Bookshelf stream II: battle of the algae (long)

[F_P]

Hello to everyone,

not long ago I asked for advice (and got very good replies :-) ) about my
project of putting a small "stream" aquarium on my bookshelf.
Since then the thing has taken shape, and here is how it looks like now:
http://grisu.no-ip.com/acquario/bookshelf/bookshelf1.jpg
The yellow scarf hides lights (2x11w), electric wires, DIY sugar-yeast CO2
bottle, and the DIY filter, as shown in this picture:
http://grisu.no-ip.com/acquario/bookshelf/bookshelf2.jpg
The pump is covered by a "chef hat" made gluing together strips of aquarium
sponge. It pushes the water along a pipe hidden under the gravel which then
rises above the aquarium and enters the filter (simply a plastic container
filled with ceramic elements). From there the water returns into the tank.
I intended to hide pump, heater, and CO2 outlet behind a thick and tall
plant, and here comes a funny story. To this pourpose I planned to use
heterantera zosterifolia (the tank should be an amazonic biotope, cfr.
http://fish.mongabay.com/biotope_amazon_blackwater.htm). So, my wife went
to the local fish shop, and the shopkeeper sold her a plant supposedly
"belonging to the same family, just about the same that you asked". It
turns out to be alternanthera roseafolia! Somebody judges plant affinities
by the sound of their names!!!
Happily the alternanthera seems to do the cover job quite well, and it is
growing steadily.
http://grisu.no-ip.com/acquario/bookshelf/bookshelf3.jpg
The other plants in the tank are echinodorus tenellus, which are sending out
many runners along the bottom. The dark gravel covers about 1 inch of
fertilizing soil.
About 10 days ago, when nitrites went down to 0, I put 10 neon tetras. As I
was told, the current generated by the 90 g/h pump isn't too strong for
them, and they are doing just fine. As soon as I'll find a shop which
carries them, I'll put in 3-4 otocinclus, as well. Right now in the tank I
have:
Ph 7.5
Kh 6 degrees
Gh 8 degrees
Temp 25 C
No2 not measurable
No3 25 ppm
Lights are on 10 h/day.

And now comes the problem. The pieces of (boiled) wood in the tank right
from the start have developed a white furry stuff on them, which later
appeared also over the most well-lit areas of the gravel:
http://grisu.no-ip.com/acquario/bookshelf/bookshelf4.jpg
Until now I didn't worry too much, thinking that the white stuff would
disappear as the tank ages. And so it seems to be... except that as it goes
away it is being replaced by green slimy stuff, which is also finding its
way over some echinodorus leaves. And that worries me a lot.
http://grisu.no-ip.com/acquario/bookshelf/bookshelf5.jpg
Has anyone some good advice on what to do about this, or, at least, can give
a precise name to these unwelcome guests of my aquarium?

Thanks a lot,

FP

[NetMax]

"F_P" > wrote in message
...
> Hello to everyone,
<snip>
> And now comes the problem. The pieces of (boiled) wood in the tank
right
> from the start have developed a white furry stuff on them, which later
> appeared also over the most well-lit areas of the gravel:
> http://grisu.no-ip.com/acquario/bookshelf/bookshelf4.jpg
> Until now I didn't worry too much, thinking that the white stuff would
> disappear as the tank ages. And so it seems to be... except that as it
goes
> away it is being replaced by green slimy stuff, which is also finding
its
> way over some echinodorus leaves. And that worries me a lot.
> http://grisu.no-ip.com/acquario/bookshelf/bookshelf5.jpg
> Has anyone some good advice on what to do about this, or, at least, can
give
> a precise name to these unwelcome guests of my aquarium?
>
> Thanks a lot,
>
> FP

Thanks for sharing the pics. Ordinarily I don't worry too much about a
bit of mould on my driftwood, but in your case, I'd make an exception.
Your wood does not appear to have been dried. Fresh wood, or improperly
dried wood will be problematic in an aquarium. In nature, there is
enough biodiversity such that the moulds, fungus and algaes get consumed,
and the effect of the sap, tannic acid, ammonia (from decaying matter)
etc, gets diluted. In an aquarium, the sap alone is sufficient to reach
poisonous concentrations (especially depending on the type of wood). I
don't think that Otos would do well in there (in close proximity to the
wood) and your Neons must be tasting the effect in the water, and might
start becoming affected. Ordinarily, the driftwood if removed and boiled
to kill off the errant spores, but the problem would return to green
wood. Basically I think it's composting.

NetMax

[F_P]

NetMax wrote:

> Thanks for sharing the pics.
Thanks so much to you for the answers!

> Your wood does not appear to have been dried.

Those pieces of wood were chopped by my father off the trees at least 2
years ago, and were intended to be used as firewood. I boiled them for
almost 1 hour and let the dry a couple of days before putting them in the
tank. I'm saying that not to disprove your theory, but in the hope that
whatever sap, humic acid, and other organic matters are being released,
there isn't much left in the wood.
Now I have to decide what to do. Taking the wood off is the most obvious
choice, but it implies a mayor change to the tank set-up, which is rather
difficult in its current location. Considering that the wood wasn't
completely "green", I'd like to know your opinion on the following course
of action:
1) add activated carbon to the filter, to remove as much organic matter as
possible
2) do large (30% - 50%) weekly water changes
3) dim the light
All this waiting for the plants to grow enough to starve the algae of any
nutrients.

> your Neons must be tasting the effect in the water, and might
> start becoming affected.

any particular symptoms I should be watching for?

Thanks again,

FP

[Michi Henning]

"F_P" > wrote in message
...
>
> Now I have to decide what to do. Taking the wood off is the most obvious
> choice, but it implies a mayor change to the tank set-up, which is rather
> difficult in its current location. Considering that the wood wasn't
> completely "green", I'd like to know your opinion on the following course
> of action:
> 1) add activated carbon to the filter, to remove as much organic matter as
> possible
> 2) do large (30% - 50%) weekly water changes
> 3) dim the light
> All this waiting for the plants to grow enough to starve the algae of any
> nutrients.

I strongly suspect that your chances of getting your wood to go back to
normal are just about zero. I can't think of any way to stop that decay
that wouldn't also kill everything else in the tank. You best bet would
probably be to get rid of the wood you have now and get hold of
some proper driftwood that won't go into decay on you.

Cheers,

Michi.

--
Michi Henning Ph: +61 4 1118-2700
ZeroC, Inc. http://www.zeroc.com

[NetMax]

"Michi Henning" > wrote in message
...
> "F_P" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > Now I have to decide what to do. Taking the wood off is the most
obvious
> > choice, but it implies a mayor change to the tank set-up, which is
rather
> > difficult in its current location. Considering that the wood wasn't
> > completely "green", I'd like to know your opinion on the following
course
> > of action:
> > 1) add activated carbon to the filter, to remove as much organic
matter as
> > possible
> > 2) do large (30% - 50%) weekly water changes
> > 3) dim the light
> > All this waiting for the plants to grow enough to starve the algae of
any
> > nutrients.
>
> I strongly suspect that your chances of getting your wood to go back to
> normal are just about zero. I can't think of any way to stop that decay
> that wouldn't also kill everything else in the tank. You best bet would
> probably be to get rid of the wood you have now and get hold of
> some proper driftwood that won't go into decay on you.

I agree with Michi. Dried for a couple of years makes it suitable for
your fireplace, but aquarium driftwood should be completely dehydrated,
and that takes many years in dry conditions. I've used less than perfect
wood before, and sometimes I get away with it, and other times it goes
into rotting mode and I need to pitch it.

The fish would signal distress by the usual signs: loss of appetite,
atypical behavior, hanging around the top or bottom where they wouldn't
normally be, rapid respiration etc etc. Note that Neons are very poor at
providing symptoms for analysis. Their sick stage is usually quite
short, going from frisky eating well to dead in a few hours. Very few
diseases (ie: NTD) take a long time to kill Neons. Poisoning also
usually happens very quickly, but in your case, it might be gradual or
not at all, but the elevated potential is there, and Neons are somewhat
fragile due to their low body mass.

Preparation of that wood would be boiling, then microwaving, then coating
with epoxy, and even then, your results might vary if the fibers have
softened. I'd pitch it and wait a while before introducing new wood, as
the established fungus/mould/algae spores might have a go at whatever you
put in there for a while.

NetMax


> Cheers,
>
> Michi.
>
> --
> Michi Henning Ph: +61 4 1118-2700
> ZeroC, Inc. http://www.zeroc.com
>

[F_P]

NetMax wrote:
> "Michi Henning" > wrote in message

>> I strongly suspect that your chances of getting your wood to go back to
>> normal are just about zero. I can't think of any way to stop that decay
>> that wouldn't also kill everything else in the tank. You best bet would
>> probably be to get rid of the wood you have now and get hold of
>> some proper driftwood that won't go into decay on you.
>
> I agree with Michi. Dried for a couple of years makes it suitable for
> your fireplace, but aquarium driftwood should be completely dehydrated,
> and that takes many years in dry conditions. I've used less than perfect
> wood before, and sometimes I get away with it, and other times it goes
> into rotting mode and I need to pitch it.

Ouch!
Well, thanks so much for the advice, anyway :->
FP