Dinos in an empty tank?

[jsweir]

Been running my 240 with no lights and no fish waiting for some tampa bay liverock. Skimmer pulled out some crap already and some snotty slime has developed in the sump - possibly dinos? Haven't put anything in to start the cycle, just dry rock and saltwater. Interesting, but confusing as well. First time using dryrock, last time I did this we were buying liverock from overseas. What is in this dryrock?

 

[jsweir]

Whatever the snotty stuff is, it clogs up a sponge when I put it in the flow.

 

[j.falk]

Dinos are usually long stringy and snot-like....it's commonly found when people use dry rock to start a tank. But it usually only comes out when the lights are on...the fact that it's present with your lights off could mean it might be something more bacterial.

 

[jsweir]

They are only in the last chamber of the sump where the flow is slower

 

[taricha]

Colorless stringy in low light. That'll be a bacterial bloom.

 

[jsweir]

Very interesting, haven't put anything in to start a cycle. Wonder what it is. Maybe I'll do an icp test to see what's in the water

 

[j.falk]

It could be from organics imbedded within the dry rocks.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Sppears to be inorganics that contributed to a bacterial bloom which has become slimy

 

[jsweir]

Slime moved to the rock in the tank today. I tuned the skimmer off and tossed in some Fritz turbo start I had in the fridge. Will see if anything changes tomorrow.

 

[MPCReefer]

Any update on this? I also have my new tank full with RODI since yesterday waiting for TBS live rock. Should I add salt and turn skimmer on? Currently running no lights, and water seems just a bit cloudy this morning.

 

[jsweir]

I would, the skimmer pulled out some stuff and the slime finally went away