This I wasnt sure where it would fit best, so I hope it's OK in here...
I've got something odd in my 40 gal right now, which is temporarily housing 3 goldfish (about 5-6 inches big) before they get to move out, which I was going to use for a grow out tank for my oscar, but there's something off in the water. The tanks is running one Hydro Sponge 1 and one HOB Marineland filter with Biowheel (the Penguin 200, I think). I don't run any tank lights; so the room lights aren't making algae, I don't think. And there's no heater.
The problem I can see is that there has been a filmy, gooey, almost like a sludge forming in the HOB filter, as well as on the filter cartridge. I noticed it a few months ago, when I could hear the water splashing differently, and realized the biowheel wasn't turning. I scooped out a good amount of the stuff and switched the cartridge, then a few weeks after, took out the whole filter (minus the biowheel... I was worried about killing off my good bacteria) and washed and scrubbed everything with a good chlorine dilution. After rising like crazy, drying in the sun, then soaking in a strong dechlorinator solution, I put everything back with a brand new filter cartridge.
It took longer, but the stuff grew back. I was hoping against hope that it wouldn't, but I suppose that whatever is causing it is floating about in the tank water and substrate (and biowheel). Here's a pic of a filter cartridge that's been there a good month or so:
Does anyone know what this is? Am I going to have to completely tear down and cholrinate EVERYTHING (plus do a new cycle before I can move my oscar over)? The goldfish seem fine, honestly, but I'm worried he'd get HITH disease, or that the ammonia would get him if the filter started overflowing incorrectly again, causing the biowheel to stop and ending that biological filtration, if I missed it for too long. But of course I think I run the same risk cleaning out everything and then cycling with him in the tank :[ Advise please?
I've got something odd in my 40 gal right now, which is temporarily housing 3 goldfish (about 5-6 inches big) before they get to move out, which I was going to use for a grow out tank for my oscar, but there's something off in the water. The tanks is running one Hydro Sponge 1 and one HOB Marineland filter with Biowheel (the Penguin 200, I think). I don't run any tank lights; so the room lights aren't making algae, I don't think. And there's no heater.
The problem I can see is that there has been a filmy, gooey, almost like a sludge forming in the HOB filter, as well as on the filter cartridge. I noticed it a few months ago, when I could hear the water splashing differently, and realized the biowheel wasn't turning. I scooped out a good amount of the stuff and switched the cartridge, then a few weeks after, took out the whole filter (minus the biowheel... I was worried about killing off my good bacteria) and washed and scrubbed everything with a good chlorine dilution. After rising like crazy, drying in the sun, then soaking in a strong dechlorinator solution, I put everything back with a brand new filter cartridge.
It took longer, but the stuff grew back. I was hoping against hope that it wouldn't, but I suppose that whatever is causing it is floating about in the tank water and substrate (and biowheel). Here's a pic of a filter cartridge that's been there a good month or so:
Does anyone know what this is? Am I going to have to completely tear down and cholrinate EVERYTHING (plus do a new cycle before I can move my oscar over)? The goldfish seem fine, honestly, but I'm worried he'd get HITH disease, or that the ammonia would get him if the filter started overflowing incorrectly again, causing the biowheel to stop and ending that biological filtration, if I missed it for too long. But of course I think I run the same risk cleaning out everything and then cycling with him in the tank :[ Advise please?
Thank you everyone!