I Need Help!

[KatJac]

Around Thanksgiving, I moved my 10 gallon planted shell dweller tank to a 28 gallon with a new substrate - I think CaribSea Aragonite. I moved my old filter over and added another, in addition to the old shells and plants. It crashed. I had probably a colony of 50ish that was dying left and right. It was one the weekend and I was working so much that I couldn’t do much. I had a huge ammonia spike I’m assuming. As soon as I was able, Monday, I did a water change and checked the numbers. The ammonia was about .5. I lost alll but 5 very young Multis.

So here I am, 6 months later, dealing with a white fussy slimy stuff in my filter and on my plants. My 2 guppies and 5 Multis are good, but if I add another fish, it dies. I'm vacuuming 1 to 2 times a week.

 

Any ideas or suggestions? Here’s a pic:

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/10/2022 at 5:01 PM, KatJac said:

So here I am, 6 months later, dealing with a white fussy slimy stuff in my filter and on my plants. My 2 guppies and 5 Multis are good, but if I add another fish, it dies. I'm vacuuming 1 to 2 times a week.

The slime is likely because of bacterial slime.  Can you share your water parameters?  I had my tank crash and the slime lasted right up until I went and did a deep clean and started dosing in the bacterial in a bottle for a week.  Very frustrating. 

What filter are you running on this tank?

This is what the bacteria stuff would look like.

[KatJac]

looks similar. pH 8.2, ammonia .2, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 2.5. The numbers have been this way for a few months. My test kit doesn't expire till 24.

 

[nabokovfan87]

You have to basically remove the slime for the most part (especially in the filter area) and then dose in beneficial bacteria and the tank should stabilize slowly.

What filter are you running on that tank, can you post photos of the filter itself?

@KatJac

[Ben Ellison]

Did you move over all the filter media when you swapped the tank? Did you clean it with untreated tap water? How long did it set with out being in oxygenated water? 

[KatJac]

I'm running an Aqueon 20 and a China rip off Aquaclear 30. The "Aquaclear" went straight from tank 1 to tank 2 with all its media without  being shut down or cleaned.

I rinse the media from 1 filter each week in tank water, alternating the filters each week. The bucket of water gets very slimy and thick with tan sludge.

I should also mention that for awhile I had a foamy water surface. That seems to have gone away now.

[Ben Ellison]

I'm at a loss I see no reason you should of lost your cycle and I have no idea what that slimey stuff is. Do you use well water by chance?

[KatJac]

No, its city water. I'm at a loss as well. At least the fish I do have seem to be doing well, but I would like to eventually add more fish without killing them. The fish I added that died were guppies, not the most sensitive fish!

[Dancing Matt]

You will likely want to work on getting that ammonia down. Once the tank stabilizes and is well cycled you could try again.

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/11/2022 at 7:27 AM, KatJac said:

I'm running an Aqueon 20 and a China rip off Aquaclear 30. The "Aquaclear" went straight from tank 1 to tank 2 with all its media without  being shut down or cleaned.

I rinse the media from 1 filter each week in tank water, alternating the filters each week. The bucket of water gets very slimy and thick with tan sludge.

I should also mention that for awhile I had a foamy water surface. That seems to have gone away now.

It basically happens when the bacteria explodes in numbers.  This means there is an ammonia spike which points to a spike in BB growth.  

A few things I would do.

1. Daily, or every 48 hours clean out the filter box and sponge as best you can.
2. Dose bacteria from a bottle every day for a week. You might not even need to do a full dose, but slowly adding bacteria will ensure the slime lessens and the bacteria itself can get a hold on the media.
3. Slightly reduce the flow on the HoB.  You have the ability to do so, and it will keep the slime from getting pushed into the tank. 
4. Daily or every few days be sure to go ahead and manually remove slime from the wall/decor as you need to.

[KatJac]

Thanks. I'll do that. I'll post back if it still there in a month.

[KatJac]

I did like nabookovfan87 suggested and all is well! The filter slime is gone, the plant fuzz is gone, and my water is sparkling! Thanks

[nabokovfan87]

Ironically, I saw some of it showing up in my QT filter again.  😂

I'm glad it worked out for you, sweeeet!

[modified lung]

On 5/30/2022 at 8:36 AM, KatJac said:

I did like nabookovfan87 suggested and all is well! The filter slime is gone, the plant fuzz is gone, and my water is sparkling! Thanks

Nice. What happened is replacing the substrate disrupted the balance in the tank's ecosystem. Then something quickly filled the hole in the ecosystem and outcompeted the nitrifying bacteria in your filter for some nutrient they both need.

It sounds like adding bottled bacteria can speed up the re-balancing. That's really good to know. What brand of bottled bacteria did you both use? @nabokovfan87

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/30/2022 at 9:07 AM, modified lung said:

What brand of bottled bacteria did you both use?

I've used it all.  Doesn't much matter.  I prefer the seachem stuff, but I've used Tetra, Aqueon, this random black bottle from Petco. I've used a variety and they all work fine.