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So I have started a small nano planted tank. Super ambitious I know. I failed once and now I am going for it a second time with some new plants and doing waters change almost every day.

Currently I have got some white hair like stuff on my plants and filter and there are even some white specs on my snails in the tank. No exactly sure what it is.

The details of the tank are as follows:

I am using Sechems Flourish Excel and Potassium products only when I do a water change of over 40%.

Trying to get the tank to cycle. I currently have:

Nitrate: 5ppm - 10ppm

Nitrite: 1ppm

Ammonia: 0 - 0.25ppm

pH: 7.2

Lights: are on for 9 hours total. with a siesta time of about 5 hours. So I have the lights on for about 5 hours then off for 5 hours then on for 4 hours.

Any ideas? I have attached some pictures below.

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James Jenkins
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Garrett Sanderson
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2 Answers2

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I think you're looking at waste from the snails here.

Also, water changes should be done on a weekly basis, probably around 25-30%. Certainly not daily.

Edit: White hair algea looks like this: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=13590&stc=1&d=1242787789

I don't think this is what's going on in your tank. Snails like that when they get irritated or stressed can start producing trails like that, and their waste can show just as well.

Kevin Peters
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I agree with Kevin, these "algae" are most likely just trails left by the snails. If they're still getting used to the water or they think there's something not perfectly fine, they'll use more slime to cover themselves.

That Nitrate level is perfectly fine, Nitrite should in theory be a perfect 0, but that might be your test.

Only problem with your water values I see could be the Ammonia value, but I guess you're lacking resolution on your test? But again, I'd say you're probably fine based on your pH level (there won't be any significant ammonia at 7pH or lower; it would all be relatively harmless ammonium).

Keep an eye on those snails. Snails are usually a very good water quality indicator. If they're trying to get out of the water (to the top of the tank), there's usually something amiss (but again depends on the exact species).

Mario
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