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Cultivated Reef

White Stringy Stuff


tmabry

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Hey all. Ive had a nuvo 10 up and running for about 3-4 months now. Reef Glass skimmer. Media basket with filter floss and chemi pure blue. About 3 weeks ago I noticed white stringy stuff attached to the glass. Cleaned it off and it returns a few days later. The same stringy stuff is on the rocks and the gravel substrate as well. Did a deep clean of the rear sump and cleaned out a lot of brown snot and such. Found an article about air freshners and cleaners causing the issue so I ceased using them. Also started the using Dr Tims refresh followed by waste away according to (http://store.drtimsaquatics.com/assets/images/recipes/DrTims_Treat_Cyano_Recipe_27Mar15.pdf)

 

With the refresh it seemed to help the problem slightly but ive finished the last dose of waste away with no real change. Did another deep clean of the sump area and it wasent as bad but still not great. NO3 and PO4 are undetectable. Weekly 2 gallon water change and once a month 4 gallon change. 2 clowns in the tank right now and 2 small coral frags. Want to hold off on buying any more corals until I can get this problem resolved. 

 

Any ideas? 

 

Ill try to add some pics later. 

 

Thanks

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Is the stringy stuff white or brown?  (title says white, but then you mention brown snot, wasn't sure if that was the same stuff)

 

I have had what looks like white smoke come from my rocks and was told it was some kind of snail spawning.  Maybe the white stringy stuff is something similar.  Not sure if it's brown though.

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Its white in the tank but some of it in the sump that was clogging the pump lines and such was brown.

 

Just did a quick vaccum of the tank and was working on reorganizing cables...OCD worst nightmare and happened to take a look at my chaeto reactor. The chaeto was covered in the white slime as well. So were the grates at the top and bottom of the reactor. Needless to say I pulled the reactor and will keep it out till I can get everything in the tank back to normal 

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Thanks. From the research ive done thus far seems like possibly a baterial bloom or some type of hair aglae but not really sure so thought I would see what others might think. 

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Do you run a skimmer? 

 

Did you clean your pumps and hoses as well during the big cleaning? These should be cleaned every few mnths. Especially after a cycling. Its amazing how much stuff collects in both.

 

 

Nitrate and phos being undetectable isn't beneficial.

 

 

Can you please post a pic of the white stuff.

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Could be detritus?  Would need a pic.  I’m meticulous about cleaning but I have to remember to tell myself a reef tank is not a sterile environment, it’s a balanced one. 

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53 minutes ago, Aurortpa said:

Could be detritus?  Would need a pic.  I’m meticulous about cleaning but I have to remember to tell myself a reef tank is not a sterile environment, it’s a balanced one. 

I first thought it could be detritus too but it collecting on the glass would rule that out right? 

 

Heres a few pictures. The ones of the reactor are the easiest to see what Im refering to. I just cleaned the tank earlier so the little bit on the glass was all i could find. 

IMG_3342.JPG

IMG_1907.JPG

IMG_4186.JPG

IMG_2419.JPG

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Looks like normal detritus accumulation to me. The stuff on glass could be silt sticking to snail slime or bio film, nothing uncommon, moreover nothing to be concerned about.  Just vacuum or rinse it out.

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Looks like detritus to me too. At first I thought it looked like melting cheato 

 

If you had not cleaned the pump/hoses, back chambers for months, detritus would build up.

 

Changing floss often will help too

 

As well as vacuuming sand and blasting rocks 

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Hi all. Thanks for the responses.

 

My first thought was detritus too. I have been cleaning the rear sump monthly with the 4 gallon water change. Running the reef glass skimmer.

 

After doing more research I believe it may be a bacterial bloom. Nutrients are super low. Nitrates are undetectable with the salifert kit. 

 

This thread kind of pointed toward what I think may be the culprite: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/white-slim-bacterial-bloom.355963/

 

I think by trying to skim more and feed less I may be exacerbating the issue. Debating on turning the skimmer off and feeding a little more now and try to get ahead of the bacteria and then once Nitrates are registering again start it back up and try to keep them at more normal levels. 

 

Added a cheap 3w uv sterilizer to the back tank as well and it has helped a lot in just a few days. Really started to notice less stringy mess on the gravel bed and the LR. This is also what makes me think its a bacterial bloom and not just detritus. 

 

Having to change the filter floss every several hours as it clogs up and causes the ATO to overfill the tank. UV has helped with this some but has only been on for a few days. 

 

Any thoughts? Im a complete noob and willing to take any advice to help get the tank running correctly! Thanks

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  • 3 months later...
  • 2 months later...
That dank Reefer

Well I ended up getting rid of it. Basically dosed peroxide for 3-4 days, about 4-5ml a day in my 20g. Had my skimmer running an carbon reactor. Did 25% water changes every other day. Made sure to open my windows an run a fan as much as I could (I’m in Florida). I was going to throw my brothers uv on it but I ended up not needing it.  I think catching it early was my biggest advantage.

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