# White film coming off rocks



## bfisher88 (Dec 13, 2009)

So my tank has been up and running for a week now. I picked up rocks from a LFS here that I thought looked good. Some of the rocks had some orange mold or fungus on it. I figured since it was from a fish store it would work out fine (I'm an idiot). So the water started to get a little cloudy yesterday and upon closer inspection, there is a white cloudy film coming off of the rocks that have the fungus on them. What is it what can I do? I have heard of the film like this coming off of drift wood but I don't know if this is different. Should I just take those rocks out and scrub them with a brush under tap water? Is it harmful?


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## spraycaint123 (Dec 14, 2009)

I have this problem at times, I've looked it up but found nothing. The only thing I've done and it seems to help is to take the rocks out along with some of the tank water with some aquarium salt in it, (not tap water) then use an old CLEAN toothbrush and scrub them real good. Some people boil them but I don't recommend that on account of it may kill any beneficial bacteria. Also make sure your not over feeding, that can cause mold witch might be what is on the rocks.


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## bfisher88 (Dec 13, 2009)

Don't think it is over feeding because they had only been in there for 4 days or so by the time the mold started. It is coming out of the orange pores or whatever on the rocks. See:


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## spraycaint123 (Dec 14, 2009)

Wow, that is way more extreme than I had in mind, I've never had a problem this bad. Either way, from my research it seems like it is in fact mold, so a good scrubbing with some aquarium salt and water should do the trick. Also I'm pretty sure it's harmless so no worries there, and since the rocks have only been in there a few days boiling them shouldn't hurt, on account of they haven't been in there long enough to gain any beneficial bacteria. One more thing, the orange stuff looks to me just to be lichen, I'm sure you've seen it on trees, it should come off easily.


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## spraycaint123 (Dec 14, 2009)

Also that is a nice rock, I can understand why you would want it!


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## bfisher88 (Dec 13, 2009)

I know right! I got a great set of rocks and want to go pick up more. This is driving me nuts though. Tried using a kitchen scrubber but it won't get the deep stuff in the holes off. Am going to get a wire brush tomorrow and scrub the **** out of it.


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## bfisher88 (Dec 13, 2009)

Went back to the store today and talked with them. Apparently they forgot to tell me I needed to scrub the fungus stuff off of the rock or it would turn into what it did. She knew exactly what I was talking about. Spent an hour scrubbing earlier under hot water in the bathtub and should finish up tomorrow morning. Also picked up 2 new very large tall pieces with amazing character to help hide the filters and heater. Will post pictures when I get them all back in the tank and running.

Now if I can just figure out why my new 200W Stealth heater stopped working after 1 day I would be totally happy....


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## aussy612 (Jan 31, 2009)

Yup. Its a harmless growth, and will go away once all the lichen has rotted. The exact same thing happened to my lace rock (same as yours).*** heard plecos will eat it but i have never seen this.


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## bfisher88 (Dec 13, 2009)

aussy612 said:


> Yup. Its a harmless growth, and will go away once all the lichen has rotted. The exact same thing happened to my lace rock (same as yours).I've heard plecos will eat it but i have never seen this.


Thanks for confirming this for me. I got about 99% of all of it off the rocks when I scrubbed them clean but I think a few spots might break out again. Hopefully not but if they do I will just let them go away on their own. Hopefully I will have this thing cycled and ready for some cichlids in the next few weeks!


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## SupeDM (Jan 26, 2009)

Yep if you put a pleco in there the problem will be solved. My 2 bushy nose cleaned the lichens completely off 100 pounds of lace rock overnight the first night. I think some of the cichlids helped them too.


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## bfisher88 (Dec 13, 2009)

Thanks that is good to know! I may be picking up a BN pleco along with a few cichlids later on this week. Everything is coming together nicely.


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## Malawi_Junkie (Nov 26, 2009)

I just found the same stuff (looks like sperm)in my 220gal. tank this morning. I just got it up and running about a week ago. The only items in the tank are PFS, a DIY BG (Styro/Drylok) and an old plastic plant from another tank I had setup last year. Added some matrix rock from 1 of my other filters to the sump to help w/ bacteria growth. I didn't clean the old plant so a type of mold would make sense.
Water Test was right on.
Currently holding
Metriaclima Greshakei (Albino) 4" Male
Melanochromis Johannii 3" Male and a 3" Female
Labidochromis Hongi (SRT) 2" Male
Pleco

Were you able to get rid of it?

Will the problem take care of it's self?


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## bfisher88 (Dec 13, 2009)

Yes it takes care of itself. It is a mold or bacteria growing off of the stuff on the rocks. Harmless and will go away slowly on its own. Mine is just now starting to disappear...


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

There are all sorts of ways to do rocks before placing in the tank. Some I like, some sound dangerous. One I question is boiling. One problem is getting a large enough container. The second is safety. A fair number of rocks have voids inside. Depending on type of rock they can explode when they are heated. One of the boy scout tricks for camping is putting a rock in the fire and spitting on it after it heats some. They can make a pretty impressive explosion. I would not want to be around a pot of boiling water when a rock explodes. My preferred way that gets even the stuff you can't scrub off is a bleach soak. Many bacteria and parasites form a hard shell when they dry. It takes some time for things to soak in and kill them. Water standards say 24 hours exposure to kill bacteria in drinking water. Household bleach with no scent added is good for this and cheap. A big trash can filled with water and a cup of bleach do good. Let it set for a day or so and then rinse and air dry to remove any chlorine. I do add a bit more dechlor when I put them in just for feeling good.


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## bfisher88 (Dec 13, 2009)

Great advice there. Also, a guy at my LFS told me when they setup tanks they will soak the rocks way ahead of time and add something like Stability so it is all covered in bacteria already before entering. Anyone else have any experience with this?


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## Malawi_Junkie (Nov 26, 2009)

Thx, thats good to know. I was a little concerned.


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