What's this white stuff?

[James Barton]

So my main display tank has been up for a couple of months now and has cycled and everything. I was transferring my 2 clowns and inverts from quarantine and when I look in the tank all over the rock and glass there is a white film. What could this be and how do I get rid of it? The kept the tank lights off during the time because I started getting green hair algae and now that the lights are back on I'm noticing this. Water parameters are all normal.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Pictures would help. Sound bacterial to me.

 

[James Barton]

Just got the picture up in the first post. It wasn't allowing me to upload it from the app so I had to go on the website.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Just got the picture up in the first post. It wasn't allowing me to upload it from the app so I had to go on the website.

Looks bacterial. Normal for new tanks and will pass in time. Are you dosing anything?

 

[James Barton]

No I'm not dosing anything. I did however, now that I think about it, get some pods during the first month and dosed phytoplankton. But that has been stopped for about a month.

 

[Flippers4pups]

No I'm not dosing anything. I did however, now that I think about it, get some pods during the first month and dosed phytoplankton. But that has been stopped for about a month.

Okay. The reason I asked is that people sometimes dose vodka, etc..... for N03 Reduction. These add carbon to a system and feeds bacteria.

 

[James Barton]

Oh gotcha, no I haven't done anything like that. That's beyond my skill level currently haha. So do I just wait it out? And will the snails or crabs pick at it? I have a 185g tank but I only have like 4 snails, 7 crabs and 2 clowns (who never leave the corner).

 

[Flippers4pups]

The tank will, in time, biologically stabilize. Decaying organics in a newly established system will fuel bacteria. Thus the bacteria showing up as a white globby mass, or as a bacterial bloom in the water collum, hazy, cloudy water. Once the organics are consumed, the bacteria will subside.

 

[James Barton]

And what exactly consumes these organics?

 

[Flippers4pups]

And what exactly consumes these organics?

Of course bacteria.