New Tank Algae, Mould and other problems

[Griffith DreamWalker]

Hey everyone. I had started a new tank setup around January and did a dry start(with some moss, anubias and fern). Due to work, I neglected the tank for many months and just filled it up with water somewhere during the start of April. Again, I was busy and ended up forgetting about the tank till today.... I'm still cycling it, so no livestock till everything grows out.

Now, it looks like Hell warmed over as majority of the tank has been taken over by killer algae, mould(?) on driftwood, dead moss(due to hot weather+neglect+dry start) and the PH is 6. Strangely, while the Christmas, Erect and Java Fern were dying, the US Fissidens is growing rather well.

I need help in getting rid of the strange infestation of algae/mould/whatever on my tank walls, plants and everything in general. There are plenty of dead/dying moss that I can't remove as I tied them there and they form the formation of my 'rock pile'. So some advice in a way to remove the moss WITHOUT draining the tank, removing the rock(s) or anything along those lines.

Here are the specifics of what I use for that setup.

-----

Tank Size: 5 G long
Temperature: 26°c(with the help of an AL-30)
PH: 6.0

Filter: HOB filter
Filter Media: Ceramic Rings
Soil: ADA Amazonia Aquasoil
Rocks: Lava Rocks(Red & Black)

Plants: 'Coin' Anubias, Christmas Moss, US Fissidens(can't remember whether its 'Mini' or normal type), Weeping Moss, Erect Moss, Hydrocotyle Tripartita, Narrow-leaf Java Fern

-----

Thanks in advance. Pictures will be posted when I'm free.

[Urban Aquaria]

If your tank parameters are still unstable, then you'll just have to manually pluck out all the rotting plants and try to clean up the algae and mold as much as you can. This is a normal maintenance activity in newly setup tanks that are still cycling.

Once your tank is cycled, just add in 30-40 cherry or malayan shrimps (or 10-15 yamato shrimps)... they will eat up the dead or dying moss, along with the algae and mold, basically working 24/7 to clean up the tank for you. With an efficient clean-up crew, they will help to greatly reduce your maintenance workload.

[Griffith DreamWalker]

I see, thanks for the advice. I'll try changing the water and scrub the walls today.

On a side note, my hydrocotyle tripartita seems to be dying off in my tank. Is it due to lighting or fertliser problems? As most of my plants are mosses and ferns, I can't tell whether the lighting is high enough for my tripartia. I don't dare to add any ferts due to algae and mould running amok.

[Frozenicex]

Are you using co2 injection and what light are you using?

[Urban Aquaria]

Could be due to either light or nutrients, or both. Though it could also just be the plants taking a longer time to transition from emersed DSM to submersed conditions (especially without Co2 injection), and along the way algae took advantage of the situation and interrupted the growth.

I guess you'll just have remove the algae and clean up the rotting plant matter, maybe also dose some additional fertilisers, perhaps an all-in-one solution (ie. Seachem Flourish Comprehensive) to help support plant growth. If plant growth is still slow and weak, then you might look at increasing the amount of light too.