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Hi,

I have a 20 gal cycled tank, fully stocked. I have been doing weekly 20% water changes and gravel vacs, parameters are all normal (Am = 0, Nitrite = 0, NiTRate = 10. ph 7.6, temp 78).

For the last month or longer, I have had this 'rusty' looking stuff appear on all my decorations (all artificial plants, etc), and on the gravel, and glass. It hasn't overtaken the tank, but it is getting pretty bad.

So, how do I get rid of it, and how do I safely clean it off my decorations, or is it better to just toss them all and start over? And if I do, do I lose too much bacteria? Also, do I do that with a gravel vac too?

And, one last topic. When should I change my filter? I have changed the carbon, but not the actual filter it self. I swish it in the water I am removing with a water change, but thats it.

Thanks in advance.

Cyndie

I had the same problem with my decorations. I finally cut back on feedings, and it dramatically made a difference. As far as cleaning them I just remove them from the tank and clean by rubbing my fingers on the leaves and etc. under warm water. There is also a solution with chlorine bleach that you could use, but i've never done it so i'm not sure of the ratio (I think it's 4 parts water 1 part bleach, but if i'm wrong i'm sure someone will correct me). Don't worry about losing any beneficial bacteria as they mostly live in your filter and gravel. BTW kudos on the weekly WC, but if you are in fact gravel vaccing each time you do a water change, that could affect your bacteria colonies. Once a month is prbably more reasonable. Good luck!

Last edited by Jessnick at 13-Nov-2004 19:03

I gravel vac 25-50% of my gravel weekly. I also occasionally use Waste Control by Nutrafin. It clears up the water,gravel and decorations.

I take out all the dirty decorations while changing the water, and soak in warm water and bleach. There's no normal ration that I use, but I always completely rinse and then soak in a sink full of water conditioner and warm water. I go heavy on the conditioner to get rid of any excess chlorine. Just make sure to use pure chlorine bleach with no additives (like pretty scents).

When I clean my decorations, I simply take them out, and use hot water and an old toothbrush, with a little elbow grease, it comes off without a problem...best of luck, if you want it a little easier, get a battery powered one, they are getting really cheap these days...Heidi

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

Hmm thanks for that idea. I was just using a bucket of aquairum water and a sponge.

Eric,

It sounds like brown algae. Low light is a contributing factor to the development of the algae. See if you can boost your wattage up to 2 watts per gallon. Also perform weekly water changes of 25%.

If you decide to clean the decorations with a bleach mixture, your proportion should be 19:1 between water and bleach. After scrubbing the decorations with the mixture be sure to rinse them well. I might take an additional step of placing them in a final rinse bucket that contains a generous amount of dechlorinating solution. Remember that bleach is chlorine.

__________
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