White slime on my heaters and suckers in all of my tanks

Anyone know what this is? It has started to form on my heaters and suckers in all of my tanks. (I have 8 of various sizes)

Any ideas?

 

I love the way your tanks are set up! Mine do that too sometimes. I think it's a type of algae. It wipes off easily.
Carol

 

Thanks for the comment Carol. I thought it was, since it isn't affecting the fish at all.

I've added a few more pics for you, since you like the setup!

 

You`re living in my dream home!
My living room is only 12 by 12 feet would be impossible for me do that but it looks great
Just needed to comment I`m so green with envy, I love it!
Tat

 

Sorry if I've made you green, but had to show off the room a little! For your information, our living room is only 15 x 12, I had the tanks made specially to fit on a 9" shelf, which I built myself.

The tanks are only 36 x 15 x 8" deep, but they look much bigger, because the ends are all covered. The problem I have with them, is that I can't keep any larger fish, which is a shame that I'm now working to rectify.

We now have a total of 70ish fish in the six tanks, ranging from Marble Angels, through dwarf Gourami and Siamese to small catfish, loaches, neons, tetras, platties, mollies and guppies.

 

Wow, what a fish paradise!!!!!!!!!!

 

There's still one wall to build on! This wall will have three 12 x 18 x 48 tanks for the larger fish..... hehe!

By the way, anyone have any other ideas about the white slime? is it algae or something to be wary of?

 

sorry, no idea about the white slime. hI timg, i'm neville; I like your tanks, they r cool. what kind of fish do u have in collection?

 

Just finished the members tanks section. A signature would take too long to do!

 

Just finished the members tanks section. A signature would take too long to do!

u can link your signature to the members tank section. but I like to show my full signature

 

The link works well, and this way you can post pics too!...lol

 

Very cool! I also love how it is set up. I would love to have that in my home but I am afraid I would spend all my time doing water changes etc. Do you have a special set up or something to make that easy for you?

 

I did sort of plan to put a system in, but didn't get round to it for a couple of reasons, mainly the need to pre-treat the water would involve a storage tank of some kind, a pump, a heater and a supply of fresh water. I opted not to do this because of the time I had to build the shelves, but god, I wish I had!

As you can imagine, water changes are not easy, and very time consuming at the moment, but in time, I'll find an easy way around it, I'm sure.

The way I do it at present is by using the shower in the bathroom to fill a 2 gallon bucket to which I add a teaspoon of salt and AquaSafe and bring the temperature to around the right mark using the shower regulator. (This has another advantage, as it de-gases the water as it sprays into the bucket, so I don't have to wait for ages for the water to de-gas naturally). Then the bucket is lifted on top of the lighting canopy and a hosepipe syphons into the tank. It takes around 30 minutes to do a 50% change on each tank. (6 tanks x 30 mins = 3 hours!). As they are all newish, and all started at the same time, (stupid, I know), they are now getting 25% changes every few days. All the tanks have undergone mini-cycling, and are now stable, as I used pre-loaded filters to get them going. The only thing that is running high is nitrates, hence the water changing routine being so frequent. (Perhaps I should get hold of some real plants and throw the plastic ones away!)

Maybe I'll put a system in when I build in the other side of the room. That is an exterior wall, where I could mount a plastic tank above the level of the unit, so gravity would do the work. I also have a tap outside to plumb into. Treatment would b easy, as I could fill the tank and then treat it by the tankfull. It could also de-gas naturally. That just leaves the problem of heating the water before dropping it into the tanks, but a modified electric shower might achieve this, if it can be regulated acurately.

Getting the water out would still have to be done the traditional way with a gravel hoover, otherwise there's no way to keep the bottom clean, so I'll still have to use the buckets!

I have been thinking about an external filtering system too, although I think the cost would kill that idea.

 

have you ever thought of using a pythong?

Awesome system you got going there though. I've never heard of the white slime and don't think it poses a threat. Throw in some hornwort to reduce the nitrates. It grows like a weed and you can just leave it floating and cheap too.

It looks like you use a lot of air-driven filters, have you considered buying a couple large canister and filter two tanks at once or using HOB filters. I've found HOB filters remove more than air powered filters.

 

You are correct, I use air filters because they are cheap and simple. I have three large air pumps which are supplying more air than I need to run everything including the curtains, so it makes sense to me to use these filters. When I built the shelf, I restricted the headroom and this caused problems with the electrics and hasn't given me enough room to plug much in above the tanks, and there's no room behind to run wires for powerheads etc. So this setup is stuck with air filters now.

I haven't heard of a pythong so maybe it would be worth having a look before I do the next phase and rope in a lot of expensive piping!

Thanks for the complements all, it's given me a real buzz to see that everyone likes the way I've done it! And BTW, my bristlenose loves the slime! He's gradually clearing it from the tank he's in, so I'll move him along from tank to tank I think!

 

LOL ok. I know that the python costs roughly 30$ in stores by me and you can buy a longer tubes to fit to your sink.

Ok well that's ok, as long as the stats are fine, air filters are good, though seriously, consider adding some hornwort, lowers nitrates like no other and is pleasant to look at.

 

I actually have some hogwort in my 2' tank, but will need to grab some more to cover this lot! Thanks for the tip, if it reduces the changes, it's got to be worth a few bob!

 

Really, that's great. Ya it sucks up nutrients, I only do 20% weekly water changes on my 29 gallon tank and it's overstocked atm, but I have a good filter running and all the live plants help a lot. The hornwort should grow pretty fast, just cut off a strand and put it in the new tank.

 

Yes your tanks are beautiful! glad to hear the bristlenose is clearing the white slime (algae0 up for you. They are real workaholics, I love tehm to keep my tanks clean.
Carol

 

I had a mystery white gloopy slime behind my filter (between filter and glass). 1st I knew of it was when my hand squelched it when getting my filter out to clean it! yuk! filter was cleaned a week before, so the slime had been there no more than 7 days. cleaned it off and it hasnt come back. my fish didnt come to any harm either. I never did find out what it was, but it caused no harm other than the yuk factor!!! lol!
tan

 

I wonder if maybe having a holding tank with a cheap thermometer and heater in it to keep the water warm but yet allowing the water to age and thereby getting rid of the need to dechlorinate it would be helpful at all. I actually think I might just do that with my water changes. Good luck with the rest of you plans. Please post some pics when you get done so we can see 'em.

 

The idea of storage of water to de-chlorinate it is sound, as is the idea of a heater in the tank. My plans should enable me to draw water to change tanks at any time, until the tank is empty, but if I put a ball valve on the tank to ensure it stays full enough to cover the heater there is a risk of two things happening:

Firstly, the chlorinated water that feeds into the tank during the water change below will be cold and so it would sink to the bottom of the tank where the outlet is, thus very quickly I would be adding untreated water to the tank below;

Secondly, the water temperature of the water being drawn would fall rapidly, so it would then be cold water going into the tank.

The only alternative is to turn the heater off during changes, so that the tank could empty as planned, and then have to remember to turn it on 24 hours before doing any changes.

The idea of an electric shower inline is to avoid this problem, as it would instantly heat the water as it is drawn. It would also remove the need to plan when the changes are made, which may be easy for you, but my job can be very unpredictable, and I have difficulty with planning my days. By being able to opt for treating the tank with dechlorinating chemicals gives me the flexibility to do changes at short notice as well.
Does this make sense?

 

I suppose that if you can have your tank inside, you migt be able to control things better. Had I got the room, I would have fitted a low-level storage tank with a lift pump to make life easier. The water would also be at room temperature within 24hrs as well, so maybe you wouldn't even need a heater.

 

Yes, that does make complete sense. I was picturing something built in that would be inside above the tanks and hold water until you needed it thereby it would be dechlorinated and heated when you need it and then re-filling the holding tank after so more water would be ready when needed. For your set up the shower head thing probably makes more sense. I was also thinking out loud a little about how to make my own changes easier and if the replacement water was already ready to go, it would save some time. Either way, your set up is beautiful. You are lucky to be able to have a set up like that. Please post what you do when you finish your room. I know I am not the only one who wants to see it and hear about it.

 

I've put plans into my tanks section and will update that as I go. (The link in my sig) It's something of a marathon though!