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Old 20-04-2003, 07:14 AM
SLEngst
 
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Default Clear slime?

I've found articles on green slime, red slime, blue-green slime but nothing on
a clear type of slime which has occasionally shown up in two of my tanks. I
can reduce it with consecutivel water changes but this doesn't appear to ensure
that it won't reappear. The fishvet.com site advertises a product to eliminate
"slime" but I'm not really sure what the clear mucous material I occasional see
is. Can anyone identify it?

Thanks in advance,
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Old 20-04-2003, 07:14 AM
chet
 
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Default Clear slime?

I may be off-base here, but what you are describing sounds like what
goldfish and koi keepers refer to as Bio-Slime. It is a build-up of
denitrifying bacteria. If we are talking about the same stuff, it is a good
thing. The bacteria converts Ammonia to Nitrate. It will accumulate on any
surface that has adequate oxygen and nutrients.

We try to grow the stuff.

chet

"SLEngst" wrote in message
...
I've found articles on green slime, red slime, blue-green slime but

nothing on
a clear type of slime which has occasionally shown up in two of my tanks.

I
can reduce it with consecutivel water changes but this doesn't appear to

ensure
that it won't reappear. The fishvet.com site advertises a product to

eliminate
"slime" but I'm not really sure what the clear mucous material I

occasional see
is. Can anyone identify it?

Thanks in advance,



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Old 20-04-2003, 07:14 AM
SLEngst
 
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Default Clear slime?

Hmm, I wouldn't have thought Bio-slime would grow into great lengths of junk
over all the plants??? But I really haven't a clue.
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Old 20-04-2003, 07:14 AM
350X_Rider
 
Posts: n/a
Default Clear slime?

when you say, grow into great lengths of junk all over the plants... are you
talking about hair algae or slime.. cause, you can't really see the slime...
clear slime that is....

if you can "see" it, and "it" has color, other than clear, it's not "clear
slime" more like hair algae....

R U Sure???

"SLEngst" wrote in message
...
Hmm, I wouldn't have thought Bio-slime would grow into great lengths of

junk
over all the plants??? But I really haven't a clue.



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Old 20-04-2003, 07:14 AM
SLEngst
 
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Default Clear slime?

I'll try again to describe the "clear slime". What I mean is, there is no
color such as blue, green or red. Its like a thick mucous blanket - where it's
really thick, the color would then, be toward white. But, initially, I didn't
notice it as it was pretty clear so indications were just that there was a
disruption of normal water motion. It got thick enough that it hung in long
globs from the tops of plants and I could grab quantities of it off the plants
by hand. The water surface got so it had a slimy consistency - but clear. It
was so bad, I eventually pulled all the plants and rinsed them and did multiple
water changes on the tank. Some stress on the fish. This was a tank that was
somewhat mistreated during the summmer. Regular water changes but not much
attention to the forest of plants and DYI CO2 bottles not changed at good
regularity, causing a rise in pH. Should note that the lighting is 3.8
watts/gal so loss of CO2 can have some consequences. Two other tanks have shown
minor signs of similar stuff, even with regular maintenance. In one of those
tanks I realized the CO2 system had failed, leaks around the glue to cap
surface. This will cause the pH to rise from 7.5 to 8.4. A couple water
changes seems to pretty much clear it up if I get right on it, and use the
python, with the faucet running to skim the stuff off the top.


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Old 20-04-2003, 07:14 AM
Jason
 
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Default Clear slime?

Dude it sounds to me like you have used a phosphate buffer in a hard water
aquarium I made the same mistake once a while back, and what I got was a
huge mess of really pale whitish slime that blanketed alot of stuff in my
tank (it is made up of calcium and magnesium that is in hard water)

If you have used a phosphate buffer such as "proper ph" or other brands, you
can solve this problem with a vacuum and a few water changes... and dont use
a buffer ever again

I am totally assuming that you have hard water where you are from, and that
is a very common problem with buffers...


"SLEngst" wrote in message
...
I'll try again to describe the "clear slime". What I mean is, there is no
color such as blue, green or red. Its like a thick mucous blanket - where

it's
really thick, the color would then, be toward white. But, initially, I

didn't
notice it as it was pretty clear so indications were just that there was a
disruption of normal water motion. It got thick enough that it hung in

long
globs from the tops of plants and I could grab quantities of it off the

plants
by hand. The water surface got so it had a slimy consistency - but clear.

It
was so bad, I eventually pulled all the plants and rinsed them and did

multiple
water changes on the tank. Some stress on the fish. This was a tank that

was
somewhat mistreated during the summmer. Regular water changes but not

much
attention to the forest of plants and DYI CO2 bottles not changed at good
regularity, causing a rise in pH. Should note that the lighting is 3.8
watts/gal so loss of CO2 can have some consequences. Two other tanks have

shown
minor signs of similar stuff, even with regular maintenance. In one of

those
tanks I realized the CO2 system had failed, leaks around the glue to cap
surface. This will cause the pH to rise from 7.5 to 8.4. A couple water
changes seems to pretty much clear it up if I get right on it, and use the
python, with the faucet running to skim the stuff off the top.



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Old 20-04-2003, 07:14 AM
SLEngst
 
Posts: n/a
Default Clear slime?

Thanks for the information, Jason. There may be something to the phosphate
buffer theory. I've never used a phosphate buffer, knowingly - but that
doesn't mean I'm not creating my own, somehow. Yes, I have incredibly hard
mountain well water (KH - 16, GH - 20). There is no agriculture or other forms
of human contamination above me to get into the water table (shallow improved
spring) but there's a lot of potassium getting in which could be from decaying
veg. matter in the forest. In general, my phosphate level measures higher than
NO3 level which the plants keep at zero. I hope to fix that shortly, if I can
get some of Seachem's Flourish Nitrogen. Its nice to know this isn't the slime
from an alien algae or bacteria, with or without a green card.
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Old 20-04-2003, 07:14 AM
SLEngst
 
Posts: n/a
Default Clear slime?

Rich,

That may be it. Got an e-mail from another party who had it and it was a
fungus. In my tank I had recently added a new piece of driftwood, and it was
really covered with the junk. I got rid of the driftwood, though I hadn't
suspected it as the point of origin.

thanks
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