Bookshelf stream II: battle of the algae (long)

"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/book...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/book...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