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Strange white threads after adding RO Water

6486 Views 12 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  AlexBanng
Hello Guys and Gals

I have a 190 Ltr Planted Aquarium

PH: 6.6
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate 10 ppm
Phosphate: 0.25 ppm

Substrate: ADA Power Sand (with some Penac P added) and ADA Amazonia Aqua Soil on top

I only do my water changes with RO Water from my local pet shop (undiluted). The reason im not diluting it is because my tap water is REALLY bad quality. My tap water is very high PH and Nitrate is VERY high) Since stopping any water changes with tap water my tank has really sorted itself out. Fish are really showing signs of growth and health, plants are growing well and my brown algae issues are Zero.

I have noticed something very strange when i add RO water and i wanted to know if

a. its normal
b. anyone has seen this

Typically after adding RO water to my aquarium my plants and areas of substrate get covered in white stringy threads. its quite bizzare - its almost looks like a bacteria of some sort is leaving the plants. After about an hour or two it is no longer visible and the tank is back to normal.

Does anyone know what this is... and why its happening?

Many Thanks...

Mario
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Do some of them wiggle around? If so they're probably Detritus worms that got dislodged from the current. Harmless little guys
2
Hey Bizzle
Thanks for the reply, these are 100% not worms. They are very long threads attached to the plants and substrate. I will try and upload a photo

Its very hard to see in the photos, but they are white threads / filaments. Some of them are really quite long in open water. It seems to be mainly in the area where the water was added... although that's probably a coincidence.


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Probably hair algae. I notice this after water changes in my tank as well. I remove what I see of the hair algae before the water change, but after, the finer threads I didn't see are white/grey, which I assume is micro bubbles from the water change caught in the algae.
Hey Shawn,
Not sure its algae.. algae has to have a pigment, these are all white and appear all over the tank they are strands of mucus like material. The fish try and eat them, some of them float away and after time it just disappears...Also worth mentioning this never occurred when i used tap water, and doesn't actually happen every water change but only when i do a large change with RO water i always see this.... any other thoughts?
Seeing this and the thread about protein film, I am reminded that occasionally when I do large water changes, the film can look like threads in the water. Just a thought.


Your pics look more like a mold.
Seeing this and the thread about protein film, I am reminded that occasionally when I do large water changes, the film can look like threads in the water. Just a thought.


Your pics look more like a mold.
Interesting RE the protein film... i will read up on that. Its not Mould... just really bad photos...

Cheers!
Are you adding any chems during the water change? I for one was initially confused about RO units and thought that they removed %100 of all chlorine and chloramine, but I guess that isn't always true. I read that some chemicals can result in a gelatinous goo in the tank but yours looks different. Eh, well good luck! I'm sure you'll track it down. :icon_smil
Funny I did get the same strings not too long ago and it's definitely not algae since this tank does not have any. I only got it once and it happened after a water change but I also added micros/macros and shirakura ca+. Not sure if any of this had any play with the long threads hanging from all my leaves but I never dosed micros/macros at same time again. I use straight tap water so maybe it was some type of chemical reaction between everything that I threw in the tank.
Are you adding any chems during the water change? I for one was initially confused about RO units and thought that they removed %100 of all chlorine and chloramine, but I guess that isn't always true. I read that some chemicals can result in a gelatinous goo in the tank but yours looks different. Eh, well good luck! I'm sure you'll track it down. :icon_smil
Hey thanks for the reply, im using 100% RO water, im not adding any chemicals. The only thing i have been starting to dose my tank with is potassium for my plants however it was doing this before i started adding that. Its almost like whatever bacteria it is, it doesn't like the RO water and its causing it to almost come off / leave the plants.

It looks pretty cool and hasn't caused any damage (that i can see) however it would be good to fully understand what it is and why its happening.

Next big water change i will try and get some better pictures.

Funny I did get the same strings not too long ago and it's definitely not algae since this tank does not have any. I only got it once and it happened after a water change but I also added micros/micros and shirakura ca+. Not sure if any of this had any play with the long threads hanging from all my leaves but I never dosed micros/macros at same time again. I use straight tap water so maybe it was some type of chemical reaction between everything that I threw in the tank.
ahhh good to know im not the only one :D
i get this, then it goes away after a few hours on its own. I have no clue what it is, but it only happens in one of my tanks, very strange. Its a lot like underwater spider webs, but im pretty certain it has to do with adding gh booster, cause it usually pops up right after dumping the powder in. I also don't heat the r/o water so there a decent temperature difference when i do a water change, which may also be a factor.
I get this to in my 10 gal Water Holder!

I Hydroponically grow plants indoors and keep about 5-10 gal of Dechlorinated water to use. Every time after I add the Declorinating powder, the next day these white treads your talking about appear on my air tubes. The problem is mine don't go away as there is nothing in the water to process them, just some air stones to keep movement. I found this tread trying to find my answer on what it is and how to prevent it. At first I thought it was because I added Nutrients to my water then i emptied, cleaned with 99% Isopropyl and filled it back up, added the Declorinator again and boom. Next day, treads.

Doesn't look like I have found my answer yet.
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