fishless tank with white fuzz (was What's this?)

["heinesen" <heinesen at idirect_ca>]

How long has your 10-gal tank been without fish?  After a few days, if I'm
not mistaken, the good bacteria will die off because there's no ammonia to
feed them and keep the tank cycled.  Perhaps what you are seeing are dead
bacteria and/or something eating them?

And don't forget that when you put the fish back (personally, I would do a
major cleaning first), that you must cycle the tank again first.  As far as
the bacteria population goes, it may be non-existent at that point,
therefore it would be like a new tank.

Alternatively, if the bacteria are not already dead, you could add some
household ammonia to the tank on a daily basis to keep it going until you
want to add the fish back.  I guess one way to know whether or not the
bacteria are still there, is to simply add some drops of ammonia and test 24
hours later.  If the ammonia is gone, the bacteria that convert it into
nitrIte are still there, then you have to keep doing that and test for
nitrIte until it's gone every day too.

Gitte

David Luckie wrote:
>I am still treating my fish in a hospital tank for
>Ich.  So far, they are all healthy with no more signs
>of infection.  They are eating everything offered and
>appear to be well on their way to recovery.
>
>In my temporarily fishless 10 gallon tank, I now have
>plants that are beginning to develop this white, fuzzy
>stuff on all of the leaves.  It grows in strands that
>reach 1 to 1.5 cm (1/2 inch or so).  The water is
>quite cloudy now, and I suspect it is from the same
>stuff.  It does not appear to be algae.  My filter
>media quickly gums up with this stuff--it is slimy and
>appears to be coating everything in the tank.  The
>plants were pearling last week.  They aren't anymore,
>or at least not while I'm watching.

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