Shag Rug Substrate Issue

[Bearjohnson]

Looks like I've developed quite shag rug in my substrate. It's not a flow issue that I can say. Ruling out the obvious, flow, overfeeding, one of the only things I can think of is my water supply. My RODI is always clean and I never let the reading go above .025ppm before I change the filters. The one question I have is the development of a slime within the Rubbermaid tub I use which I've never cleaned out until today. I don't generally keep more than 25-30 gallons ready and the top is opened. When I went to grab some water the other day I noticed the bottom of the tub was completely slimy. For those of you that have water stations etc., did you ever notice this within your container and can this be the cause of the hair suit?

 

[knapp870]

Its hard to tell from the pics, but is that hair algae or bryopsis? I've also noticed a slight slime on the bottom of my container but I think that is fairly normal. STill, its a good idea to give it a thorough cleaning every once in awhile. If its bryopsis, well i think that stuff can thrive on the cleanest water alive, maybe even live in bleach ;P

 

[dmatt88]

I get the slime dude. U get a solid id on the gunk?

..........rarely am I speechless

 

[Bearjohnson]

No ID yet sir. I'm beginning to think that a bare bottom is the way to go.

 

[ddelozier]

looks like Blue-green slime algae. Do a parameter check, something isnt right. Look carefully at Nitrates and Phosphates. and start pulling out what you can.

 

[Bearjohnson]

The one thing I left out was frozen foods. I only feed twice daily but over the last 4 or 5 weeks I've been feeding frozen mysis and Rods food daily. I wonder if that could be feeding the beast?

 

[reefer gladness]

Do you vaccum the sandbed during water changes? I tend to overstock and overfeed like many and vaccuuming the sandbed to keep nitrates down is a key part of maintaining my tank.

PS - I think Rod's food is awesome but I tend to only feed it once a week as a treat because it's so rich in nutrients.

 

[Bearjohnson]

I've been reading a bit online and the word on the street is to raise the magnesium levels SLOWLY to around 1650? Thoughts?

 

[ddelozier]

ya have to take away the food source first...that means getting rid of nitrates/phospates.

 

[jjmoneyman]

I've got three 35 gallon barrels I use and I don't get any slime at all in them and I've had water sit for up to 2 weeks. I keep the lids on them so nothing can fall in.

 

[Bearjohnson]

ya have to take away the food source first...that means getting rid of nitrates/phospates.

Both are undetectable, i run an algae scrubber

 

[ddelozier]

if there are no algae foods present, then im thinking it almost has to be some kind of bacteria.

 

[Bearjohnson]

if there are no algae foods present, then im thinking it almost has to be some kind of bacteria.

Possibly - but whatever it is, It's war!