Cant figure out what it is.

[marinelover]

I have a customer come in and in his tank he has growing on his live rock like a white sponge texture growing all over his tank and it is ingulf his filter pads. At first I thought sponge or macro algae and when he brought it in for me to see some of it it looks and feels kinda like when you rip up a cotton ball how it tears apart. I cant figure it out sponge and macro doesnt ingulf a tank that fast and doesnt clog up a filter either.?????? So I am stumped and I need help what do you mguys think. His water quality is great and it is a 55 gal reef setup. I dont have a picture but it really looks just how I have described it!
HELP!
Thanks
Shawn

[fishhead]

Have there been any meteor impacts in your area?

[Woodstock]

Try to get a picture... maybe he has one? I have lots of white sponges and sea squirts in my tank.

[marinelover]

No its not like that it is getting to plague proportions!! He spends hours cleaning it and the next day they are growing again !!!!

[fishhead]

Does it have a flavor?

[Woodstock]

I bet it tastes salty.


??? .... get a photo.

[ScottT1980]

Is it in strands? Sort of form a mesh (not a tight mesh like screening or wedding veil netting, but almost a criss-cross mesh)? I had a sponge in my tank that sounds very similar. It grew pretty quickly, took over a zoanthid colony, and could be found on almost all my LR...

Although, without a picture, it really is difficult to tell...

Take er easy
Scott T.

[KimPossible]

Does it look like this?
(courtesy of pawmjw )

I have these as well..... I thought they were some type of a sea squirt. I searched the internet.... and i saw one that looked similar...it was unidentified.

Here is the thread that the pic came from pawmjw's thread

[Sharkbait]

Kim I think you got it.I run a aquarium service company and run in to these guys from time to time.They can grow on any kind of rock(LR or Lace rock) and engulf a tank in plague proportions quickly. I've had to clean them off of suction screens and they are very similar to a wet cottonballs as they were described earlier.I've never been able to classify them in any field book and I've only gotten rid of them by removing the effected rock and H20 changes to catch any loose ones after the removal.

[marinelover]

Thanks everybody who was actually serious!!!
Shawn

[fishhead]

Kim: I used to get those white thingys in my penguin and canister filters (when i used them).

[Woodstock]

For those of us like myself that have an extremely stressful job, it is imperative to our continued mental health that we unwind or otherwise 'get silly' from time to time. Making a joke during this thread or any other thread is certainly not directed in a negative way to anyone; but instead is simply a way to have fun.

My deepest apologies to whomever gave me negative karma on this thread.

[mnreefman]

twasnt i....

[fishhead]

no I

[corvettephreek]

Not me.... if you are nano-bashing or making an extremely out-of-place comment, negative Karma is deserved, however not for cracking a joke. i like the joke personally....

but seriously, I have the same problem in my tank now... its plaguing one piece of LR. kinda feels like a soft stringy lumpy foam or cotton. i tried using a turkey baster to get it off, but its not easy to get off.... Ill probably use LR prep with the brush attachment tonight to see if that helps.... it seems to spring up when the params are really good, so I am confused as well.... also Ill burn it to see if it burns or melts... (if it melts into a hard substance then it isnt something living) kinda like a plastic.... ill let you guys know what i come up with. its really funky looking...