# Help me ID this white fuzz in aquarium



## szangomango (Feb 28, 2008)

I have a 55 gallon freshwater aquarium that has been set up for about 3 weeks. Water temp is 78 degrees. I have performed a 40% tank water change twice. I used a multi test strip for the following results: 
Nitrates=0
GH=75
KH=120-180
pH=6.8

I have a white fuzz growing on my aquarium walls and on my plants. I had introduced a sick fish that i immediately took out but i noticed the stuff on my plants prior to me introducing that fish. none of my other fish appear to have any white growing on them, but i have seen several of them flashing. 

Please help me ID the stuff growing on my plants. Thank you.


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

Interesting. Are those plastic or real? Also, please post the ammonia reading and the nitrite reading, it's odd you don't have any nitrates yet after three weeks. Your pH is a tiny bit low, consider adding some crushed coral as a substrate (probably not as your main substrate) and do smaller water changes. What fish do you have in there? 

We like to suggest ditching the test strips and getting a liquid test kit, too.


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## szangomango (Feb 28, 2008)

I just retested my water:

NO3+: 0-20
NO2-: 0-.5
GH: 75
KH: 120
pH: 7.2-7.8

The plants are real. I have 3 Bleheri plants and 1 i'm unsure of. 

The water is very fresh. I originally bought a 29 gallon tank and began to cycle it for a week to give me a chance to research the fish i wanted. When i realized how limited i was, i upgraded to a 55 gallon and transfered all the water, rocks, and used the same bio filter screen thing in my larger filter. So, much of the water is fresh because of the upgrade. 

The fish are all African Cichlids. I added some "Cichlid Essential" which I thought was going to raise my pH and hardness, but I guess it is strictly mineral supplement and I still need to add something additional.

Now that you ask, these test strips don't even test ammonia, so i will have to invest in something better. The liquid test kits i have been seeing in the stores didn't test hardness, so i thought these strips were a good route. I will have to invest in a good liquid test kit soon. 

I'm very new to this, but i did a lot of research. I think i may have been slightly misled by my LFS. I have read a cichlid book from the library and a LOT of material all over the web.


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