Weird White stuff in my 10g Cichlid QT.

[WendiDell]

This is probably the wrong place to ask about this but I've only had Cichlids in my QT So I'm hoping it will be OK.
Well 2 weeks ago this weird white film appeared on the tank walls, nowhere else. It came off real easy with my little tank squeegee. But, I wanted to make sure it's nothing harmful. So I proceeded to read every article on algae that I could find and none of them say anything about this kind of white stuff. It had the consistency of algae when I removed it, but I have no clue what it was.
Oh ya, after 2 weeks of doing fine it's back again this morning, @#$%.
Anyone have any suggestions on what this white stuff is? And could it be harmful.
pH8.2, temp. 78o, Amm. > .2, nitrites 0 nitrates 10.
Last time it happened 3 weeks after I put 3 new female Cichlids in from the LFS.
This time it was the next morning after I put 4 new female Cichlids from same LFS. But I never put the LFS water in my Tank, By the time I finish acclimating the new fish for quarantine, it's all my water.
I tried to take a pic. to show what it looks like, but it doesn't show up. If I let it grow some more, it may show in pictures.

 

[HN1]

Most likely bacterial. It will disappear once the tank is fully cycled, stable, and maintained. Stop adding fish until your tank maintains ZERO ammonia and water changes will eliminate it.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Another thought is that it could possibly be bio-film. Is there any film on the surface of the water at all? I had bio-film on one of my tanks once and noticed it on the sides of the tank once in a while.

 

[WendiDell]

Most likely bacterial. It will disappear once the tank is fully cycled, stable, and maintained. Stop adding fish until your tank maintains ZERO ammonia and water changes will eliminate it.

It's been cycled for a while, it's not a new tank. The ammonia never gets above .2 and I do PWC every time it measures any. This am it measured less than .2 but there was a small amount so I did a 15% water change and it's back to 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrites, 10 Nitrates
I also should have said that before I put in the 4 new Cichlids, I put the 3 others in my 55g Cichlid Tank.
I'm rebuilding my female cichlid stock after the others were killed by a male Red Zebra. I returned him to the LFS for re homing. But I need to replace what he killed.
So there are only the 4 new female cichlids in QT.

 

[WendiDell]

I didn't notice any film on the surface, but it was 6:00am and I did the 15% PWC then to put the less than .2ppm Ammonia back to 0.
I will watch for surface film in the future and let you know.

 

[HUKIT]

It's been cycled for a while, it's not a new tank. The ammonia never gets above .2 and I do PWC every time it measures any. This am it measured less than .2 but there was a small amount so I did a 15% water change and it's back to 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrites, 10 Nitrates
I also should have said that before I put in the 4 new Cichlids, I put the 3 others in my 55g Cichlid Tank.
I'm rebuilding my female cichlid stock after the others were killed by a male Red Zebra. I returned him to the LFS for re homing. But I need to replace what he killed.
So there are only the 4 new female cichlids in QT.

In a fully cycled and stable aquarium there should be any ammonia. I aggree with the HN1 regarding the bacteria due to the ammonia levels.

 

[HN1]

Isn't fish shuffling fun? lol

If ammonia is at .2ppm I'd say the tank isn't cycled. What are you testing with (strips, liquid) though?

I've only seen that "algae" (I think it is bacterial) in tanks that were cycling or going through a mini for some reason. I think increased water changes will take care of the cycle and eliminate the culprit. If ammonia increases, there's a reason. Too many fish, too quickly, too much food, not enough filter, overstocked, etc.

All JMO and what I think. Please keep us updated and good luck.

 

[WendiDell]

Isn't fish shuffling fun? lol

If ammonia is at .2ppm I'd say the tank isn't cycled. What are you testing with (strips, liquid) though?

I've only seen that "algae" (I think it is bacterial) in tanks that were cycling or going through a mini for some reason. I think increased water changes will take care of the cycle and eliminate the culprit. If ammonia increases, there's a reason. Too many fish, too quickly, too much food, not enough filter, overstocked, etc.

All JMO and what I think. Please keep us updated and good luck.

OK, I only use liquid. Those 5-1 strips are worthless. I have a whisper 40 on a 10g Qt and a Whisper 30 on a 5g Hosp. tank. I like a lot of filter on my tanks. There is only 4 1" cichlids in a 10g tank with a 40g filter. I just removed 3 small cichlids that had been in QT for 6 weeks yesterday morning.
After I tested the water, I put in the 4 new ones in yesterday around 5:00pm. The ammonia was 0 when I put them in last night.
I wasn't planning on getting the 4 new ones but I had to go to the FS to return a male Red Zebra that was killing everyone else in the tank. The owner was there and offered 50% off if I wanted to get a few to replace the ones that had been killed.
My LFS is anything but local, it's four town away and 1/2 a days time and with my back injury I don't travel well. So I got 4 new female cichlids, while I could. The only LFS are Petsmart and Walmart and I won't get livestock from either store.
I test my 4 tanks every morning anyway if they have fish in them and every once and awhile the QT and Hosp. tank test positive for ammonia. I guess they do a mini cycle when they've been empty for a while. Then go from zero bio-load to having fish waste and food again. So a mini cycle would make sense. But I've never had this white slime on the tank walls before. The first time was 2 wks ago and then this morning.

 

[WendiDell]

To All,
It turns out that my white algae isn't. It's actually regular algae that I didn't let grow enough for the color to show.
After I made the original post I let the algae grow on the walls of the tank for a few days. As it got thicker and less translucent, it was green.
My QT is the only tank that doesn't have an Algae eater of some kind. The walls of my other tanks are always clean. So I didn't recognize the beginnings of regular algae growth.
And my Qt is stabilizing since adding to the bio-load.