Axolotl tank question - what the heck is this in the chiller tubes?

[Goldie Blue]

I have a 20 gallon long tank with a single axolotl in it. It's been fairly easy to care for with no issues, but I did add a chiller on May 18th. I noticed the tubes for intake/out take looked weird, and thought it might be that weird pink slime stuff I see around my toilet rims in my bathrooms, so I got worried and pulled them off the chiller to clean.

Well, it wasn't pink slime but more of a yellow/tan color, and REALLY thick. Both of the tubes were entirely covered in the stuff, and it had a strong smell to it. I was able to clean them out with hot water and a snake with a brush on the end of it, but I'd like to know if anyone knows what this is and how to avoid it.

I keep her tank clean, weekly water changes, siphon up any food she doesn't eat and she currently only eats red wrigglers. Her filter and media inside the filter have never had this stuff on it either. I have three other established fish tanks in the house, and literally have never once seen anything like this in the tubing for their filters. 

Tested parameters before cleaning. Ammonia 0 ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm, Nitrates 20 ppm, pH 8.0. Water is kept at 61 Fahrenheit. Substrate is sand, and there are no plants in it. The fact this built up so thick and so fast in about 5 weeks has me wondering what is going on.

If anyone can help please let me know! Pics are attached, you can see the difference between the cleaned one and the dirty one. 🤢

 

[Flumpweesel]

Well that stuff takes me back to my days off working in a bar. It's a bacterial growth (I think in the salmonella family but don't panic). 

You'll have to disinfect to get rid  and then try and figure out what is causing the explosion. In the bar it was generally in the dish washer because it was humid and some staff were lazy about water changes or forgetting to drain it at the end of the night.

Not sure why it's going nuts there but I don't really know how your set up works. Is that an air line  or water pipe ? 

 

[Goldie Blue]

On 6/30/2022 at 6:58 PM, Flumpweesel said:

Not sure why it's going nuts there but I don't really know how your set up works. Is that an air line  or water pipe ? 

The tubing is part of my chiller, it takes the water in through one tube then goes into the unit and puts the chilled water back into the tank. I have plenty of water movement in the tank (a big bubbler, filter that produced decent flow, and the flow from the out take of that tube) plus I do weekly water changes so I have no idea why it would have formed in here?

I don't see this in the filter, filter media, airline tubes, or on the glass either. Water is kept at 61 degrees Fahrenheit. 

On 6/30/2022 at 6:58 PM, Flumpweesel said:

You'll have to disinfect to get rid  and then try and figure out what is causing the explosion.

I have no way of opening up the chiller unit itself, so any suggestions would be much appreciated. I cleaned the tubes out with hot water and the snake but it's back up and running and now I feel terrible if it's something that can harm her!

[Goldie Blue]

Actually come to think of it, my best friend bought this same chiller, and it was obviously used. Mine however, looked like it was brand new...but now I am wondering if it may have been a used unit or a return that was just sitting and gross. 

Anyway, any help on how you think is best to clean it would be awesome. Thank you!

[Flumpweesel]

Some things are sold with some water in them if they have been pressure tested but this seems very unlucky if that is what is causing this. It could be from the same kind of bloom that causes biofilm on the surface of tank water or that new tank headache but where it is could cause you issues and the yellow hints its got something we don't normally relate to tanks in it.

I would look at removing it from the tank and running it on a decent sized bowl of a disinfectant solution for long enough to feel that its got all through it (maybe overnight to be cautious) Then flush it with running on clean water for a while and get as much pressure or the highest flow rate you can for rinsing. 

You can solutions to use to disinfect things for baby's possibly look into those to see if they would be a little safer for your pet. 

I'm busking this maybe more experienced people will chime in. 

When you set it back up make sure there is no air in the system generally (in my grim experience) these blooms happen where it is humid but not underwater. 

Hope this gives you some ideas to work with, please do some additional reading I have never used a chiller on anything and never kept an axolotl. 

Final thought from this very salty salt water might work to clean. (use cheap salt not your posh stuff your rinsing this out anyway iodine won't matter ) 

Good luck