Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => New Fishkeepers => Topic started by: jimbo1goey on April 07, 2013, 03:46:38 PM
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Hi All! I've been reading all sorts of posts on here and can honestly say the level of advise is really helpful for newbies such as myself! I recently bought a Fishbox 64L I have the stock heater and pump installed, its been running for just over a week, we havent added any fish, nor have we started a fish-less cycle yet, life huh?! We had a lovely big bacterial bloom blow up that lasted for days, the side effects are still going and this is what I wanted to ask about. After the bloom went down it left what appears to be mould on the water surface, small white flakes that are long in shape, couple mm if that, does anyone know what this is, what causes it, what can be done about it? Will it work itself out? What can be done to prevent it re-occuring? I havent done a water change yet thats next but wanted some advise in the meantime.
Thanks! :)
James
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Since the tank and everything in it are brand new, what you could be seeing is something left on the surface of the glass/heater/filter by the manufacturing process. I wouldn't worry about it yet.
You could try paper towels - lay them on the surface and lift off carefully from one end. In theory, the bits should stick to the towels.
If you are going to do a fishless cycle, just start it and see what happens to the bits. You will need to do a very large water change at the end before getting fish so if it's still there you'll get rid of them then.
If you decide on fish-in cycling I would try and get rid of the bits first. If you remove the hard plastic section from the siphon tube, it is possible to carefully suck things off the surface with the narrow tubing. To start the siphon like this, put the tubing in the sink and fill it with water. Carry it across to the tank holding both ends together. Put a finger over each end, lower one end into the bucket and the other into the tank and take your fingers off the ends.
Another advantage of a fishess cycle is it gives yout time to sort it out ;D
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Thanks Sue - you appear to be the oracle on all water questions! :)
I am thinking a fish-less cycle is the way to go, can you recommend any products that are relatively striaght forward to get hold of that will do the job?
Thanking you kindly :)
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I used Homecare Essentials ammonia, you can get it at The Range for about £1 if there's one near you.
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I used Kleen Off Household Ammonia from the local hardware store.
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I'm also using Kleen Off to cycle my 25 litre. I got that from my local diy shop. It is also sold on ebay and amazon.
I know Homebase have sold it in the past; whether they still do I don't know. Boots have stopped selling it. If Homebase do have it, it will be in the cleaning section.
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Thats brilliant, thanks all! :)