sen5241b August 31, 2009 Share August 31, 2009 This waxy slime developed on the surface of my water. I've had surface slime before but this is different. It had a whitish color like candle wax and it was kinda like the skin that develops on a glass of milk that has sat out. There are some bubbles stuck in the slime. When I tried to scoop it out it would not go into the cup because it was all one big congealed mass. I had to break it up and then scoop it out with a cup by surface skimming. At first I thought it was from the Sushi eggs (Orange Flying Fish Roe) so I stopped putting the stuff in but now the slime is coming back anyway. Recently I started dosing with Seachem Reef Carbonate a week ago but I don't think it is related. What the H-E-double hockey sticks is this stuff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnguyen4007 August 31, 2009 Share August 31, 2009 Is this in your salt water tank or fresh water tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amuze August 31, 2009 Share August 31, 2009 Is your tank running? Lol. That happens from no flow and no surface movement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugar Magnolia August 31, 2009 Share August 31, 2009 Dissolved organic compounds (DOC's) are accumulating on the surface of the water. Are you running a skimmer? Skimmers greatly reduce the accumulation. I'm noticing it now that I have removed my skimmer. I must say...it's pretty gross. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b August 31, 2009 Author Share August 31, 2009 It's in my marine tank and and my skimmer is skimming more than usual. The flow is fine. I have one small mandarin dragonette and one shrimp in my Biocube 29 and that's all! Like I said, I've never seen so much slime on the surface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami August 31, 2009 Share August 31, 2009 Dissolved organic compounds (DOC's) are accumulating on the surface of the water. Are you running a skimmer? Skimmers greatly reduce the accumulation. I'm noticing it now that I have removed my skimmer. I must say...it's pretty gross. +1 It sounds like your surface skimming is insufficient and some pretty big organic chains are accumulating on the surface and not making it to your skimmer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw August 31, 2009 Share August 31, 2009 Have you mounted anything with superglue recently? I have had that create a filmy skin on the surface.....but nothing that would cover the entire surface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b August 31, 2009 Author Share August 31, 2009 +1 It sounds like your surface skimming is insufficient and some pretty big organic chains are accumulating on the surface and not making it to your skimmer. But why? Nothing died, nothing has been added and I am understocked? Also, my corals and fish looks just fine. I'm going to skip feeding for 2 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami August 31, 2009 Share August 31, 2009 What kind of overflow do you have? Is the flow strong or is it impeded in some way? If you're not strongly skimming the surface off or if you don't have strong flow on the surface, the organics could be accumulating there. Also, have you noticed any decrease in skimmate production lately? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Lazar August 31, 2009 Share August 31, 2009 Paper towels work great for cleaning up surface crud. Just lay the towel over the affected area, and drag it across. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmatt56 September 1, 2009 Share September 1, 2009 I've noticed a similar film around the walls of my saltwater change bucket. Is my "fresh" saltwater safe to use in my tank? There is a powerhead running in the bucket to keep it moving. Thanks, Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 September 1, 2009 Share September 1, 2009 Sounds like some sort of bacterial mat to me. Increase surface agitation and possibly have something pouring into it for a little bit - a HOB filter would agitate the surface enough if you have it flowing from above the water and breaking the surface up. I think that in any sort of self contained tank you run the risk of the surface skimming being inadequate and so you get a film on the surface of the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami September 1, 2009 Share September 1, 2009 I had this stuff once before on my old 90 gallon setup. I noticed it when I would lay on the floor and look up through the lit tank. It was, as described here, almost waxy - meaning like a really, really thin sheet of candle wax. You could put your hand under it, drawing it up, and have the thin sheet of it break up and stick to your hand. It would gather close to my HOB siphon overflow because that was the direction that surface flow was generally going. In my case, I noticed that the flow into my overflow box was not very agressive, so I turned up the return rate so the overflow was taking in more water and draining more agressively. This pulled the substance off the surface, taking it to the sump where it was processed. I don't recall the timing on this, but it may have been during the time when my skimmer began underperforming because of a developing clog (calcium build up) in the venturi. That would have left more organics in the water and allowed these longer organic chains (the waxy stuff) to develop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b September 1, 2009 Author Share September 1, 2009 I had this stuff once before on my old 90 gallon setup. I noticed it when I would lay on the floor and look up through the lit tank. It was, as described here, almost waxy - meaning like a really, really thin sheet of candle wax. You could put your hand under it, drawing it up, and have the thin sheet of it break up and stick to your hand. It would gather close to my HOB siphon overflow because that was the direction that surface flow was generally going. In my case, I noticed that the flow into my overflow box was not very agressive, so I turned up the return rate so the overflow was taking in more water and draining more agressively. This pulled the substance off the surface, taking it to the sump where it was processed. I don't recall the timing on this, but it may have been during the time when my skimmer began underperforming because of a developing clog (calcium build up) in the venturi. That would have left more organics in the water and allowed these longer organic chains (the waxy stuff) to develop. Sounds just like the same thing. It was gone last night. I also noticed my shrimp molted last night. Any connection? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami September 1, 2009 Share September 1, 2009 Sounds just like the same thing. It was gone last night. I also noticed my shrimp molted last night. Any connection? Probably not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugar Magnolia September 1, 2009 Share September 1, 2009 Paper towels work great for cleaning up surface crud. Just lay the towel over the affected area, and drag it across. +1 This is what I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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