New Set Up Advice Please

[petew]

Hi All,
I'm new to all this so any advice greatly appreciated.

I set up my tank a week ago (110l tank, heater, filter,gravel, plants & light) and was planning to start a fishless cycle this weekend.

But I think I might have made some stupid mistakes ?
1 - I filled the tank with filtered water from our fridge and also added "tapsafe"
2 - I've been adding filter start every other day over the last week.
3 - The control knob & rubber suckers on the heater element inside the tank are now covered in what looks like a "cotton
wool" like growth

Have I made some big mistakes?

regards petew

(wish I'd found this forum before walking into the fish shop)!

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum PeteW.
Go ahead and start the cycle. The "filter start" may have introduced something alive into your tank, who knows what. We usually don't expect to find anything alive in bacteria booster products but there actually might have been something alive in yours, or it may just have some nutrient in it that has fed a fungus that already existed in the tank or on the heater when you got them.