branortanava
New Member
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2020
- Messages
- 10
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- What state or country do you live in
- Ohio
My first post, so thank you in advance
I've just noticed that there's this white slime-fluff growing on the underside of some of the rocks. I don't think it's chrysophytes since that appears to be photosynthetic and this doesn't (yet?) grow under light. I scoured this forum for something similar, but couldn't find anything that quite fit the bill. It's not stringy, doesn't contain bubbles, isn't fogging the water, and isn't growing anywhere except a few spots underneath rocks as above. I guess I'm mostly looking for an opinion on whether it's a bacteria or algae, and if the former, what do I do about it and what is the consequence of having it?
This is a 30 gallon 4 year old tank that I bought from someone about 4 months ago, so it's been through a lot of changes recently. Nitrate is still high (18ppm) and phosphate is high (0.34ppm) and despite my best efforts I haven't been able to lower them. I'm secretly hoping this slime-fluff is the cause! Otherwise the tank parameters are good and everyone inside is healthy. I just added a refugium with chaeto in my latest attempt to deal with the high nitrate/phosphate. I have GFO and carbonin a media box in the skimmer. No NoPox/vodka/other dosing. I feed pellet food daily, some live phytoplankton 3-4 times/week, and a shrimp mix maybe once per week. Nothing else.
It is very possible the cause could be something airborne, but I'm pretty sure this stuff was there when I got the tank. Can't be sure though.
If it's not an algae (which is a problem I understand more than a bacterial one), what should I do about it, and what will happen if I do nothing? Thanks again!
