kit, and ill take heater out and clean it and start doing daily water changes.....

 

[OldMan47]

In your position, with no test results to help me, I would do an immediate 80% water change using dechlorinated and temperature matched water. If my fish looked tons better, I would not be at all surprised. As soon as is practical, you should test your water with one of the liquid type test kits but do not be discouraged if you cannot find a test kit locally. Some pet shops do not carry them because they are a bit expensive and anything but cheap sells poorly at the LFS.