Reptile & Amphibian Forums

HI I HAVE JUST SET UP MY FIRST DART TANK ITS BEEN GOING FOR A WHILE LIKE 2WEEKS AND I HAVE A COUPLE ?'S
1)i have white mold looking stuff in my tank and was wondering if this is bad or what and howw do i get rid of it it seems like its growing faster and faster.
2)i can not get the humidity above 85% i do not know what to do
Now let me tell u about my tank so u have a better idea of what could be wrongits a 60 gal w/false bottom it has the gravel then peat moss on top of that.I have a fogger live plants and also im working on a water fall it has a all glass top temp is 75-82
thank youfor any help.
chavez

The mold is normal, you can wipe it off w/ a paper towel. It won't do any harm to your darts. Your humidity is fine also.
-----
Randy
Lawrence, Kansas
1.1 Azureus
1.1 Cobalt
1.1 Fantasticus
1.1 Bastimentos Pumilio

Like he said mold is nothing to worry about, also I am guessing you are using a analog hydrometer? Most are not acurate, and most will not go much over 80 or so. The one I had only went to about 85%. Get a nice digital one if you want acurate readings. Though from the sounds of it your humidity is fine.
-----
Kyle
www.kylesphotos.com
D. leucomelas
D. azureus

analog humidity guages arent good. mine started to get a green rust on itafter only 1 day. i got a $15 digital temp/humidity guage at wal-mart and it gives good readings. once the humidity reaches 95% it just says HI, and thats where mine stays.

the only thing i dont know about in your set up is the peat moss. Did you just get it at lowes or something? if i remember correctly peat moss can breakdown over time and have to changed in a short ammount of time. some one please correct me if i am wrong.

aj
-----
Click Here to See My Dart Tank In The Making UPDATED 6.15.03 SPOILER! Still Needs Moss View At Your Own Risk

kungfu28181: My god. You are insane. -Mon Jun 30 21:41:05

In my leuc tank I used Jungle Mix, but in my Azureus tank I used gravel and only gravel. I have recently removed all the moss on my leuc tank, it got over grown with clover type stuff. I actually like the bare dirt ground, and the frogs seem to be more active, but it just might be easier for them to get around on the dirt than the high growing clover things...
-----
Kyle
www.kylesphotos.com
D. leucomelas
D. azureus

As everyone says, molds and other fungi are no big deal. They will occur in any high humidity situation. If you're lucky, you may even get some incidental mushrooms and liverworts for added interest.

The looser soil mixes like Jungle mix don't get as soggy or break down as fast as straight peat, and your plants will grow in it better, but you can always top dress your substrate a couple of times a years with another layer of soil and maybe some fine smooth gravel to aerate it a bit. I just put another 1/2" or so of Jungle mix around the plants when it gets compacted. The Jungle mix doesn't have added artificial fertilizers, which is why a lot of us prefer it.
-----
Patty
Lost River, Idaho

I've read that the mold will subside with a change in humidity. There's supposedly a range that it will only grow in. Your humidity should be fine, but it will go up when your waterfall is in. Do you have a fan on your top? Someimes when people have a fan that brings in air from the outside that affects the humidity a lot. In fact if you have no fan, you may find your humidity to stay up too high when the waterfull goes in. Before my fan was hooked up my humidity was always around 98-99% and some plants started to rot.