HELP! White, cotton like strings and cloudy glass.

nyr13f · 09/11/2013, 09:09 PM

Looking for some help regarding my tank.

I cycling a 12g Fluval Edge. I have mostly dry rock with little pieces of LR rubble.

Over the past few days and mostly overnight, I'm finding many white strings that look like cotton floating off my dry rock.

The glass also looks like it's developing film, clouding the view. I have no livestock other than 4 very small pieces of LR. Is this a normal algae bloom or something I need to proactive with?

Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks. I wish I could add pictures but the problem is nearly impossible to see in a photo.

smtank · 09/11/2013, 09:15 PM

No that does not sound normal, not your typical algae or bacterial bloom.

Since this is such a small tank I would wait it out and see if it resolves on it's own over the course of the cycle. If not the clean up is simple and it's easy to recycle the tank

oscarinw · 09/11/2013, 09:21 PM

Lights? Ammonia or Nitrites? When did you start the cycle? Pictures would definitely aid if these are creatures but it could be some sort of die-off... Sorry for giving you more questions than answers but seems like more info is needed to have any sort of certainty on this.

Good luck!

nyr13f · 09/11/2013, 09:32 PM

Totally fine! I kick started the cycle about 3 weeks ago with pure ammonia. I had it at about 1ppm and it went to 0 pretty quickly with no Nitrite or Nitrate spike. Added ammonia a second time to confirm with same result. I'm assuming the LR pieces were cured.

Pictures don't show up good at all. It almost looks like long, thin filter floss fibers that got stuck to the dry rock. It literally happened within 2 days. Glass looks like it has film over it and these white strands floating on the rock. It's way more than a few.

Thanks!

oscarinw · 09/11/2013, 09:57 PM

Take a look at figure 5 of this article. Do you think that might be it?
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rs/

Fitz19d · 09/12/2013, 01:30 AM

Kinda sounds like bacteria? Like if you let dirty saltwater sit stagnant somewhere.

I'm assuming there is flow in the tank?

Spyderturbo007 · 09/12/2013, 06:00 AM

Can you post a picture?

09/11/2013, 09:09 PM	#1
nyr13f Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 8	HELP! White, cotton like strings and cloudy glass. Looking for some help regarding my tank. I cycling a 12g Fluval Edge. I have mostly dry rock with little pieces of LR rubble. Over the past few days and mostly overnight, I'm finding many white strings that look like cotton floating off my dry rock. The glass also looks like it's developing film, clouding the view. I have no livestock other than 4 very small pieces of LR. Is this a normal algae bloom or something I need to proactive with? Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks. I wish I could add pictures but the problem is nearly impossible to see in a photo.

09/11/2013, 09:15 PM	#2
smtank Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 1,204	No that does not sound normal, not your typical algae or bacterial bloom. Since this is such a small tank I would wait it out and see if it resolves on it's own over the course of the cycle. If not the clean up is simple and it's easy to recycle the tank

09/11/2013, 09:21 PM	#3
oscarinw Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Western Massachusetts Posts: 1,091	Lights? Ammonia or Nitrites? When did you start the cycle? Pictures would definitely aid if these are creatures but it could be some sort of die-off... Sorry for giving you more questions than answers but seems like more info is needed to have any sort of certainty on this. Good luck!

09/11/2013, 09:32 PM	#4
nyr13f Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 8	Totally fine! I kick started the cycle about 3 weeks ago with pure ammonia. I had it at about 1ppm and it went to 0 pretty quickly with no Nitrite or Nitrate spike. Added ammonia a second time to confirm with same result. I'm assuming the LR pieces were cured. Pictures don't show up good at all. It almost looks like long, thin filter floss fibers that got stuck to the dry rock. It literally happened within 2 days. Glass looks like it has film over it and these white strands floating on the rock. It's way more than a few. Thanks!

09/11/2013, 09:57 PM	#5
oscarinw Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Western Massachusetts Posts: 1,091	Take a look at figure 5 of this article. Do you think that might be it? http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rs/

09/12/2013, 01:30 AM	#6
Fitz19d Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Frederick Colorado Posts: 475	Kinda sounds like bacteria? Like if you let dirty saltwater sit stagnant somewhere. I'm assuming there is flow in the tank?

09/12/2013, 06:00 AM	#7
Spyderturbo007 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: PA Posts: 2,564	Can you post a picture?