# combating mold - emersed



## kcoscia (Sep 2, 2013)

Hey everyone, I've posted on my main forum but I figured advice here would be good too
mold showed up in my emersed set up.
so today i put java moss in the pots to fight it and replaced the tub cover with a glass panel. the panel fits nicely leaving a 2.5" gap in the back for airflow
suggestions?


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## Tattooedfool83 (Jul 7, 2013)

You could always raise te water level above the surface of the soil until te mold goes away to. But the moss will work just fine


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## ferchu22 (Oct 27, 2007)

I used Physan 20 periodically with good results, maybe you could try it. Moss helps me sometimes, but some other prevent airflow over the substrate, and then it brought more mold. 
Best regards,


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Your setup is too wet. Lower the water level so that it is 1.5 to 2 inches below the surface of the soil. Any higher and you get fungus which can actually aggressively eat your plants.

Alternatively, as tattood mentioned you can put the plants back underwater. This will kill the fungus but it will encourage the plants to convert to submersed growth which doesn't sound like what you want.

What is your main forum?


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## kcoscia (Sep 2, 2013)

here is the link: LINK

i lowered the water and the fungus is still there :/ i barely have any plant growth either. they're all withered. i know they have to convert to emersed mode, but they're looking really bad.

I lowered the water, opened more of it to air and added what moss i could to the pots. I also removed the visible mold/ fungus. Fungus/mold is back growing. I'm getting frustrated because it looked so easy. I dont know what to do


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

When you say mold what exactly does it look like? Mold and fungus is quite common when you start up a new batch of soil but after a few days it dies off and you don't see it again.

The bad kind of fungus I am talking about is thin, like spider web, slightly yellow, and digests plants into goo rather quickly.

Emersed setups are pretty easy to get going and care free, you do not have to change the water daily or even agitate it at all. The water will probably grow algae in it, but that makes no difference to the plant growth so I just ignore it completely.

I'm going to say that your problem is a rather severe lack of lighting. Fungus doesn't like high light at all, and you only have CFL 14watt. The spiral type bulb in there loses half of the light it puts out because it restrikes the coils, subtract all the light that doesn't shine the 10 degrees straight down into your tank and you are probably only getting a few watts of light to the plants. By comparison on my emersed tub I had a 55 watt power compact with individual reflector only 6 inches away from the plants. By comparison the lighting difference is blazing sun and a dark corner in a basement. You need more light to do this that is the most important aspect of emersed setups.

Have you had a look through my tutorial on how to start emersed tubs?
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...inners-guide-starting-your-first-emersed.html


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