Hi,
Better start by saying I am a newbie with my first tank.
I have no fish yet.
I have sand (aros play sand) and 6 little plants, a piece of bogwood which I bought from the fish shop and some stones which I collected, tested with vinegar then , as with the bogwood, boiled several times before adding to the tank.
My tank has a trickle filter and a normal heater placed inside the tank.
I have been watching my plants for days whilst giving them about 12ish hours of light from my 2 in hood flourescent bulbs.
They seemed to be doing ok. Gave them the tetra plant food stuff.
Went away for 4 days. Left the lights on (as I was afraid they'd die without the light). The filter has been on 24/7.
Got back to find the tank sides covered in brown and green sludge and the same all over the sand.
I understand (from a post I did on the beginners forum), that I should'nt have left the lights on and that the heat and light has been a breeding ground for bacteria and algae. Have reduced the light to 4 hours. Have cleaned the sides and stirred the sand However...and this is my question..
the broad leaved plants are covered in a black dust reminiscent of soot. I have put my hand over them and rubbed this off...
but what is it please?
will it harm the plants?
how do I stop it representing itself?
I have looked at a link from a post I found about black algae - but it is not stringy and not just on the sides - I don't think it is the bottlebrush algae described in the link..and it is definately black and dusty...
does anybody recognise it please?
Any advice warmly appreciated
Better start by saying I am a newbie with my first tank.
I have no fish yet.
I have sand (aros play sand) and 6 little plants, a piece of bogwood which I bought from the fish shop and some stones which I collected, tested with vinegar then , as with the bogwood, boiled several times before adding to the tank.
My tank has a trickle filter and a normal heater placed inside the tank.
I have been watching my plants for days whilst giving them about 12ish hours of light from my 2 in hood flourescent bulbs.
They seemed to be doing ok. Gave them the tetra plant food stuff.
Went away for 4 days. Left the lights on (as I was afraid they'd die without the light). The filter has been on 24/7.
Got back to find the tank sides covered in brown and green sludge and the same all over the sand.
I understand (from a post I did on the beginners forum), that I should'nt have left the lights on and that the heat and light has been a breeding ground for bacteria and algae. Have reduced the light to 4 hours. Have cleaned the sides and stirred the sand However...and this is my question..
the broad leaved plants are covered in a black dust reminiscent of soot. I have put my hand over them and rubbed this off...
but what is it please?
will it harm the plants?
how do I stop it representing itself?
I have looked at a link from a post I found about black algae - but it is not stringy and not just on the sides - I don't think it is the bottlebrush algae described in the link..and it is definately black and dusty...
does anybody recognise it please?
Any advice warmly appreciated
