White Stringy Slime

[RhiD08]

Hi!

I have a Fluval Sea Evo 13.5 gallon tank that’s been up and running for 7 months. I’ve had no issues with the tank until about a month ago when I decided to dose Red Sea Reef Energy AB+. My nitrates were bottoming out and my corals weren’t growing but I wanted to avoid dosing anything so I tried reducing the volume and frequency of my water changes. When this didn’t work, I decided to dose Red Sea instead of just nitrates to give the corals something extra. I only dosed 1/4 of the recommended, so 1 ml, twice in a week, on Sunday and Wednesday. After this, I started to notice diatoms on my sand so I stopped dosing and haven’t used it since.

However, the last couple of days I’ve noticed a stringy white/clear slime in my tank on the walls, rocks, and even corals. It’s also in my filter chambers. I assumed it was just some sort of algae and that it would clear up however my filter floss has been getting clogged and overflowing even though it appears clean. When I changed the filter floss, it feels super slimy. I tried researching it and read that it’s a type of bacteria that is usually due to carbon dosing or some time of carbon input near your tank. However, I don’t carbon dose and nothing has changed or been used near the tank recently. I measured my parameters and my nitrates are bottomed out although they were around 2 ppm before this started so I’m assuming the bacteria are consuming it. My phosphates are a bit high at 0.1 ppm but I haven’t done a weekly water change yet and they usually sit around 0.05 ppm.

I should also mention that a couple of weeks ago I used Salifert Flatworm eXit to treat my tank of flatworms. The treatment did not work and I haven’t used it since. I added chemipure blue nano right after medicating the tank as well.

My parameters are:
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 0 ppm
Phosphates = 0.1 ppm
Salinity = 35 ppt
Temperature = 78 degrees Fahrenheit
Calcium = 350
Magnesium = 1350
TDS = 0

I should also mention that I use RO/DI water and Red Sea Coral Pro Salt.

Any advice on the clearing this bacteria and the diatoms would be much appreciated.

 

[Dan_P]

Hi!

I have a Fluval Sea Evo 13.5 gallon tank that’s been up and running for 7 months. I’ve had no issues with the tank until about a month ago when I decided to dose Red Sea Reef Energy AB+. My nitrates were bottoming out and my corals weren’t growing but I wanted to avoid dosing anything so I tried reducing the volume and frequency of my water changes. When this didn’t work, I decided to dose Red Sea instead of just nitrates to give the corals something extra. I only dosed 1/4 of the recommended, so 1 ml, twice in a week, on Sunday and Wednesday. After this, I started to notice diatoms on my sand so I stopped dosing and haven’t used it since.

However, the last couple of days I’ve noticed a stringy white/clear slime in my tank on the walls, rocks, and even corals. It’s also in my filter chambers. I assumed it was just some sort of algae and that it would clear up however my filter floss has been getting clogged and overflowing even though it appears clean. When I changed the filter floss, it feels super slimy. I tried researching it and read that it’s a type of bacteria that is usually due to carbon dosing or some time of carbon input near your tank. However, I don’t carbon dose and nothing has changed or been used near the tank recently. I measured my parameters and my nitrates are bottomed out although they were around 2 ppm before this started so I’m assuming the bacteria are consuming it. My phosphates are a bit high at 0.1 ppm but I haven’t done a weekly water change yet and they usually sit around 0.05 ppm.

I should also mention that a couple of weeks ago I used Salifert Flatworm eXit to treat my tank of flatworms. The treatment did not work and I haven’t used it since. I added chemipure blue nano right after medicating the tank as well.

My parameters are:
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 0 ppm
Phosphates = 0.1 ppm
Salinity = 35 ppt
Temperature = 78 degrees Fahrenheit
Calcium = 350
Magnesium = 1350
TDS = 0

I should also mention that I use RO/DI water and Red Sea Coral Pro Salt.

Any advice on the clearing this bacteria and the diatoms would be much appreciated.

Some of this looks like dying hair algae. The stuff on the wire looks like ordinary multiple species microorganism growth. Without a microscope, identifying this stuff is tricky

 

[Gone Reefin’]

The slimy feel and white strings is indicative of a bacterial bloom. I don’t believe these blooms are normal in an established tank unless you are carbon dosing, exactly as you read. If I had to guess, flatworm exit impacted your biome and a bacterial strain is outcompeting and blooming.

If a bloom, ride it out for several days.

 

[RhiD08]

Some of this looks like dying hair algae. The stuff on the wire looks like ordinary multiple species microorganism growth. Without a microscope, identifying this stuff is tricky

That’s what it looked like to me as well but the sliminess and clogged filters make me think it’s something else. Plus, I haven’t had any hair algae in this tank for months now.

 

[RhiD08]

The slimy feel and white strings is indicative of a bacterial bloom. I don’t believe these blooms are normal in an established tank unless you are carbon dosing, exactly as you read. If I had to guess, flatworm exit impacted your biome and a bacterial strain is outcompeting and blooming.

If a bloom, ride it out for several days.

It’s so weird because I haven’t dosed anything or had any carbon inputs near the tank so it seems to have appeared out of nowhere. That’s my guess too, that the Red Sea Reef Energy AB+ and Salifert Flatworm eXit have messed with the balance in the tank. Should I perform a water change and clean as mush of it out as I can or let it go for a few more days? Any tips for the diatoms too?

 

[Gone Reefin’]

When I had a similar bloom, I did suck as much out as reasonable, and changed filters regularly as they would slime up. I would not worry about extra water changes. My tank was cycling though and did not have to worry about livestock impacts. Some extra flow or a bubbler may help in case excessive oxygen is being consumed.

 

[Gone Reefin’]

Regarding diatoms, would not worry. Actually a good sign as they may help compete with less desirables.

 

[RhiD08]

Regarding diatoms, would not worry. Actually a good sign as they may help compete with less desirables.

That’s good to know, I’ll just keep up with my regular water changes then and hope it passes soon. I was thinking about getting a conch for my sand bed so maybe I’ll look into that to help.

I’ve also been thinking and I may have figured out what’s causing the diatoms and bacteria bloom. Now that it’s summer, I’ve been out in the pool a lot and always use cream on my arms and hands after but I don’t always remember to wash my hands before putting them into the tank. So maybe the cream is acting as a carbon input and introducing extra nutrients? I’ll have to be more careful and remember to wash my hands and see if that helps.