what is this dirt stuff in my tank?

[jonthefisherman]

I have a 40 gallon breeder with a jack dempsey cichlid in it...every so often i get this stuff that looks like dirt in the tank. It covers the droftwood and plants...the fish seem ok so far but i just wondering if anyone can tell me what it is? I do weekly water changes and try to keep it clean but this dirt stuff comes.out of nowhere and.covers everything. Any advice to get rid of it is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[PockX]

What's your substrate? It might be just the particulates in it sifting itself?

The JD by himself or what?

 

[NYgiantsRP]

Poop is usually brown and gets on everything. You know that a jack Dempsey in a 40g in pushing it? They get quite large. Is there anything else in the tank?

 

[jonthefisherman]

The jack depsey is by himself...its definatly not poop...i have black sand as a substrate...but ive had black sand as the substrate for awhile now and its just recently happening.

 

[NYgiantsRP]

Stumped me. Does the jack pick at the driftwood? Maybe the driftwood is falling apart, mine does.

 

[PockX]

A 40 Breeder is fine for a JD. Its has a bigger footprint than a 55. But him..you have any pics?

 

[NYgiantsRP]

I was just seeing what else was housed with the jack, because if there was another large cichlid it would not be suitable.

 

[jonthefisherman]

Could it be these diodes or w/e they are called im reading about? I clean all the dirt stuff every water change and it comes back...i dont stir up the substrate or anything...the jd doesnt pick at the wood. Ill try and post a picture of it later when i get out of work

 

[jonthefisherman]

This is an older pic...ill take newer one later

 

[PockX]

Hmm..is it the stuff in the water floating around? Can you get a closer pic..I don't really see anything.

 

[jonthefisherman]

Yeah im just at work now. Ill take a newer one later. The stuff floats around then lands on plants and ornaments. Its easily sucked up by the vaccuum.

 

[PockX]

Yeah im just at work now. Ill take a newer one later. The stuff floats around then lands on plants and ornaments. Its easily sucked up by the vaccuum.

I sometimes have this blue specs that float around in my and show up from time to time..and it's only in my 40. I think it must of been in my tank or something and I missed cleaning it, Idk. Could be something similar to that..obviously not blue..but yeah.

 

[jonthefisherman]

Heres a picture from today...pic might be sideways but you can see the dirt or w/e on the wood.

 

[Cactuspixie]

Heres a picture from today...pic might be sideways but you can see the dirt or w/e on the wood.

Is it a sediment that is 'settling' on the wood, or it something that is attached to, or growing on the wood! (Can it be blown off by a strong current or do you need to wipe/brush it off)

 

[jonthefisherman]

It doesnt attach to anything...it will blow off of w/e its on

 

[Alyxx]

Probably just mulm. It's the broken down bits of waste and food after all the bacteria is done with it from what I understand. It isn't particularly harmful, just unsightly. Does it vacuum up pretty easily?

Love your screenname by the way! If it's a reference to what I think it is.

 

[jonthefisherman]

Haha thanks....yeah primus is my favorite band. But yeah it vaccums up pretty easily. Im glad its not harmful. Does this mean im overfeeding? Or not doing big enough water changes? Feed 2 times a day. Some flakes and a couple cichlid gold pellets. Do a weekly water change of 25%

 

[Alyxx]

Saw them live about a year ago, it was epic!

Yeah it pretty much just means the bacteria is doing it's job. There's not much left in it to decompose and foul your water, it's just ugly. I get lots of it in my 10 gal planted tank, since the sponge filter doesn't do much picking up of solids. Just keep vacuuming it out and maybe try feeding less to see if that helps.

 

[jonthefisherman]

Ok worth a shot. Thanks!