brown gunk

[dukequar]

My discus tank is currently covered in a brown gunk. It looks like the thick dust you might find behind a cupboard after 10 years. It is covering absolutely everything in the tank. After a few days the barebottom tank doesn’t look bare bottomed anymore. I am doing 50% water changes to try and get rid of it but with a day or 2 it is back. Also any uneaten food that is left for more than a couple of hours grows fur all over it.

About 2 months ago i had an algae bloom in the water but i got an internal UV filter which fixed the problem almost immediately. Its a 200l tank been up and running for about 2 years has two adult discus and two smaller ones plus a few bottom feeders. filtration - fluval 304 . nitrites 0 nitrates 5-10, pH 6.6.
in the past i have had problems with the pH crashing as the water here is incredibly soft straight from the tap, but i think ive got it under control now. The discus dont seem to mind, if anything they are enjoying all the extra water changes they are getting as i try to get rid of it every day.

Does anyone know what the brown stuff might be and what i might be able to do to prevent it building up.

[Nathan]

have you ever had anything like this before? so its a barebottom tank? also what lights are you using and how long are they on for, have you increased the time they are on? have you changed anything like maybe less water changes then usual or trying a new product of something, any changes like that at all? also a picture would help a lot. Does the water smell a bit yukky, as u mentioned uneatten food grows a fungus on it, ive got a tank with a really nasty disease in it and has wiped out nearly all the fish and theres a lot of fungus and the water smells quite off. so if you could post a picture thatd be great with anymore details

HTH

[mcloughlin2]

Do you have a picture?

Also, seems like it is a type of algae...i had a brown algae growing in one of my discus tanks a few months ago..

It was growing up to 2 inches!!!

uneaten food should not be getting fungus on it that quick but!!!

It takes at least a day or two before it forms in my tanks! :shock: :?

[dukequar]

thanks for the replies. I havnt been doing anything different lately. I only have one fluro tube i think its 22w its on about 9 hours a day. The water smells fine
Heres a few pics that i just took it has been about 4 hours since i did last water change. Although when changing the water a lot of the gunk gets stirred up and resettles after im done.

[mcloughlin2]

dukequar, looks like a mixture of poop and dust too me.. you just need to siphon it out mate...how are you doing your water changes?

Do you have any bristlenose or plecos in the tank? Or what are the bottom feeders you mentioned if not?

Does your tank have a cover? It might be worth the extra $$ and purchase one to see if it makes a difference....

[dukequar]

the tank is totally covered and i try to keep the house as dust free as possible (im allergic). When i change water i use a gravel siphon into a bucket.
The bottom feeders are three clown loaches aprox 4inch and 4 corys. The loaches make short work of anything not eaten.

I was wondering what dead algae looks like, is it possible that the uv is killing algae as it forms which then just falls to the bottom.

[Phlipper]

Looks to me like your filter is not functioning properly, perhaps dirty or not assembled quite right and blowing debris back to the tank ??? I notice in one of the pix there seems to be a large stream of air bubbles being emitted from an airstone or similar, is this perhaps interferring with water flow to the filter due to it's position in the tank ???

In my mind if it gets dirty within a couple of hours after water cleaning and syphoning as you mentioned, it almost certainly indicates a problem with the filter itself, pull it apart and have a closer look.

[revkev]

Check your filter it may need cleaning.

[Nathan]

yea it does look like a dust, i reckon its a type of algea though, and you could be right it maybe the uv killing the algea. u said it doesnt seem to bother the fish which is good, but im sure u dnt want it there. keep doing the water changes, check your filter (what type of filter do you have?) also maybe see if cutting the lights back by a couple hours because i reckon it looks like a type of algea. keep us posted mate

[samir]

its not dust,it looks like leftover food that has decomposed. siphon out any leftover food after the fish are done. the stringy stuff is fungus usually happens if food is left for a couple of days especially beefheart. try feed just about enough and siphon out leftover food and your problems will be over. if its slimy then its probably slime algae which is controlled by using uv sterilizers.

[Waldo]

Don't know what you call it down under but we call it detritus. It's bad stuff. better to get the syphon out and see what it tastes like then leave it in there.

[Merrilyn]

Detritis is also the name we give it in Australia Waldo. I agree with you, it needs to be removed.

Dukequar, you need to do a very large waterchange using the syphon hose as a vacuum, and suck up all that brown gunk, which is actually a combination of uneaten food and fish waste (poos).

I think it's also time to have a look at your filter. A Fluval 304 should be well capable of filtering that size tank, so I think it's time you gave it a thorough clean out in old tank water, and replaced the filter floss. A lot of gunk builds up in hoses too, so get a small round brush and push it through the hoses. Think you'll find a lot of your problem is there.

If you have an internal UV, the little blue sponge should be rinsed at least every two days. You'll find that will pick up a lot of rubbish from the water, and can block easily.

Keep us posted on your progress.

[Waldo]

Mind you if you change your filter system and do a cleaning if at all possible find a temp source for filtration so that you do not have an ammonia spike. Even if it's a power head pointed at the surface with a spounge it will help!