wire

This white film on the cord of my uv sterilizer and other cords in my fish tank, what is it? I'd assume it to be algae. I've had this in freshwater tanks before, I believe. It comes off very easily and feels slimy. Just want to know what it is, is it good or bad, and how to minimize it or get...

I don't want to send the dryside to Echotech and pay 60$ for an extension. But the only place I can find these wires, sell them in bulks of hundreds of feet. Pricey to say the least. I posted in the 'Looking to buy' forum (hoping someone has a busted dryside that i can steal the cable from)...