small white spirils on glass and black wall

brackish10

brackish10

Member
the title says it. im just wondering what they are. they seem immobile, varying in size but not larger than 1/16th of an inch. most are around 1/32 of an inch. it started with a few about a 2 months ago, but now my back wall is almost 1/3 these white spirils. are they harmful? should i do something to remove them or continue to let my system run its course?
I feel i should note this is on a 6.5 gallon system with a refugium. i have over 11lbs of live rock, and keep cheato to around 1 softball. I only change the water about once every 2 months, top off daily with 1ppm salt water. at the last test i ran at almst 2 months without a water change, the nitrates were still at a safe level. :) but the main question is what are these spirils?
 
brackish10

brackish10

Member
Mike Johnson said:
Yup, Spirorbidae. In this pic they are enlarged.
https://www.google.com/search?q=spi...hl=en&client=safari#biv=i|1;d|NJDwuLgHPzJCHM:
Click to expand...

that is 100 percent them. thank you. I'll let then stay. I've been allowing anything natural to stay and do its thing in my tank. i have at least 2 large bristleworms in my refugium. and I've had a random macro algae come full bloom in the dt. I've identified it as "dragons breath" it stays. Its actually really pretty. Ive also taken to no water change. just top up. i go through about 1g every 4 or 5 days on top up, do the tank is getting over 10 percent new water.
 
goma

goma

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
PREMIUM
Mike is spot on. Top offs replace water lost due to evaporation. Water changes are used to remove the "nasties" from the water column and replace that water with pristine clean saltwater that also replenishes minerals that get depleted over time.
 
yorkieUK

yorkieUK

Member
PREMIUM
Hi Guys,
Is it commonplace to have so many Spirorbidae fan worms in the DT?
Do they play a positive or negative part in the system?
Is it better to leave them or remove them if you see them early?
YorkieUK.
 
Mike Johnson

Mike Johnson

Well-Known Member
They're not going to hurt anything. There's probably no way you're ever going to be able to get rid of them. They will not be quite as abundant once your aquarium matures. Scrap them off the viewing panels.
 
ziggy

ziggy

Active Member
+1 on the evaporation comment. evaporation only removes clean, pure water.... all the bad stuff and salts, minerals stay behind so WC's are a must.
 
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