Brown stuff everywhere

[gearyboy]

My first tropical tank its a 126ltr/29gallon tank. I set it up on saturday adding gravel which i cleaned, plastic plants, rocks and the heater/filter has been running ever since. Ive noticeed today there is a brown/yellow substance around the vents of the filter where the water enters.

1) what is it?
2) just take filter out and clean?


Cheers Matt

 

[smooth_bourbon]

did you rinse the gravel real good before you put it in? Do you have any fish? Are you cycling the tank?

If the tank is cycling I wouldnt mess with the filter right now for you are trying to build up bacteria in it. If you do decide to rinse it do it with tank water, never use tap water on the filters this kills all the good bacteria and will kick in a new cycle.

 

[gearyboy]

Yeah rinsed it good, no fish and I presume im cycling it?!? I was told to leave it alone for two weeks. Am i doing right?

 

[rdd1952]

Actually leaving it for 2 weeks won't do much of anything other than let any loose sand sediment in the water settle. To cycle the tank, you will need to add pure ammonia. Check out the pinnes topics in the beginners section or just Google for "fishless cycle". There are several different methods of fishless cycling (the best way IMO).

Do you have test kits to test the water. You will definitely need those whether you cycle with or without fish. Get a liquid Master Kit that tests for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and high pH. They are more accurate and less expensive in the long run since they last longer that several packs of the strips.

 

[gearyboy]

Ah I understand now I will go to my local shop tomoz and get it sorted. Cheers guys. Good job this forum is here!