Weird Growth in Pipes

[Roboson]

So I'm cycling my 46g bowfront (for the second time now). It's only a few weeks in, a bit over two weeks I think. And I noticed I had some weird growth down in my pipes. Figured I'd post it here and see if anyone know what it could be.

It's definitely not photosynthetic, as the pipes receive little light, and some receive none at all. But it is omnipresent in all of them.

The only life in the tank at this point is dry sand and a bit of seed rubble from my other tank.

 

[Ty Hamatake]

Following along. Very interested to see what this is.

 

[Hyde2406]

Same ^^^^^

 

[MamaLovesHerReefTank]

Following as well.

 

[jsker]

I will call in the #reefsquad on this on. I would some strange algae[emoji849]

 

[melypr1985]

Weird!

 

[Brew12]

/shrug

 

[Diesel]

Oh no biggie I have seen this a lot but normally it's in pvc and you don't see it.

 

[Roboson]

Oh no biggie I have seen this a lot but normally it's in pvc and you don't see it.

Yeah I figure it's not a danger, but I'm still interested in an ID for the sake of knowing.

 

[Diesel]

We that I don't know.
After the cycle kicks in and you start accumulating bacteria on the surface it will slowly disappear.

 

[ahiggins]

Oh no biggie I have seen this a lot but normally it's in pvc and you don't see it.

I agree-totally normal.
I would call it..."stage 1 bacteria" lol because after your system is stable for a bit the "better" stage 2 algae forms you could always send a wet sample to a university and they can help you ID it.

 

[G8trBait16]

I am just taking a shot in the dark here, could it be a type small sponge by chance. I might be WAY off base, I was just trying to look at it a different way and give another option.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

Are you able to look down the inside of the tube at all?

 

[Terry aka Cr@sh]

Because your looking at the back side threw a hose they are small crustations like barnicals ,. they accumulate in sumps, skimmers or inside pvc fitting's or overflow boxes. You had them reproduce from a water change or something that stimulated them to spawn. If you open hose and look inside, you'll see little white calcium dots all over the wall of hose. They will not just be inside hose as the spores stick to anything. They can build up on powerheads around the impeller sometimes seizing the maget or plastic impeller on shaft...... Rare but it does happen and you'll hear a crunchy sound when turning impeller. It's a healthy sign your water quality is good but they are not pretty to view when stuck all over your skimmer or walls of sump. I can't remember seeing them that dence, you had a massive spawning for sure. nothing to worry about and yes, some will disappear as water flows. Happy reefing

 

[Roboson]

I can't really look down the hose, but there is one hose that is only encrusted on the far side. I'll try and get a good photo of it when I get home so you all can see the top of these things.

The hoses themselves constantly have water pumping though them, so I guess a filter feeder theory makes sense. What confuses me is how they aren't in my DT (which at this point only seems capable of supporting diatoms [emoji58])

 

[Terry aka Cr@sh]

Ahh, they are in your display tank but at the bottom of your overflow or dead spots behind corals on glass ect....mostly in spots you can't see . Some turn into small tube worms and some snails ect... inverts like to graze on glass and remove but in hard places they remain. Again, don't think your wrong , in some cases like my DT. I do not have any at all. My coral sits in middle, so I can always keep glass clean on all 4 sides. Some of my friends have none, then others it's prevalent...like those little star fish. No worry unless your a clean freak like me. Enjoy your tank and if you think you need to control growth. I've always found natural prey to work best at controlling parasites or unwanted guests.

Remember ...."Enjoy your tank", it's not all about maintenance, it gets easier over time. Happy Reefing!

 

[Frop]

** insert video of all the bristle worms here ** jk =)

 

[Terry aka Cr@sh]

Man, I saw that video of the bristle worms coming out of the pvc tube....."Nasty" I couldn't eat spagetti for a few days.

 

[tyler1503]

Man, I saw that video of the bristle worms coming out of the pvc tube....."Nasty" I couldn't eat spagetti for a few days.

They're all bristle worms?! Terrifying!!

 

[Roboson]

Well I wasn't able to get a good pic, but I'm not super worried about them. They aren't in the DT as I can see every inch of the glass (there really isn't much live rock in there yet, as it's all in my established tank).