Help!Clear thick slime covering everything!

Thanks Tom, and everyone else. LOL Jay.I'll add another picture just for you.
skimmerslimeplague.jpg


Tom, you have encouraged me that this may clear up. The only other thread I found on this, the guy tore down his whole tank and started over.

Do you think I should remove all the fish and corals that I can? My nano is already pretty full.

I have no filtration now at all. Only circulation. Well, I keep stuffing the baffles with filter floss and throwing it away as it gets clogged. My skimmer can't handle this at all.
 
wow that is crazy, and nasty.

if it is a bacterial bloom... I wonder if your kids added any food or drinks to the tank that might have been a perfect food source for the bacteria.
 
I keep the sump locked up. There is an occasional little hand put in the sump, but empty aside from a few crumbs. I wonder if the vitamin c dosing fed it. But there is so much, I have removed cups and cups, and that is just part of the sump. It is on all the liverock.

What is going to happen when whatever the food source was, is used up? Will it all die and pollute the tank beyond hope?

Do you think I should remove each pice of rock and wipe it off?
Sorry if I sound hysterical, but I kind of am.
 
The only thing I would be able to think of is the vitamin c, but I know nothing about dosing vita c or bacterial blooms so don't take my word lol.

You shouldn't be sorry for being worried about a tank that probably cost you a lot, I've already screwed up and wasted hundreds of dollars and I am not planning on letting that happen again. GL!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13687764#post13687764 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jay180reef
That is a clear example of ectoplasmic residue. I recommend Ghostbusters.
Click to expand...
Who you gonna Call?

Actually I'm guessing here folks. I've never come across a bacterial outbreak that severe. It could be a Slimmer event for all I know. :D

but my Motto is, When in doubt; change the water! In this case pronto.

:confused:
 
Wow, my very thoughts.

Hey Greenbean!

I really need a biologist here. Keep doing what you are doing. If it is bacteria it can't last forever, at least I don't think so. ;)
 
I once had short section of 2" spaflex that was placed in a QT tank as a hiding place for fish.


at one point there was a thick slime outbreak on the surfaces of the spaflex, but nothing else in the tank was affected. Not the rigid PVC fittings that were also in the tank as hiding places. It was mostly clear with a slight cloudy white opacity. It was almost as thick as some of your images suggest. I would see pieces of it trail off one end, blowing in the current like a bugger that wont leave no matter how hard you may sneeze.

No nutrients were detected in the water....


the porous surface of the spaflex compared to the rigid PVC may have provided a better breeding ground for bacteria. who knows. maybe once a bloom starts and ideal conditions exist, it will spread to anywhere, anything?


and fwiw.... I removed the piece of spaflex and never added it back to that particular tank :) so sorry I can't say how it would have progressed!
 
Plausible Ryan,

But you gotta eat! Something is fueling the outbreak. Barring a ectoplasmic event, something is in high enough concentration to produce a huge amount of biological material.
 
One other question? Did youu have one of those tank clear products near the tank? It could be a massive overdose of a polymer.
 
I don't use any water treatment products. I have used super glue for my gorgonians a few times. I only use ro water, well till now, otherwise I would never be able to make enough to keep up with water changes.

One past thread I read said don't do water changes with this kind of slime bacteria or whatever it is. They gave no reason why.

Thanks for all the replies. Right now I am cleaning all the slime I can out of the sump. It does not smell bad. I guess I'll try putting my skimmer back in latter and see what happens.

I may try rubbing off the rocks in a bucket of tank water.

This couldn't have anything to do with amphipods could it. I have tons of huge ones as I don't have anything that eats them.
 
I don't think so. but if the pod are the problem you have , then it will be a ton of shrimp stock to cook a dinner. :D

I'm at a loss and asked for help over on the chemistry forum; maybe they will have a better answer. I think it is a biological problem but I may be wrong.

Don't give up! With water changes and, in time, group stavation will set in,causing it to abate. Hopefully.
 
Last edited:
Ok, Jilly, I sent you an IM. I think that I have this down to a couple of variables. If you give us a call I'd like to chat so I can potentially eliminate some.

First question: Do you use a fan that blows across your tank during the summer months to keep it cool?

Second: Do you have any Zoos?
 
I have the same type thing in my tank t is on my powerheads and a couple pieces of my rock. My phosphates read zero I am just as confused as all of the others that have replied. My tank seems to be doing really well despite the clear goop thats what i call it!!!
 
Are there any filiamentous algae in the tank. Some algaes, mostly blue greens produce a mucilage tube and colonies of filiaments glide in this slime. I have seen it in fresh water algaes but don't know what you are dealing with here. Microscopic examination might give you more information. On a lighter note, did your kids throw a hagfish in your tank or do you have any grammistids like a soapfish?
 
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