Mold(?) On My Filter?

[Sunam]

I have a relatively new tropical tank (Jan 2009) and I have had trouble with what looks like mold ("fluffy" white growth) on my filter. It grows on the top, moist areas of my filter and inserts. What could be going on and what should I do? It has a cover of sorts on it and I've wondered if it might help if I don't put that on so that it's not an incubator for the warm, moist conditions. What do you think?

 

[loachman]

I have a relatively new tropical tank (Jan 2009) and I have had trouble with what looks like mold ("fluffy" white growth) on my filter. It grows on the top, moist areas of my filter and inserts. What could be going on and what should I do? It has a cover of sorts on it and I've wondered if it might help if I don't put that on so that it's not an incubator for the warm, moist conditions. What do you think?

It is probably calcium deposits from your water. They're not uncommon, especially if you have hard water. Are they "crusty" feeling?

 

[JmeSomers]

Does it look like this? http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...=white+clusters

My pictures aren't great.

 

[Athena]

Another thing it could be is food deposits that have gone mouldy and they develop a fluffy whitish/grey fungus. I've had that happen in one of my tanks where my filter was positioned right at water level and so as food dropped in (e.g. flake food) and floated around the top it would catch on the top of the filter and end up looking how I've described above. Of course, after finding it like that I cleaned it off and pushed the filter down a fraction more so it doesn't happen.

Regards - Athena

 

[Sunam]

It's really not crusty and actually cleans off just with a quick wipe. It's kind of slimy--not the speckled looking stuff in one of the pictures. Honestly, it looks very similar to what I've seen growing on food past its prime in my fridge! It's "fluffy" if that makes sense and slightly fibrous/porous like food mold. If I hadn't just cleaned it, I'd get some pictures. It grows on top of the black and regular filters in my filter system and on the top of the intake tube. I took the lid off to see if that might help. We'll see...