New tank slime

Kurt Hammel · Feb 7, 2019

P-Dub said:
WELCOME to R2R!!!
You are likely having some sort of bacterial growth due to the new sand. Try and siphon it out and see how long it takes to grow back. If you could tell us your parameters that might help to narrow down or exclude some possible culprits. Also, how long did it take to appear and how rapid is the growth? How long has it been present? Is it spreading, receding or just kind of in stasis?
Let's get this solved. There are a ton of very knowledgable people here to help.
Share and like often!

The tank has been set up for 6 months now and this bacteria started about 3 months back and seems to be spreading. My calcium is at 450 and alkalinity is 8.1 and Magnesium is 1415, but my PH is low running between 7.67 and 7.8. I have just added a CO2 scrubber and the PH seams to be rising now.

P-Dub · Feb 7, 2019

Hey Kurt. Have you tried siphoning it off your sand bed at least? You are still in the early stages of a new tank and these things can be expected. At this point, I would recommend regularly siphoning it off the sand bed and blowing it off the rock allowing your filter sock/floss to catch the stuff you blew off. Don't forget to swap out the socks for clean ones after. Do this regularly to allow for other bacteria in your system that won't grow on the surfaces of substrate to get a better foothold and outcompete the ugly stuff for likely the same food. This happened to me, though not to the extent of your infestation, and it has taken time and diligence but I no longer have the problem.

Shahzad Baig · Feb 8, 2019

Welcome to R2R!

Kurt Hammel · Mar 18, 2019

I have siphoned off all the slime on the gravel along with the gravel it was attached to. I have also siphoned off the slime on the rocks which keeps coming back so I used a tooth brush to scrub it off of the rocks and added some snails and hermit crabs to help keep it from coming back on the rocks. I also changed out all the cartridges of my R.O./D.I. system to make sure I was not feeding the problem. So far it has not come back.

Brad Miller · Mar 18, 2019

Sounds good for now
Welcome to R2R !

scriptmonkey · Mar 19, 2019

Welcome to Jurassic park....wait that is the other forum. Crap! Welcome to reef2reef!

Seems you are doing everything right. May need to stay on top of it. What is your nitrates and phosphates?

Reefing Madness · Mar 19, 2019

Be looking like Cyano from my seat. Try getting some better flow on the sand bed to break it up for you.

vetteguy53081 · Mar 19, 2019

Diatoms, new tank uglies and possible overfeeding? Vacuum up the area with siphon, and direct flow towards the sand bed without stirring up the sand bed.

WVNed · Mar 19, 2019

My standard answer to anything growing in mats is to increase the flow.
and
welcome

BellaCoop · Mar 20, 2019

Welcome to R2R Fred! This community has a LOT of information and make sure to ask any questions you have!

Kurt Hammel · Mar 22, 2019

Just replaced and MP-10 with an MP-40 to the tank and added Apex wireless control module to increase the flow.

Kurt Hammel · Jun 21, 2019

Help the white algae (looks like white gray fuss) is back and growing on the tops of the rocks and gravel it seemed to back off when my refugium was full of Chaeto and comes back when I thin the Chaeto. I have been vacuming it out evry week when I do a water change and will soon have no gravel left. I have 2 MP-40s on an 80 gallon tank and use a 5 stage RO/DI filter to make water for top off and water changes so I am not sure what could be feeding it and I have had my base rock over 25 years.

Reef-junky · Jun 21, 2019

GoldeneyeRet said:
Welcome to r2r!

Cant really tell what the slime might be but your probably going to go through some cycling and various blooms just as you would with an all new tank.

Good luck!

+1

Reef-junky · Jun 21, 2019

Kurt Hammel said:
Help the white algae (looks like white gray fuss) is back and growing on the tops of the rocks and gravel it seemed to back off when my refugium was full of Chaeto and comes back when I thin the Chaeto. I have been vacuming it out evry week when I do a water change and will soon have no gravel left. I have 2 MP-40s on an 80 gallon tank and use a 5 stage RO/DI filter to make water for top off and water changes so I am not sure what could be feeding it and I have had my base rock over 25 years.

Welcome to the site! Was the rock cycled before you put it in the tank?

MnFish1 · Jun 21, 2019

Kurt Hammel said:
I have been involved in the hobby for over 25 years and just had a new tank setup after the last one started leaking. I had to hire the local fish store guy to set it up because of a bad back. They used my base rock that is over 25 years old and brought new sand. I am having a dirty white slime growing over the rocks and sand that I have never seen before and am not sure what to do to get rid of it. Has anybody seen this before?

Welcome. I agree with @4FordFamily - I think it is a bacterial bloom like cyanobacteria (but not cyanobacteria - likely related to nutrients?). if you siphon it off - does it immediately (within a day) come back? Do you have any parameters of your water, etc? PS - if its only the rock thats covered i.e. no corals (though your zoas look stressed) - you could just leave it?

Kurt Hammel · Jun 21, 2019

Reef-junky said:
Welcome to the site! Was the rock cycled before you put it in the tank?

The rock was in an existing reef that need a new tank because the old one started leeking. The rock was in the last reef for over 25 years. The new system has been up for a year now.

MnFish1 · Jun 21, 2019

Kurt Hammel said:
The rock was in an existing reef that need a new tank because the old one started leeking. The rock was in the last reef for over 25 years. The new system has been up for a year now.

How long between old tank and new tank - and how was the rock stored. @brandon429 may be able to help

Kurt Hammel · Jun 21, 2019

MnFish1 said:
Welcome. I agree with @4FordFamily - I think it is a bacterial bloom like cyanobacteria (but not cyanobacteria - likely related to nutrients?). if you siphon it off - does it immediately (within a day) come back? Do you have any parameters of your water, etc? PS - if its only the rock thats covered i.e. no corals (though your zoas look stressed) - you could just leave it?

When I vacume it off it will return in under a week. KH 8.0 Ca 435 Mg 1450 It has killed off 3 sps corals. Does not seem to harm other corals.

Kurt Hammel · Jun 21, 2019

No delay between old and new. Took down old tank and set up new in same day.

MnFish1 · Jun 21, 2019

Kurt Hammel said:
When I vacume it off it will return in under a week. KH 8.0 Ca 435 Mg 1450 It has killed off 3 sps corals. Does not seem to harm other corals.

Kurt Hammel said:
No delay between old and new. Took down old tank and set up new in same day.

Did you run carbon - have you happened to check PO4 nitrate, etc. IMO - perhaps the move killed the SPS - did you by any chance use some of the old water in the new tank>?