Killer white slime consuming tank

[Havok_9]

Ok, beginning to think the forces that be are against me owning a reef tank. Period. Finally get back into the swing of things with a 20 gal IM tank, my plan is to keep corals simple and and a minimalist approach to things.

 

For the first 2-3 weeks everything was awesome. I transfered 10 lbs of mature liverock from a previously running tank, about 1 1/2 inch new sand bed (caribsea aragalive fiji pink), one clown, and a few zoas and mushrooms. Everything was going great, water was crystal clear, zoas were healthy and growing. Water changes and rinsing the sponges in the back chambers, keeping up with maintenance. No prob.

 

After I decide to add a few corals (small torch frag, zoas, some xenia) my tank turned cloudy that same night. Figuring it was just a bacteria bloom I did a water change the next day. It gradually got worse and worse and now over a week I can't even make a dent in it. Strands of clear/white slime cover everything, rocks/glass/coral is dieing. Water changes do nothing, that slime just laughs and comes back with a vengeance. Clown fish seems ok but its killing coral and has killed my featherduster.

 

Gonna take a sample to my LFS tomorrow, just looking for any help... Dont have current params, will post shortly when I gather them. I've done four water changes in this time period.

 

I'm so close to selling everything!!!

 

EDIT: I've researched and considered all sorts of possibilities. I don't spray air fresheners or use fragrance plug ins. Could it have anything to do with a new sand bed? The worst I was expecting from that was a soft cycle

 

I'm also keeping the water very well aerated if it is in fact an oxygen consuming bacteria

[12_egg_Omelette]

Could just be part of a bacteria bloom man. Are you running a skimmer, carbon, perigean, GFO?

[ajmckay]

Sounds like a potential bacterial bloom I agree... A little strange that it's been like that for a week though.

 

Typically bacterial blooms are caused by heterotrophic bacteria as a response to excess organics.

 

Here's a video of my bacterial bloom - happened shortly after setting the tank up - though can happen at any time.

 

Do you have any pics you can upload?

 

Another thought is that the xenia let off some toxins... If they get pissed it can happen.

[Havok_9]

I figured it was a bacteria bloom in the beginning, which I've dealt with in the past with a couple water changes that fixed it- no prob. Water changes do nothing for this, water remains cloudy and slime continues to grow. Im considering to stop water changes and let it run itself out.

 

I put a bag of chemi pure blue in one of the back chambers, been there for about five days. No noticeable difference.

 

And I've had nothing in the tank that could be dead that would be fueling this bacteria, a single clown and source zoa frags. I will post a few pics shortly.

[Havok_9]

 

 

 

These are photos after I did a water change the night before. It's frustrating because it's killing some nice coral that has been growing and spreading so nicely.

[ajmckay]

I'm not sure water changes would be effective in a bacterial bloom though... These bacteria reproduce very quickly - like every few minutes so anything you remove from the water column would come back quickly.

 

As for the source of the bacteria and the "fuel", there are so many with so many fuel sources... It doesn't necessarily need to be something dead as there are a lot of organic compounds in the tank.

[12_egg_Omelette]

A full size bag or a nano bag? Are you skimming? How often are you doing water changes? I would throw in a bag of purigen in there as well for the time being. I would also do a water change every single day until things seem to adjust back to normal and/or you can get your water tested to see where your parameters are.

 

You're not carbon dosing by any chance are you?

 

http://www.coralmagazine-us.com/content/mystery-white-reef-slime-part-ii

[12_egg_Omelette]

http://www.drtimsaquatics.com/cloudy-aquarium-water

 

Might be a product to look at, basically out competes bacteria you have in there currently.

[afyounie]

I had a couple massive bacterial blooms in my tank and the main culprit was GFO. When running the GFO, the water became more and more cloudy until I couldn't see through. If I cut off the GFO, the water went clear in a matter of a couple hours. Had this happen twice and after the second time I cut out phosphate absorbing media. I don't know why the GFO caused the bacterial bloom, but I do know it was the cause in my case. I have now decided to embrace the bacteria and dose vodka. The bacteria provides a natural method to reducing nitrates and phosphates. Since going to this method, a lot of my other issues, such as lowering nitrate levels, have become a lot easier to meet. I recommend in adding filter socks and blowing the film off of the rocks and such so it goes into the filter socks. Change the filter socks every couple hours. If you let the bacteria die in the tank, it just keeps feeding itself.

[12_egg_Omelette]

Yup Vodka dosing is pretty much like biopellets.

[Nano sapiens]

Did you/do you spray anything near the tank such as Febreeze, etc.? Some of these products have been known to cause bacterial blooms.

[Havok_9]

Nano bag of chemi pure blue, no skimmer, water changes every other day. Not using GFO. My main goal for this tank was to run it as simple as possible and rely on weekly water changes. I wasn't even going to use the chemi pure until this struck.

Tested for

Ammonia- 0ppm

Nitrate- 0ppm

pH- 8

Not sure what use that is, but those are the only testers I have.

 

I was considering using Dr Tims Waste Away, I'd read that was a good remedy for an outbreak this bad. I can ghetto rig socks in the chambers of the AIO tank.

 

What about dosing peroxide?

Did you/do you spray anything near the tank such as Febreeze, etc.? Some of these products have been known to cause bacterial blooms.

Nope, no sprays and don't use plug in fragrances. Possibly perfume I may have had on my wrists or lotions, that's the only thing I can think of

[12_egg_Omelette]

I always find it a good practice to wash my hands before I place it in the tank, especially if you have lotions or perfume. Do you have a turkey baster?

 

I'm a big fan of peroxide. I toss some in every now and then and it's been great.

[afyounie]

I think the reason you might have 0 Nitrate is that the bacteria is consuming it all. Could be the rocks. You did say you transferred the rocks from a mature tank. Could've been too sterile an environment for some of the inhabitants of the rock and they died. Just throwing ideas out.

[Havok_9]

Yea I'm pretty careful about washing my hands before messing with my tank too, but maybe I missed a spot on my arm or something.

 

Also thank you guys for taking time to respond, I appreciate all the input.

I think the reason you might have 0 Nitrate is that the bacteria is consuming it all. Could be the rocks. You did say you transferred the rocks from a mature tank. Could've been too sterile an environment for some of the inhabitants of the rock and they died. Just throwing ideas out.

I actually had this same exact thought. Possible die off from the liverock after being transferred into a new tank.

[jamescstein]

(caribsea aragalive fiji pink)

 

Did you rinse it well before you put it in your tank?

[metrokat]

White reef slime is caused by an overabundance of one kind of bacteria.

These articles should help understand what is happening

http://www.coralmagazine-us.com/content/mystery-white-reef-slime

http://www.coralmagazine-us.com/content/mystery-white-reef-slime-part-ii

http://www.coralmagazine-us.com/content/mystery-white-reef-slime-part-iii

 

The solution is to add another kind of bacteria to outcompete it.

Dr Tims waste away is recommended for this but you can also try other bacterias.

From your pictures, I don't see the slime but I see cloudy water.

If there is no slime, just dense cloudy water then it is a cycling issue, it's normal to happen and it will clear but it takes time.

 

Tank is still in the bacterial bloom phase. 2 main things cause a bacterial bloom - too many organics or too few (in the case of a new tank).

What is a Bacterial Bloom?

There are 2 types of bacteria at work in our tanks:-

Autotrophic Bacteria - Bacteria capable of synthesizing its own food from inorganic substances, using light or chemical energy. Our beneficial filter bacteria are autotrophs.

Heterotrophic Bacteria - Bacteria that cannot synthesize its own food and is dependent on complex organic substances for nutrition. The heterotrophs in our aquariums mineralise the organic waste (break down the uneaten food, fish waste, dead plant matter etc into ammonia).

Contrary to popular belief, it is commonly the heterotrophs which are seen in our bacterial blooms, not our trusted autotroph nitrifiers.

It is the heterotrophs which are primarily responsible for creating the "bio-film" (slimy residue found on the tank walls and ornaments) which builds up in our aquariums.

The heterotrophs are generally bigger than the autotrophs and therefore don't attach themselves to surfaces with the same ease. They also reproduce much more quickly. Heterotrophs can reproduce in around 15 - 20 minutes, whereas autotrophs can take up to 24 hours to reproduce.

In a newly set-up aquarium, the heterotrophs get to work quicker than the autotrophs, causing the 'cycling bloom' we so often see. Blooms are almost certainly heterotrophic if they are caused by a build up of organic waste in the substrate, which most, if not all, are.

Bacterial blooms are common in tanks with apparently no organics present (for example, where all that is in the tank is water and ammonia for a fishless cycle). This is caused by the dechlorination of the water suddenly enabling the water to support bacterial populations. The heterotrophs immediately get to work on the organics in the water itself. The severity of the bloom and even whether a bloom happens at all is dependant upon the level of organics contained in the water supply.

Our autotroph nitrifiers are strictly aerobic (require oxygen), but the heterotrophs can be facultative anaerobic (they can switch between aerobic and anaerobic function depending on their environment). Therefore the heterotrophs in the substrate will be in their anaerobic state and breaking down the organic waste into ammonia, but if they bloom up into the water column, they will switch to their aerobic form and will start to convert the ammonia back to nitrite, although very inefficiently. The heterotrophs are around 1,000,000 times less efficient at ammonia oxidisation than our beneficial autotrophs as the heterotrophs are not true nitrifiers.


The Effects of a Bacterial Bloom

Most of the bacteria in the aquarium are aerobic as it is a oxygen dominated environment, and these bacteria require lots of oxygen. When the heterotrophic bacteria bloom into the water column and switch to their aerobic state, this is a big drain on the oxygen content of the water. Oxygen depravation is the only risk to the fish which i am aware of during a bacterial bloom, as the heterotrophs themselves are harmless to fish, so good advice is to increase aeration!

To help you to understand why bacterial blooms occur, overfeeding ,dead fish or dead plant matter will cause a rise in the reproduction of the heterotrophs in order to break down the organic waste, they re-produce too quickly to be able to attach themselves to a surface and this causes a bacterial bloom. As the ammonia production increases due to the increased mineralisation, the nitrifiers are slow to catch up (as i said above) and so you see an ammonia spike until the autotrophs reproduce enough to take care of it. Contrary to popular belief, bacterialblooms cause an ammonia spike, not the other way around.

It is unclear whether the autotrophic nitrifiers ever bloom into the water column or if they simply multiply too slowly to cause this effect.

 

blooms are common in tanks with apparently no organic waste present, most commonly when only water and ammonia are in the tank for a fishless cycle. In this case, there are few easy ways to remove the organics from the water, and so my best suggestion is to sit it out and wait. Water changes with purified water would help as it would dilute the concentration of organics in the water. Reverse Osmosis water would be ideal in this situation, however i would suggest that patience is the cheaper and more environmentally friendly option.

[Havok_9]

 

Did you rinse it well before you put it in your tank?

I asked a couple of people, store employees and others in the hobby, if I should rinse the sand before putting it in. Everyone said no since it was brand new live sand. Maybe another contributing source?

 

blooms are common in tanks with apparently no organic waste present, most commonly when only water and ammonia are in the tank for a fishless cycle. In this case, there are few easy ways to remove the organics from the water, and so my best suggestion is to sit it out and wait. Water changes with purified water would help as it would dilute the concentration of organics in the water. Reverse Osmosis water would be ideal in this situation, however i would suggest that patience is the cheaper and more environmentally friendly option.

Thanks! I came across those three articles, trust me when I say I combed thru the internet trying to research solutions. They are great, and definitely informative. It's tough because in the reef hobby there are no clear cut answers or solutions to many of these types of problems, lots of trial and error. And I'm desperate for a solution. I probably will end up trying Dr Tims as a last resort...

 

My question is would it be possible for me to just keep up with every other day water changes and let this bacteria run it's course? Would it die out eventually?

[metrokat]

According to the bacterial blooms excerpt, water changes do nothing to help, you just have to wait it out. As for Dr Tims, it doesn't have to be a last resort, I use a lot of his products on a weekly basis. Some say it's a placebo, or snake oil. I know it doesn't harm my tank so I use it.

[Havok_9]

Yea I'm a little confused on the water change part. I understand that its not helpful in getting rid of the bacteria, but are they detrimental? Does it give the bacteria a boost thus prolonging the life of the bloom? I've been doing the changes to mostly help with the survival of my remaining coral. Should I back off on the wc's?

 

I'll be ordering some dr. Tims today. If it's good enough for metrokat, it's good enough for me!

[afyounie]

I think the WC's replenish the resources for the bacteria, allowing them to continue growing. Probably a good idea to cut back and let the bacteria die off while also dosing another strain of bacteria. Microbacter 7 is another bacteria culture you can use.

[metrokat]

If you make sure there is water movement in the tank for oxygenation, I wouldn't worry about the corals. The bacteria might even be stuff they are consuming, but oxygen is the concern. Putting them in a bucket with a powerhead, light and heater could be done to help you feel better about them if necessary.

[Havok_9]

Ok great, thank you guys so much. I feel a lot more comfortable in my fight against this slime mess now. Going to go investigate bottled bacteria cultures to out compete this bloom. I appreciate all the help, you have no idea!

[ajmckay]

If you just recently moved LR into this tank that could certainly be a contributing factor. Possible with the sand too I suppose. Note that these bacteria are everywhere though - like on everything and in the air, etc... They're not dangerous bacteria but essential in the process of breaking down organics. So no they shouldn't harm fish or corals - at least by themselves.

 

Since water changes are often thought of as a "cure all" in the hobby it's a little counter intuitive to think that they aren't effective in this case. Water changes don't hurt anything - but since the effectiveness is limited it's probably a waste of $ and effort more than anything.

 

I did forget about oxygenation though... Any time I've had a bloom I've had a skimmer running so the water was being oxygenated.

 

Finally, if you're worried about your corals and such why not set up a bucket with a heater, powerhead, and new water and transfer the corals to the bucket without moving your rock over. I can't specifically say that it will 100% fix your coral issues, however, I can't think how it would hurt anything. At the very least it will allow the corals to start receiving light again since they've essentially been blocked from light for a week which certainly isn't good.

[SquishyFishy]

You can't go wrong with Dr. Tims stuff...all of it.

 

I started with his Amonia and The One and Only and dry rock and I have never had a bloom. I have cyano from time to time, and a few patches of GHA, which I manually take out, but no dynos. I now use Chemi Clean once a month and that keeps the cyano at bay.

 

I use the Waste Away, Refresh and the Eco Balance as directed also. My tank pretty much is crystal as far as water quality goes. I dose 2 part Reef Fusion for the corals and since I started using that, my ph is always perfect, along with the calcium/magn.