My tank makes slime monsters; do you know why?

[Heather w]

I'm not sure I follow everything you are saying, but doser tips should be above the water line. If not, they will clog, especially the alk part.

Assuming you are properly dosing to a high flow area, normal dosing of any inorganic chemical should not cause slime problems. Organic dosing can.

I'm not sure why you mean by "disease". The slime in this thread is not the same as what is usually referred to as a slime disease of fish.

No....not of fish. This is what I Googled to get the results I got.

So where is the best place to leave the ends of the tubes? I thought they had to be submerged? Right now they are in my refugium with my green macro algae.

OK, since you expected to be slammed, I will, but gently (I hope).

I think what you wrote is just a little too extreme.

Not everything that smells can cause bacterial growth or slime. But many things could.

CFC (if you mean chlorofluorocarbon) won't likely cause a bacterial bloom.

There are tons of great ways to reduce nitrate. How high is yours?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

No....not of fish. This is what I Googled to get the results I got.

So where is the best place to leave the ends of the tubes? I thought they had to be submerged? Right now they are in my refugium with my green macro algae.

Definitely not submerged. They should be placed just above the water so they drip into the tank water (sump water, whatever)

Otherwise, calcium and magnesium enter the alkalinity dosing line and precipitate calcium and magnesium carbonates and magnesium hydroxide, which clog the line and make the dosed liquid less useful.

Carbonate and bicarbonate can also enter a calcium dosing line. I think that one will be slower to clog, but still can as calcium carbonate precipitates.

 

[Cliff717]

OK so I am thinking now is the time to switch from carbon dosing to refugium
I have a 75 gallon tank I can plumb into the system. I am very interested in Dr. Tim’s to get rid of the slime in the tank. What products do I use?

 

[Heather w]

When looking for the base of a problem I tend do be extreme and "reply" extreme. The reader then turns their mind to ANYTHING that may contribute and not discard one that might actually BE one. When I encounter an issue I trace back in my mind to ANYTHING, no matter how insignificant it seemed at the time. In that timeline I usually find an answer. This applies to any problem I encounter. Not just my wonderful Tank

I use Red Sea testing and use all the titrate in the main color chart. Then go to the hi/low side and follow those instructions. I use next to none. The results confuse me. The one result is >4 the other is <4.

 

[Heather w]

OK so I am thinking now is the time to switch from carbon dosing to refugium
I have a 75 gallon tank I can plumb into the system. I am very interested in Dr. Tim’s to get rid of the slime in the tank. What products do I use?

One is Waste Away to break it down and move it out. Your filters will clog several time a day for the first few days then slack off. Then, I believe, I used Re-fresh. Lo okk up his article. I have it on my other computer but my husband has it a few hundred miles away

 

[Heather w]

OK so I am thinking now is the time to switch from carbon dosing to refugium
I have a 75 gallon tank I can plumb into the system. I am very interested in Dr. Tim’s to get rid of the slime in the tank. What products do I use?

Before I began using a refugium I got NOWHERE. I was read y to give up. My wonderful friend helped me build one, it began to work. Seeing these results my husband got me a 45gal Eshoppes. Oh happy day!

 

[Heather w]

Definitely not submerged. They should be placed just above the water so they drip into the tank water (sump water, whatever)

Otherwise, calcium and magnesium enter the alkalinity dosing line and precipitate calcium and magnesium carbonates and magnesium hydroxide, which clog the line and make the dosed liquid less useful.

Carbonate and bicarbonate can also enter a calcium dosing line. I think that one will be slower to clog, but still can as calcium carbonate precipitates.

So maybe switch them to the outflow in the final refugium stage? Right at the return pumps?

 

[madweazl]

Also worth noting that you'll want them to be above the water level in the sump (if applicable) after it back siphons while doing a water change or power outage as well.

I dose into the skimmer chamber right were the water flows into the refugium so it has time to dissipate prior to hitting the return pump so it doesnt accumulate on the pumps internals.

 

[Heather w]

Also worth noting that you'll want them to be above the water level in the sump (if applicable) after it back siphons while doing a water change or power outage as well.

I dose into the skimmer chamber right were the water flows into the refugium so it has time to dissipate prior to hitting the return pump so it doesnt accumulate on the pumps internals.

Thank you all so much! Your input is invaluable!

 

[hypnoj]

I may be way off the beaten trail here, but I highly recommend you check your water temperature again; from a separate and reliable source. I battled this exact same problem for months until I realized that my water temperature gauge was reading false and my water temperature was too high. This allowed different strains of bacteria to promulgate and grow rapidly in the tank. Once I switched out my temperature gauge and adjusted the tank accordingly the clear slime problem resolved itself.

 

[hypnoj]

Just out of curiosity, do you even have the slightest trace of algae anywhere in the tank? When’s the last time you had even a hint of algae on your glass? I had zero algae anywhere for months when the slime hit.

 

[Cliff717]

I have algae growing on my glass and ats
Yet my po4 Hanna reader says 000

 

[Cliff717]

Ok so just making sure I m buying the rights stuff here.
I need these two?

 

[roberthu526]

I am guessing it’s the carbon dosing that is causing this. I dose 15 ml NOPOX a day in my 125G with a 30G sump. If I stop dosing my skimmer produce significantly less skimmate.

 

[Heather w]

Ok so just making sure I m buying the rights stuff here.
I need these two?

Never used the One and Only. Just ordered it. [Ironic] Waste Away....yes. And do turn off your skimmer for the 24 hrs. It bubbles it up like mad. And to your order add 'Re-fresh'.
An aside about the bubbles that I now incorporate if need be!
If the bubbles persist like mine did a couple of times I had to physically remove the skimmer and scrub it out and flush, (submerge the WHOLE unit in a bucket and turn it on...make sure you have replacement water on hand) it in a bucket of 10/1 bleach for a few hours(time flushing was based on other chores I was doing around the house. I' sure an hour would have been fine but I got busy). Then clear for same time, same reason.
My thinking in this has nothing to do with anything anyone told me or I read. I was simply looking for a reason it would still be bubbling days later. I thought maybe some of the treatment might have clung to the sticky yucky stuff that sometimes sticks to the walls of the skimmer itself?...If that makes sense? I guess it was a solid assumption, it worked. Filled it, Plugged it in, primed it, dialed it to its "sweet spot".....no more bubbles...AND a clear,clean,sparkling skimmer to boot!!!
One comment was made about how extreme my advice was. I NEVER assume someone has made a habit of the anal vigilance I have. If you look at EVERY SINGLE THING that may be causuel, then the one, off hand, little thing you never would have guessed gets looked at and Bingo!!!!. You found it!
My tank crashed early in my education. I studied every action and additive, compared all I studied. Rewound every piece of advice I had gotten from my fellow fishy friends. Went over it all...over and over, like a loop, comparing critically....over and over. Asked my husband . Nothing!! Happened to glance on my patio and saw one of my blue 'dirty water' buckets. My son was using it to collect fallen debris from the yard. I Followed this line of thought.... The hoses I used to vacate dirty water into those buckets ALSO came into contact with my tank water!!! I have never let there be any cross-over since. AND grilled into my family that the fish buckets are NEVER to be used anywhere else. I learned that lesson. It taught me hyper-vigilance. I don't dd extra time into my tank maintenance, I am simply always aware to consider all I have learned when I do my tasks. Now it' just habit. I don't know if this makes any sense. I wish this was just to you, as I'm sure others, again, will lay into me. I just wanted to explain my "extreme" comments to you.
By-the-by....I love Dr. Tim's products. They'e never let me down.

 

[Heather w]

I may be way off the beaten trail here, but I highly recommend you check your water temperature again; from a separate and reliable source. I battled this exact same problem for months until I realized that my water temperature gauge was reading false and my water temperature was too high. This allowed different strains of bacteria to promulgate and grow rapidly in the tank. Once I switched out my temperature gauge and adjusted the tank accordingly the clear slime problem resolved itself.

At the time...yes. I had/have 2 redundncies, the usual thermostate/heater set up. Later I added my reefkeeper and just never removed the other

 

[Heather w]

Also worth noting that you'll want them to be above the water level in the sump (if applicable) after it back siphons while doing a water change or power outage as well.

I dose into the skimmer chamber right were the water flows into the refugium so it has time to dissipate prior to hitting the return pump so it doesnt accumulate on the pumps internals.

I put them in the skimmer compartment of the refugium.

Also worth noting that you'll want them to be above the water level in the sump (if applicable) after it back siphons while doing a water change or power outage as well.

I dose into the skimmer chamber right were the water flows into the refugium so it has time to dissipate prior to hitting the return pump so it doesnt accumulate on the pumps internals.

 

[Heather w]

I put them in the skimmer compartment of the refugium.

I think it lost my text. I putt it in the skimmer section of my refugium in case the sock would change the actual dose getting to the tank itself. Will this work?

 

[madweazl]

As long as the water level doesn't go that high if the return pump is shut off, I see no reason it wouldn't. Ideally you'd want the dosing lines opposite the intake of the skimmer (looks like that is how you have it) so it dissipates a bit before it has a chance to get sucked into that as well.

 

[Heather w]

As long as the water level doesn't go that high if the return pump is shut off, I see no reason it wouldn't. Ideally you'd want the dosing lines oppose the intake of the skimmer (looks like that is how you have it) so it dissipates a bit before it has a chance to get sucked into that as well.

I had it where my green algae is, but if it' got to be high flow, I just don' see much flow in there. My husband is supposed to be tech. I just took for granted he worked that out. I am always getting such wonderful information on this forum! I can't thank you enough!