Member

Posts: 59
From:Waterville, Ny USA
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 02-06-2004 08:37 AM         

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Ok, my tank...set up for about 2 weeks....75 gallon...pleco and gold fish to help cycle + established gravel and filter. The water is very cloudy (yes, bacterial bloom) and there is cream colored settlement on plants, substrate, and well, everywhere. I pulled the filters and it was coated in this cream colored spooge. HEEEELLLLPPP what is this and how do I get rid of it....every day I do a 15-25% water change, but it is always there. Any input would be helpful.
just to tell you about my water perameters...just tested them now.
Nitrate at 20
Nitrite at 0
Hardness 150 (Yes it is hard)
Alkalinity at 120
ph at 7.2
Ammonia at 0

Ughhhhhhhh

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Member

Posts: 944
From:Columbus, Tx ,USA
Registered: Dec 2003

posted 02-06-2004 11:02 AM         

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sounds like lyme....try getting some Crystal Clear for your water and some Aquarium salt. For every 10 gal. you add about a 1/4 cup. THis helps Tremendously!

Good luck.

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Member

Posts: 78
From:
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 02-06-2004 05:41 PM         

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lime scales much like calcium buildup. I'm privy to her issue and what she's seeing is more like a soft sediment which is settling on all the horizontal surfaces of the tank. She's also having a water quality issue which may be a bacterial bloom but since I can't figure out where the sediment is coming from - I'm tending to believe one is related to the other somehow. I just haven't figured out how yet.

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Member

Posts: 59
From:Waterville, Ny USA
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 02-07-2004 04:56 AM         

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Hi everyone: Well, I spent 4 hours last night taking apart the 75 gallon tank. Whew was that a job. Everything was removed, rinsed and wiped off. This crap was everywhere. Once I got all the water out of the tank and most of the stone, it seemed more like well, sand but not as gritty. Does that make sense? Well, I will set it up again. I am going to have my well water tested to see if it came from there. Thanks again.

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Member

Posts: 266
From:Canada
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 02-07-2004 06:32 PM         

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At first it sopunded like it might be a bacterial slime of somesort, but the grittiness makes me wonder if you may be getting precipitates of somesort. Do you add PH up our down to your water?

Here's what I would try. Take a bucket of your source water (tap water I assume) and add whatever chemicals you normally put in it. If you get the same thing, it's likely chemical (a precipitate) if you don't it's likely biological (bacterial/fungal).

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Moderator

Posts: 806
From:
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 02-07-2004 11:21 PM         

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Hi angelgirl2003, You are using well water for your water changes. I did not see any mention of having problems with losing fish. Your water parameters don't really suggest any cause for bacterial blooms except for the nitrAte measurement which is at the edge. The extreme hardness, cloudiness and sediment (cream colored spooge)indicate to me that you have broken down limestone in the well water that you are using in the tank. Try using another water source for your next several changes and see if that clears up your problem. Another way to clear up your problem is instead of changing the water every day, which is going to add more limestone into the water, use a micron filter like a Diatom filter to remove the limestone and don't do any water changes for a while. Hope this helps.

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