Mulm beneath substrate

[Cruise Control]

Hmm, I've noticed some sort of gunk beneath my substrate (against the glass). I have a strong urge to disturb the substrate slightly and vaccuum this up but I'm not too sure if it's good for my Glosses. I should tell you that my Glosses are not doing very well and I don't have any other rooted plants in my tank (yet). Your thoughts?

 

[djlen]

Not quite sure what you mean by 'Glosses'.
But it is recommended that you leave the mulm contained within the substrate alone. I contains valuable nutrients and your bacteria colony.
And it is absolutely good for your plants. (Could you be referring to Glosso?)
Just lightly vacuum the surface of the substrate to get up any loose stuff and decaying leaves etc.

Len

 

[TPIRman]

What color is it? If it's green/blue-green, it could be cyanobacteria, which has a tendency to grow between the substrate and the glass. (A rust-colored coating of gunk could also be cyanobacteria, however counterintuitive that might sound!) Is the stuff growing on the glass, or do you just see it pushed up against the glass?

If you are having trouble growing glosso, it's probably a light/CO2/nutrients problem. (That really narrows it down, huh?) I.e., I wouldn't blame this "gunk," whatever it is. What are your tank specs and fertilization routine (if any)?

 

[Cruise Control]

Yup, it's rust coloured. No, it's not growing or anything. It's just pushed up against the glass.

I've just started a moss wall with Java Moss about 1.5 months ago. I got a few strings of Glossos (yes, djlen, I meant Glosso. My bad.) free and I just planted them in there.

For fertilization I'm only using Azoo trace elements at the moment. I dose about 5 drops everyday (the bottle says to dose 0.2ml per 100 liters and my tank is 55 liters) So I've cut the recommended dosage by half as djlen mentioned in other posts.

Also running two 1.5L bottles of DIY C02 with 2.4WPG of light. The Glosso is actually growing but really slowly. Ditto for the moss wall. I can't wait for the moss wall to grow out and make my warrior sandstone look good! I'm going for a Thai/Balinese theme with my tank! The attached image is right after I planted. I've got a proper CO2 diffuser now.

 

[djlen]

Is this an established, mature tank or recently set up?
I'm guessing that it's established and you just started with plants, correct?
Please reply with your tank water's parameters....gH,kH,pH,N,P etc. Any P or N out of the tap? Let it sit out for a minimum of 2 hrs. before testing.
Quantity and types of the tanks inhabitants.
Is the lighting NO or CF?
Any info. you can lend will help.

Len