[ussoldierforhire]

Can anyone ID this stuff and provide a solution to remove it all? I've been reading for a week and can't find what it is.

My setup.

65gal bowfront, 5 2" red bellies, 1 HOB mechanical filter, 1 Fluval FX5 for biological filtration, UV sterilizer. Various live plants.

 

[kamikazi]

looks like dried water spots to me.

do you have malaysian driftwood? I have noticed that as my wood breaks down the wood "dust" gets stuck to the sides of the tank. Simple to get off with an algae sponge.

 

[junko]

Are they like little clear empty sac looking things?

My daughter's sword plant had them all over about a week after setting it up, but once we put fish in there they all went away.

 

[ussoldierforhire]

i do have malaysian driftwood. They look like they're living organisms. definately not water spots. They waive in the current and come back within 24-48 hrs of cleaning.

 

[monkeyfish]

It's hard to tell from the pics. It could be slime mold, which is harmless and very interesting stuff. I had it on my driftwood when I started up.

 

[rlswaney73]

maybe hydra?

 

[Elrodg]

No it's not hydra. Do you dose at all? I have noticed this on my low tech tank. It's a type of brown algae. Caused by lots o light with no co2. Or no ferts added. Low circulation as well. Could be caused by a bunch of things

 

[driftwoodhunter]

I don't have a clues as to what it is, and it may be coincidence, but I had the exact same thing a week prior to my columnaris outbreak. I always wondered if it was connected...

 

[ussoldierforhire]

No it's not hydra. Do you dose at all? I have noticed this on my low tech tank. It's a type of brown algae. Caused by lots o light with no co2. Or no ferts added. Low circulation as well. Could be caused by a bunch of things

I do not have co2 other than daily added co2 booster and I run my lights 12+ hrs a day. I am cutting the lights to about 6 hrs a day and going to do another cleaning tomorrow to see if less light helps.

 

[driftwoodhunter]

How long has the tank been set up? I'm wondering if it's something that gets a bloom during the initial cycle?

 

[Norman]

I had that in my 30G tall and it came back after scrubbing. Finally I assumed the driftwood was rotting so I pulled out and replaced it with a new, store bought root. Within 24 hours the stuff was on the root. I poured 1/2 cup of Excel and the white stuff was gone the next morning!

 

[ussoldierforhire]

Tank ha been up for over two months. Sounds like i'm gonna try some excel! Still would like to know what it is.

 

[Elrodg]

Yeah excel should fix it.

 

[Elrodg]

It could just be due to a lack of carbon. It's in my low tech but not my hi-mid.
Was the tank properly cycled?