Looking to ID Algae in Sump
 

Hey folks,

I’m looking to identify this weird cream / brown colored stringy snot like algae which has showed up shortly after my chaeto disintegrated. The “nasty stuff” is not present in my display, however is attached to my overflow pipes and in my sump area. I do biweekly WC’s (reef crystals) 30g on my 150g tank and siphon out this stuff on a regular basis in clumps. Looking for any help on how to rid my tanks of this nasty stuff!!!


Salinity: 1.026
Temperature: 80 degrees Fahrenheit
Alkalinity: 8.9 dKh
Calcium: 450 ppm
Nitrate: 2-5ppm
Phosphate: 0.02ppm

I currently dose 15ml NOPO-X daily to keep nitrates in check as I have a heavy bio load. I dose 2-part for Alk/Cal, run GAC and GFO in reactors. Nothing else is added to the tank.


I no longer have a refuge in after the chaeto didn’t last. I don’t know if it is coincidence or completely an aside but the last chaeto to melt was when the slime appeared.

Here are a couple photos of the sump and filters which are constantly plugged up with this stuff. I’m stuck every couple days cleaning out my reactor pumps which suck up this stuff... please help!


http://i67.tinypic.com/2cijupk.jpg

http://i68.tinypic.com/2vdr6nm.jpg

http://i65.tinypic.com/6s59v5.jpg

wow, that's some nasty crap. Sorry, I'm no help on ID here. To me it looks like fish poop mixed in with something that died or is in the processing of dying and decomposing. Gross.

Nothing has died in the tank other then my chaeto. I swear it grows though!!! I pull it out all the time with a turkey baster and it comes back. That’s why I think it’s an algae of some sort.

I literally take my prefilters to the car wash to spray this crap out as it does t rinse away.

Hopefully someone knows what it is and how do I get rid of it...

That's kinda what I was alluding to. The fibrous chaeto breaking down and mixing with detritus. Algae can tend to turn clear and snotty when it breaks down. Also, I'm not saying that's what it is. I'm saying that's what it looks like :-)

If it's alive (algae), then I have no clue. If it's dead (stuff), then probably just keep rinsing and siphoning it out until it's all (mostly) gone? :noidea:

:lol: ya I thought it was just dead stuff (it might be) but seems to be so much that I thought maybe an algae... I will keep doing what I’m doing (siphoning, washing filters etc.) and hopefully it leaves.

Anyone else want to take a stab at what this stuff may be?

That's bacteria from the NoPoX dosing. If you switched to biopellets in a reactor with the output hose going directly into your skimmer intake then you won't get that bacteria in the sump.

Hmm interesting... I ran vertex biopellets in a reactor placed in my skimmer section for months with no real effect on nitrates. I may have to reconsider plumbing in a biopellets reactor in my new build as I don’t want a slime covered sump.

Just when things were nice and stable something like this happens:lol:

It's definitely bacteria. I seen it before in my holding tanks while setting up my current display.
I believe the actual color of that slime is originally translucent but probably with all the gunk running through, gives it a brownish tinge.

Ok well thanks for confirming as I was initially thinking of an algae. Now my question is for my new tank build is it worth getting rid of NOPO-X and will biopellets be sufficient.

Biopellets will always be sufficient. I think the key is more about dialing it in correctly without overdoing it.
That slime is probably a result of some stagnant areas in the sump. You could try a test and add a small power head around the affected areas and see if it disappears from that particular spot(s). Or even an airstone.

You may be right for the slower areas of the sump. I have never saw it enter in to the display at all as I have high flow. I may switch back to biopellets on the new tank build as I absolutely hate this stringy snotty stuff.

I don't think messing around with the flow in the sump is going to change anything for you. With a bio pellet reactor the bacteria is contained within the reactor. since you have the output of the reactor going straight into the skimmer, the skimmer pulls out all of that bacteria that escapes.

Biopellets always work, but in my experience it is very important to have that output of the reactor going into the skimmer.

I'm more concerned though that you need to run biopellets or some kind of carbon dosing to keep the nutrients down. You should not need to use any of these options long-term if you're doing effective aquarium maintenance, you have a good quality and appropriately sized protein skimmer, and your tank is not overstocked.

If you don't think stagnant water can contribute to the 'accumulation' of bacteria in the form of a slime substance, and don't wanna take my word for it, then put a couple of live rocks in a bucket with some water with no flow for a couple of weeks and see what happens.

The other question I had was should I be dosing bacteria like MB7? I watched some YouTube videos and saw that with biopellets people would dose bacteria in to the tank. I am wondering if that is just to start the biopellets off or for a newer system.

That's just to jumpstart it. Not needed.

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Ok awesome thanks! Is there a preference in type or brand of biopellets that you have had success with on client tanks or your own?

I use the TLF NPX pellets in client tanks. I'm not sure that I've tried any other brands.

Ok thanks Mindy!

You're welcome. :)

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Is there bubbles in that snot? If so it could be Dino’s, the sudden rise in Po4 mixed with the possibility of higher no3 could cause the Dino’s to spread and grow even if there was none before. When I left my old tank for months without wc I noticed this...

No bubbles and definitely not Dino’s. Just nasty snotty crap that I will have to deal with until the next setup and no more NoPO-X.

I'm getting this same buildup in my retun pump and piping nowhere else in the tank/sump, At least it looks to be the same to me. Funny thing is I have nver carbon dosed in this tank.

https://images2.imgbox.com/80/33/6p5RfvqS_o.jpg
https://images2.imgbox.com/94/bb/hJ4mi8D2_o.jpg

That does look similar... I without a doubt didn’t have any of it until I started dosing Carbon. That’s weird that you have something similar with no carbon dosing.

Some tanks have a high bacteria load. I haven't figured out why. A couple of my clients' tanks are like that. They've never had bacteria dosed, and never had carbon dosed, yet the filter pads feel slimy when you touch them, and so do the sump walls.

That’s interesting! I wonder why that is... such a pain in the but to clean out of filters. I’m thinking my new sump won’t have any filters. Maybe just a filter sock as they are easier to manage.

I'm currently not running any filters or filter socks unless I scrub the stuff down then I put then in for the night to catch it all and take them out the next day. I'm running no WC's with ATI Essentials, everything tests out perfectly. All the corals the display looks great, colors and growth better than they ever have. Just this darn slime build up that needs to be cleaned out every 2-3 weeks.

Ugh... I feel ya. This stuff is the worst to clean as it doesn’t siphon out well and sticks to absolutely everything.

You ever figure out what it is? Thought I had it beat a few weeks ago but after 7 days of nothing in the sump the 8th day was worse than I had seen it before. :/

From everything thing I have read and Myka’s reply, I believe it is a bacteria based slime. Unfortunately my 150g has a heavy bioload, so it makes it difficult to control nitrates even with biweekly 15% WC. I read a lot written by Randy Holmes-Farley on the topic of carbon dosing and bacteria populations. Yesterday I decided to swap out my NOPO-X bottle and use only vinegar as a carbon method. I’m hoping the combination of carbon sources found within the NOPOX product was contributing to the slime. Fingers tossed that the vinegar won’t continue to boost the slime and it will supply energy to a different bacteria.

I am going to try and take another kick at chaeto in my sump. I’m scared the slime will kill it off though. My wife wants me to fix the slime issue so it doesn’t present in the brand new system. Obviously I want nothing more then to rid the slime as well. :neutral:

Oh right forgot you dose carbon.
About 4 days ago I did complete tare down of the sump and all plumbing, did a really good scrubbing and a 25% WC. I stopped dosing any AA's or Bacteria additive and went with straight DIY 2 part dosing instead of the ATI Essentials. Also go thte wife to stop using sented candles and any spray cleaner we currently use for the next 10 days or so.I have read air contaminants can cause this as well. Specifically cleaners that contain alcohol, there is a article that uses Dr. Tim's waste away to rid there tank of the slime only after finding the source was a cleaning product used by the tank.
I should know in 3-4 days if any of that helps or cures the issue. I'll post back and let you know if I make any headway, this stuff really sucks to clean every week.

Yes please let me know! I want to rid myself of this goo.

I don't think the switch to vinegar will help. I've used vinegar in client tanks, and it makes bacteria slime too. You might get lucky though, so I hope it works for you! Otherwise, consider biopellets and run the output right into your skimmer, and you won't get goo.

Well I was fortunate to snag a ball of chaeto (very hard to find in Edmonton now). I decided to completely take my carbon dosing offline to rid the slime. I’m hop No I can still manage my nitrate levels with the chaeto. I left my GFO running in a reactor for the time being as I believe the chaeto doesn’t absorb this at the same rate. My plan is to monitor my nitrates and hopefully they don’t shoot back up. I will play with this idea for a little bit until I get the new system up. If I’m unsuccessful in nitrate control, I will have to put the carbon dosing back online and will try strictly vinegar as nopox without a doubt contributes to heavy slime.

At least I will know if this will be sufficient otherwise I will go the biopellet route with the outlet from the reactor going directly in to my Skimmer intake. I can’t tell you what a PITA this stuff truly is. I will monitor the tank and rest nitrates / phosphates (I will try for every 3 days). Hopefully I see a reduction in the slime.

If you make yourself a DIY Pax Bellum style Chaeto reactor it will grow Chaeto like nobody's business. Powerful nutrient reduction.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...ySJtQ8F-fU5PSp

Thanks for bringing this up Mindy! I have saw many of these reactor setups for sale online in packages and DIY projects. My thought was it would be good to have the chaeto contained (preventing from getting in filters and taking up less room in the sump). I guess my question is will the chaeto just grow until it hits the capacity of the container? Is it better to keep it contained for more direct light?

I went downstairs this morning after my night shift. My chaeto ball was tumbling away in the first chamber of my sump. Upon looking closer I saw that some of the stragglers made it over the baffle and in to my prefilter. Not a huge deal, that being said is this going to thin the chaeto to non existence over the next while. I want this little ball to replace my need (or provide a good complement) to carbon dosing so I don’t have to worry about chaeto. Also in my new system I want to learn from my mistakes in this 150g and not have to change total methods.

Let me know your thoughts Mindy as you have a lot more experience and exposure to different chaeto setups. I have no issues doing a DIY reactor for the chaeto of this will be effective.

Would def watch out running one of these, the LED's wrapped around acrylic have been known to cause stress cracks and eventually fractures. The don't generate a lot of heat but when it's pressed directly onto the surface like that it is focused enough to be a issue.