[Urgent] What the hell is this and how to fix it?

[Nav]

Okay... last week before my water change I noticed my filter sock clogged... after PWC, changed to new sock and in just a week was almost going to overflow (usually change socks once in 2 weeks) but was wondering how it clogged so fast, sock was not even brown yet! Changed to another socks and 3 days now and it clogged! To be safe, I switched to a media-bag/mesh sock yesterday and today even this is clogged!!!

Took a closer look and all around the sock there's this hairy very slimy thing forming.... I usually wrap my return line with a media bag and even there there's this slimy thing... i felt it and its transparent and so gooey. My GFO reactor has water flow but no GFO tumbling cos this slimy thing is over the GFO too!

Its not algae! I don't see this thing anywhere in the DT around coral or rock (just the media bag covering the return line), all of this is mostly growing in the sump where there's water flow and irregular surface.

Can someone advise what this is and how I can get rid of it ASAP? I'm flying out of the country this weekend and very scared i'll have a major leak or a crash.

 

[Enderturtle]

Is it bacteria bloom?

Why cant you take off the filtersock/mesh bag from the return line?

 

[Nav]

Is it bacteria bloom?
Why cant you take off the filtersock/mesh bag from the return line?

Yes I'm going to do that now but looking for a fix cos its growing over my GFO and around skimmer and return pumps slowly... eventually the pumps might cease!

More info: No growth in/around powerheads in DT. Absolutely no change in maintenance patterns or nothing new added for several months now... The only thing is my 2 leather corals have been splitting in the last few weeks (head slowly tearing off into small bits and those babies settle on sand and have good PE) mother has PE sometimes and sometimes not...

 

[Enderturtle]

Nav google search these terms "clear slime reef tank"

Saw some good threads

 

[rygh]

Are you carbon dosing?

 

[Nav]

Are you carbon dosing?

No carbon dosing... just 2 part.

I'm very close to narrowing it down to my leather coral sliming very hard. I saw a very small bit it of on the leather today bit both leathers! (started splitting right around when this sliming issue started)

 

[Nav]

Did more reading and this bacterial growth depletes oxygen and also causes pH to drop. Just checked pH history on APEX and its ranging between 7.8-8.1 where it always has been 8-8.2.

None of the articles I read has a solid fix to this problem

 

[pixelpixi]

I don't have anything useful to suggest, but good luck figuring it out and I hope it doesn't cause a serious problem. It's always amazing to me when new stuff turns up in an aquarium that's been humming along for some time.

 

[Nav]

Not sure if this is the cause but I've been using scented candles from Bath&BodyWorks for years now with no problems. Been trying out a candle I got from Walmart (right around the time this problem started)!!!

 

[Flagg37]

Wow, strange. Who's watching your tank while you're gone?

 

[Nav]

Wow, strange. Who's watching your tank while you're gone?

Nobody... I'm gone for a full week

 

[Flagg37]

That seems like a long time. Have you been gone that long before?

 

[Nav]

That seems like a long time. Have you been gone that long before?

Yup, I was out Dec 1-10 and everything was good. The system is enough automated to run standalone for 2 weeks but not for situations like now where plumbing could clog or pumps might fail!

I'm going to do a PWC tomorrow and see if it helps.

 

[Enderturtle]

Having no experience with this what so ever, I think its either your leather coral sliming OR bacterial bloom.

Nav touch the slime. Is it really hard/thick enough to clog up your return pump? I can't imagine it clogging unless it is thick. Otherwise the suction will rip it up and send it flying out the return.

Let me know if you want me to stop by mid week or something. You could also have Neptune Aquatics make a visit; they provide trusted professional service to people throughout the bay area.

 

[Nav]

Thanks for offering to help Michael I'm going to check with @wpeterson if he can stop by mid week (Winfield lives closer to my place).

The slime is not so thick for now so I guess the pump wont fail... I'll have to run sock-free when I'm gone. I have a feeling the media bag over my return line is whats keeping slime from spreading into my DT? Cos in other cases most of them complain of the slime taking over the DT/rocks/coral/etc.

 

[wpeterson]

I'm happy to help, but I'm on an actual reef until 1/10 in Kauai.

This sounds a bit like things I've read about atmospheric phthalates causing a bacterial bloom:

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

Happy to help when I'm back in town on Sunday and beyond.

 

[wpeterson]

TLDR: if you want to treat for this, ditch candles or smoky pollutants, run a lot more carbon. Good luck!

 

[Nav]

Update: stopped burning candles for the last 5 days and I see very less of this stuff. Hopefully it'll clear up in the next few days...

 

[wpeterson]

Update: stopped burning candles for the last 5 days and I see very less of this stuff. Hopefully it'll clear up in the next few days...

Glad to hear it's going better. Please follow up and let us know if this resolved it.

Is there any way to test for pthalates? The evidence seems to support something like that from your candles.

 

[Nav]

Never heard of Phthalates