Aquarium

If you're building a fish tank with driftwood and aquarium plants. Then you may have slowly realized that there's a white film starting to grow, and now you might be panicking... In general, many aquarists will notice a white film start to grow over their driftwood in a newly set up fish tank. This film is completely harmless to your livestock. It is made up of bacterial fungus and can be removed manually using a toothbrush. This white film is made from a mix of harmless fungus and bacteria. Sometimes, people think it is a white algae invasion, algae growth, white mold, or dead algae turn white. But it's commonly referred to as biofilm... It's very common for biofilm to grow on new driftwood within an aquarium. Check out this post to learn all about biofilm on aquarium wood. The good news is that what looks like white algae growth is just biofilm. And biofilm is harmless and easy to get rid of. Below, I'll share with you what causes this film to grow and the easiest way to remove it from your fish tank... Causes For White Film On Driftwood In Fish Tank Aquarium owners know that you need the right water and tank conditions for something to grow... Poor water quality, too much fish waste, uneaten food residue, not enough beneficial bacteria, an unbalanced tank, low light penetration, or other issues can cause lots of unwanted things to start growing... For example, some algae thrive in some of these conditions... But this isn't the case for the white stuff growing on your driftwood... You can have perfect water parameters, do regular water changes, and keep your tank clean of dirt and debris, but you may still have this white fuzz/white fungus-looking substance take over your driftwood... And don't worry; this is completely normal, especially if you just recently placed new driftwood into your fish tank. You see, the main cause for this white cottony growth all over your driftwood is the driftwood itself. Driftwood and other types of aquarium woods will start leeching nutrients and carbohydrates into the water column... This creates the perfect environment for microorganisms, harmless fungus, and bacteria to start forming on the surface of your driftwood. (1) This is why it's so common for a white film to start growing on driftwood within new tanks. But it's easy to get rid of, and over time, this film will stop forming as the nutrients from the driftwood get depleted. In most cases, some aquarists soak driftwood in water for weeks and rinse their wood until it stops forming this white algae growth-looking film. Others resort to boiling to try and remove as many of the nutrients as possible before placing the wood into their tanks. Is The White Film On Driftwood Harmful To My Fish Tank The good news is this unsightly film is harmless to your fish and other livestock in your aquariums. In fact, some shrimp keepers actually grow this film on purpose in order to feed their shrimp colonies. But there is no immediate danger to having this in your aquariums... I've even personally seen my guppies pick and eat this film in my own aquarium. But even though this film is harmless to livestock, your aquatic plants are a different story. I made the mistake of not doing a good job cleaning up this biofilm after scrapping it off of my hardscape. It fell onto my carpet of dwarf hair grass. I noticed the areas where the biofilm had fallen on started to melt and die off. So keep this in mind if you have plants in your aquariums. How To Get Rid Of This White Fuzzy Stuff On My Driftwood Keeping your tank clean from this white mold-looking stuff is pretty straightforward. You can either use an old toothbrush to scrub off the white film off of your driftwood. Or you can hire the help of a clean-up crew in order to eat this white algae-looking growth off of your hardscape. There are a few people who recommend using aquarium-safe chemicals like hydrogen peroxide to get rid of this, but I find that a little too harsh just for removing biofilm since it generally disappears over time anyway... Manually Removing What Looks Like White Algae Growth This is simple simply scrub the infected areas with a toothbrush. This will knock the film loose, and it may start floating around your aquarium. Make sure to remove your white film during water changes so you can siphon these chunks out of your tank right away. If you do this regularly, then over time, the film should stop forming once your driftwood has had all its nutrients depleted. Using Algae Eating Fish Or A Cleanup Crew To Do The Job Another option, and my preferred method, is to just have your clean-up crew do the job for you. I think every aquarium should have a clean-up crew in order to maintain a healthy and balanced ecosystem for your fish. Also, having your fish do the work for you isn't all that bad... You can use any algae-eating fish like plecos or otocinclus catfish. You can also use shrimp (biofilm is one of their favorite things to eat) or nerite snails to do all the clean-up work for you. Final Thoughts On White Film Growth In My Fish Tank This wraps up my post on white film growth on driftwood. If you see a clear substance that looks slimy, then chances are you are dealing with biofilm growth on your driftwood. This is great news since it's usually just an unsightly eyesore and poses no danger to the creatures living in your aquarium. Also, this film is easy to remove and goes away with some time. I hope I was able to put your mind at ease and help you with any questions you had about this topic. Thanks again for taking the time to read this post, and I hope to catch you in another one!