White stringy stuff

[HBK's Lagoon]

And update on the “white stringy stuff” it turned out to be a bacterial bloom. The “white stringy stuff” is gone but the water is super cloudy. Had been for three days. Water parameters are in check. Been monitoring them closely. I do not know what else to do. I have change my media baskets and dialed in my protein skimmer but nothing seems to be working. Can anyone help with what I should do next. Some have suggested a 10 gallon water change with natural sea water. Some have said to ride it out. Zoas are popping as if they love the conditions. Fish appear to be doing ok. But I’m just worried, nothing has died yet thank goodness. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[JaaxReef]

And update on the “white stringy stuff” it turned out to be a bacterial bloom. The “white stringy stuff” is gone but the water is super cloudy. Had been for three days. Water parameters are in check. Been monitoring them closely. I do not know what else to do. I have change my media baskets and dialed in my protein skimmer but nothing seems to be working. Can anyone help with what I should do next. Some have suggested a 10 gallon water change with natural sea water. Some have said to ride it out. Zoas are popping as if they love the conditions. Fish appear to be doing ok. But I’m just worried, nothing has died yet thank goodness. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Sounds like a good thing if the white strings have gone away.

I say ride it out. It shouldn’t hurt anything other than the aesthetic of the tank. Just keep doing regular water changes. No need to use natural sea water in my opinion. Try not to make any big changes with the tank as it balances out the bacteria population. Patience is key in this hobby, as I’m sure you have heard many times.

Keep running your skimmer and keep plenty of surface agitation since the bacteria can, if really heavy, deprive the tank of oxygen.

 

[HBK's Lagoon]

Sounds like a good thing if the white strings have gone away.

I say ride it out. It shouldn’t hurt anything other than the aesthetic of the tank. Just keep doing regular water changes. No need to use natural sea water in my opinion. Try not to make any big changes with the tank as it balances out the bacteria population. Patience is key in this hobby, as I’m sure you have heard many times.

Keep running your skimmer and keep plenty of surface agitation since the bacteria can, if really heavy, deprive the tank of oxygen.

Thank you very much. Just wondering how long this will last?

 

[goatcorals]

Thank you very much. Just wondering how long this will last?

Agree on riding it out. Water changes will be fine, but probably won’t help the cloudiness. I’ve had bacteria blooms (cloudy water) in the past, and they’ve taken 3days to 3weeks to clear. Sufficient oxygenation the main threat so please make sure you have adequate air/water interface.

 

[HBK's Lagoon]

Agree on riding it out. Water changes will be fine, but probably won’t help the cloudiness. I’ve had bacteria blooms (cloudy water) in the past, and they’ve taken 3days to 3weeks to clear. Sufficient oxygenation the main threat so please make sure you have adequate air/water interface.

I have both return nozzles aimed up at the surface. Tomorrow I’m going to re-position the power head closer to the surface as to cause more surface agitation. And fight this bloom. Thank you all for all the help.

 

[JaaxReef]

I have both return nozzles aimed up at the surface. Tomorrow I’m going to re-position the power head closer to the surface as to cause more surface agitation. And fight this bloom. Thank you all for all the help.

Patience is key. You’ll have your beautiful tank back soon enough! This seems to happen sometimes as part of the tank maturation process.

Good luck!

 

[HBK's Lagoon]

Patience is key. You’ll have your beautiful tank back soon enough! This seems to happen sometimes as part of the tank maturation process.

Good luck!

Update on the whole situation. All has cleared up and tank is looking great. Thanks to all for your help. Now onto growing out my zoas and keeping the tank healthy. Pictures of zoas to come in a separate post. Have a great day everyone.

 

[JaaxReef]

Update on the whole situation. All has cleared up and tank is looking great. Thanks to all for your help. Now onto growing out my zoas and keeping the tank healthy. Pictures of zoas to come in a separate post. Have a great day everyone.

Glad everything has cleared up! Best of luck with the tank!

 

[HBK's Lagoon]

Glad everything has cleared up! Best of luck with the tank!

Thank you very much. For your help JaaxReef.

 

[HBK's Lagoon]

Hey y’all, the tank looks great all clear. But upon inspection of the back of my tank I came across these...... could they be my problem?

 

[JaaxReef]

Hey y’all, the tank looks great all clear. But upon inspection of the back of my tank I came across these...... could they be my problem?

Looks like bacteria flocks leftover after the bloom. Just keep siphoning it out during water changes and it should reduce and go away in time.

 

[HBK's Lagoon]

Looks like bacteria flocks leftover after the bloom. Just keep siphoning it out during water changes and it should reduce and go away in time.

Do you think attaching a filter sock to the end of the siphon to recycle water would work?

 

[JaaxReef]

Do you think attaching a filter sock to the end of the siphon to recycle water would work?

Like to put the water in a bucket, but catch the goop in the sock? Then dump the water back in?

It might!

 

[HBK's Lagoon]

Like to put the water in a bucket, but catch the goop in the sock? Then dump the water back in?

It might!

Yes that was my exact thought. I’d test the first round in a clear glass and see if any goop makes it through. I will keep you posted when I do it.

 

[HBK's Lagoon]

So I have been doing some thinking..... and I'm fighting with myself on cleaning that stuff out of the back of the tank and not, because the last time I did that I it started the bacterial bloom. Few have said different things to me about what it could be, from bacteria to debris build up. I myself lean towards the bacteria possibility because it seems to be creating more "white stringy stuff" only attaching to my zoa rack no rocks, or glass and thriving in the back of the tank. The water parameters test all within normal limits. It's aggravating but I am being patient and keeping and eye on the zoas. All are happy and popping. Any thoughts or votes what I should do. Ride it out, clean it out, or drop some napalm in the back of the tank and eradicate the problem.(joking wouldn't harm my tank like that.) Have a great day ya'll.

 

[JaaxReef]

So I have been doing some thinking..... and I'm fighting with myself on cleaning that stuff out of the back of the tank and not, because the last time I did that I it started the bacterial bloom. Few have said different things to me about what it could be, from bacteria to debris build up. I myself lean towards the bacteria possibility because it seems to be creating more "white stringy stuff" only attaching to my zoa rack no rocks, or glass and thriving in the back of the tank. The water parameters test all within normal limits. It's aggravating but I am being patient and keeping and eye on the zoas. All are happy and popping. Any thoughts or votes what I should do. Ride it out, clean it out, or drop some napalm in the back of the tank and eradicate the problem.(joking wouldn't harm my tank like that.) Have a great day ya'll.

Honestly, I’d stick with riding it out and just do regular water changes (no vacuuming separately) and siphon out the back when you do. I bet it will balance out slowly. Best not to make any huge changes like siphoning out every bit you see at once, but just take a little with each weekly or bi-weekly water change and see how things look in a couple months.

 

[HBK's Lagoon]

Honestly, I’d stick with riding it out and just do regular water changes (no vacuuming separately) and siphon out the back when you do. I bet it will balance out slowly. Best not to make any huge changes like siphoning out every bit you see at once, but just take a little with each weekly or bi-weekly water change and see how things look in a couple months.

After making the previous post I came home to my zoas covered in the “white stringy stuff” I lost my mind. And planned my attack and took the battle to the back of the tank I deep cleaned it along with the skimmer, media baskets and heater. The filter sock on the end of the siphon hose collected so much that water was unable to pass through the sock. This I what I collected in a bucket after the sock was filled. Now time to ride the rest out and monitor water parameters. My tank clean up crew will be busy for the next two days.

 

[JaaxReef]

After making the previous post I came home to my zoas covered in the “white stringy stuff” I lost my mind. And planned my attack and took the battle to the back of the tank I deep cleaned it along with the skimmer, media baskets and heater. The filter sock on the end of the siphon hose collected so much that water was unable to pass through the sock. This I what I collected in a bucket after the sock was filled. Now time to ride the rest out and monitor water parameters. My tank clean up crew will be busy for the next two days.

I think the worst is over. The bacterial blooms can be persistent.

 

[HBK's Lagoon]

I think the worst is over. The bacterial blooms can be persistent.

I will keep this updated. Hope it clears in time for the frag swap on the 2nd of June so I can pick up two more zoas.

 

[mckinney0171]

I had this crap. It was when I was dosing nopox and didn’t need to be. I stopped the nopox and it cleared up in a couple weeks. Once nitrates start to rise I will start back up the nopox at half dose as before. B