Rust water and mold??? Help!

A few days ago I made a new tank setup for Waffle (Firebelly newt) I only have had him for a few weeks now, and he had been happy, healthy, and fat. But I noticed he spent a lot more time in water than on land so I decided to make him a new setup that featured more water and less land.

I decided to go with real plants this time (got some Aluminum plants) and bought a new log. The setup is simple but pretty, an inch of gravel, the log sticking slightly out of water, with three aluminum plants and a small filter.

I added some stuff for the plants that you add weekly to the water to help the plants flourish.

I moved waffle in and also a new firebelly I bought named Mr. Blik.

They both have been hiding and not moving much, but they are both probably stressed and I figured just needed some quiet time to adjust.

But now I have a problem. Some fuzzy white stuff (mold?) has been growing rapidly on the part of the log sticking out of the water, and the water color is like a rust color (not cloudy though, clear) I was concerned so I moved Waffle and Mr. Blik into a small holding tank with clean water for the time being. I explored a bit in the tank and found that the ends of the aluminum plants seem very weak and rotting, so I don't think they will last very long if I can't figure out what is going on.

I am a first time newt owner and don't want it to end in a disaster such as losing Waffle and Mr. Blik! Can someone tell me what is going on and how I should fix it? I just want a healthy and save environment for my two new buddies! Thanks in advance!

Ok first, you dont want to feed plants or ad any fertilizer with the newts in the tank. Second, real wood sometimes grows all kinds of things on parts that stick out of the water, and will release tannins into your water which is the rust color you are seeing. Frequent water changes will eliminate some of it but it takes about six months. The tannins are harmless to your newts. If the plants do rot remove them quickly as decaying plant mater will ruin your water quality. Hope that helps.

Oh, and for future help questions use the help forum, the mods will probably move this there soon.

Thanks! Can you tell me, will the fertilizer harm the newts? Is that why I should not ad it?

And you ARE saying that the rust color should be harmless? Just double checking that I understood that correctly...

The plants seem otherwise healthy, but the bottoms of them (they are cuttings, no established roots, and were held down in clusters with the lead weights) were soft and broke off above the lead weights. The soft areas are not discolored.

Thanks again! Waffle and Mr. Blik appreciate it!

One of the moderators will move this thread to the newt and salamander help section tomorrow.

The rust colour is not harming your newts. You can try to boil the wood to kill the current fungus and to take out some of the tannins.

You do not have to feed the plants, the newts will provide enough food for them. I would take the lead weights off the plants and let them float, or stick them in some sand or under a stone at the bottom.

Do you know what kind of wood it is? Some wood sold for terrariums is not suitable for aquatic tanks. But even "good wood" can do what you are seeing, grow mold and leach tannins into the water. These problems are not deadly to the newts, but boiling the wood and/or soaking it for a long time before using it might help.

Bad news on the aluminum plant: it isn't an aquarium plant. Pet stores sell it as such, but they'll do anything (easy) to turn a buck. See "blacklisted plants":
http://faq.thekrib.com/plant-list.html