These fibrous looking tendrils came out of my return after I turned the pumps off and back on.

EvolvedMonkey · Jul 7, 2024

I can't see any of these white things floating in my sump, and I've never seen them before.. they shot out by the hundreds when I turned my pump off and back on.

Any thoughts on what they might be?

Recently I scraped the glass and something that was filmy and white came off the glass that seemed different than the normal algae.. There are also lots of Aptasia living in the return section of my red sea.. I use superglue to glue down my frags. I'm feeding much more Julian Springs Algae than I used to.. Just trying to think of any possible explanation. I piped in a UV filter using silicone tubing not too long ago, and I just got 5 new fish and some inverts.

There are no obvious changes in fish behavior or corals other than the gonis closing up over the last couple of days.

Thanks for your help.

Justfebreezeit · Jul 7, 2024

Any chance it's a bad batch of filter Floss? Disintegrating?

EvolvedMonkey · Jul 7, 2024

Justfebreezeit said:
Any chance it's a bad batch of filter Floss? Disintegrating?

Could be.. I just started using polyfil.

Can't see any of them in the sump though..

Should I pull it?

exnisstech · Jul 7, 2024

I was going to use that until I saw it was made from recycled materials. That made me question what exactly it may contain. I bought some years ago to use in fresh water but it wasn't made from recycled materials. It may be perfectly fine tho?

Justfebreezeit · Jul 7, 2024

I'd pull it just to test. Odd it isn't in the sump, but that could be a red herring

EvolvedMonkey · Jul 7, 2024

Justfebreezeit said:
I'd pull it just to test. Odd it isn't in the sump, but that could be a red herring

Justfebreezeit · Jul 7, 2024

Yea I mean I'd be surprised if the poly made it past those mesh socks. Real head scratcher.

Have you netted a peice out and felt it? At least that would lead in a direction. Seems big enough to feel.

EvolvedMonkey · Jul 7, 2024

Justfebreezeit said:
Yea I mean I'd be surprised if the poly made it past those mesh socks. Real head scratcher.

Have you netted a peice out and felt it? At least that would lead in a direction. Seems big enough to feel.

It just kind of melts in your fingers.. Basically once it hits my fingers I can't even see it anymore.

Those pictures I took up there were taken inside of a pipette, and that's kinda the closest I can 'get' to them.

EvolvedMonkey · Jul 7, 2024

It almost looks like/feels like dead skin.. But I highly doubt all that is coming off my arms.. I'm a healthy, unsunburned dude

Justfebreezeit · Jul 7, 2024

Odd. Hopefully someone has an idea.

Let us know if your figure it out!

EvolvedMonkey · Jul 7, 2024

Justfebreezeit said:
Odd. Hopefully someone has an idea.

Let us know if your figure it out!

Appreciate the help.

exnisstech · Jul 7, 2024

Did it just blow out when you turned the pump back on. I wonder if it's just scum build up blowing out with extra force of the pump starting up? Scum probably has a name but not my area of expertise.

EvolvedMonkey said:
Recently I scraped the glass and something that was filmy and white came off the glass that seemed different than the normal algae..

This statement got me to thinking. On my rimless tanks I get a white scum when I scrape the glass usually at the top. I never gave it a second thought and assumed it was normal.

Reign1 · Jul 7, 2024

bacterial/organic debris trapped in plumbing. It coming out when you turn pump on or off is the giveaway. I max out my return pump after water changes and get junk coming out of line. Then I adjust and turn down.

EvolvedMonkey · Jul 7, 2024

exnisstech said:
Did it just blow out when you turned the pump back on. I wonder if it's just scum build up blowing out with extra force of the pump starting up? Scum probably has a name but not my area of expertise.

This statement got me to thinking. On my rimless tanks I get a white scum when I scrape the glass usually at the top. I never gave it a second thought and assumed it was normal.

Reign1 said:
bacterial/organic debris trapped in plumbing. It coming out when you turn pump on or off is the giveaway. I max out my return pump after water changes and get junk coming out of line. Then I adjust and turn down.

Both of these sound right in the ballpark. Thank you.

So no worries about either of these situations?

Reign, blasting your return pump and getting that junk all over the tank has never led to any major chemistry swings or anything significant?

exnisstech · Jul 7, 2024

EvolvedMonkey said:
Reign, blasting your return pump and getting that junk all over the tank has never led to any major chemistry swings or anything significant?

We'll see what they say but I'm guessing no. The stuff was already there it's just in a different location now.

Reign1 · Jul 8, 2024

No , there will be bacteria,some organics in line especially pvc . I was getting this more so when I had my uv flow really low due to the 45’s 90’s of plumbing . I just did a water change on Friday and purposely blew this stuff out . I test my water 1x week for everything and it has been really stable .
I have 2 DC return pumps (redundancy) one main and secondary (uv) so it is easier to do this .

GlassMunky · Jul 8, 2024

It’s bacterial biofilm from inside the plumbing lines

EvolvedMonkey · Jul 8, 2024

GlassMunky said:
It’s bacterial biofilm from inside the plumbing lines

You guys are great.. Thanks for the insight.. I'll try to blow it out every now and again by turning my pump off and then cranking it to 100%.. I won't worry about it otherwise and will just keep up with my parameters.