White substance

[Fishyfanatic]

Our water is basically liquid rock and is high in calcium/lime. In the tank is Lava Rock, Driftwood, Live Plants, and Sand. Over the past few days I have noticed some white deposits forming on the glass. After scrubbing them off with an algae scraper, they were pretty much gone. There were a few patches on the back glass left, but not much. One morning when the lights kicked on I saw this:





It was like it happened overnight. The timers are set for 5 hours on, 1 hour off, and 5 hours on. Water changes are done weekly at 35%. The only thing that is in this particular tank that is not in any of the others is the live plants. I am not dosing with ferts. The tank does not receive even the slightest bit of direct or indirect sunlight.

I thought about scrapping it all off with a razor, but I don't think the fish would appreciate white chunks in the tank. The substance is very hard and bumpy. It's not a smooth surface. Tomorrow I am going to do a massive water change (about 60%) and scrape the substance off into a container so it doesn't get into the water. But that is just a temporary fix. I want to get to the bottom of what is causing this buildup so I don't have to do this every few weeks.

Can anyone give some insight as to what is going on?

BTW- It's not a reflection at the top of the first pic. It really is a big sheet of the white stuff.

[Jchillin]

FF - I know you have a pretty high ph and you recently posted your water supplies tests and no unusual minerals other than fe were noted. You also recently moved as well.

[Fishyfanatic]

Yup, I should have mentioned that. We moved 4 months ago . Our pH is 8.2, GH 358, KH 268.5, and Fe 0.

[Fishyfanatic]

any ideas?

[tropicfishman]

is it a well water supply? I've heard that sometimes well water has minerals in it that standard test kits don't detect

[greenmaji]

It looks like high calcium content (or even ash or lime) in the water supply to me.

[Fishyfanatic]

I'm on the city water supply.

It does not make sense as to why this is happening in ONLY this tank. The other four do not have the slightest bit of it.

[QTOFFER]

I agree that it's lime deposits. I've never heard of white algae, and fungus is not a hard substance. I wouldn't worry too much about getting scrapings in the water since it's already in it anyway.

What's strange is that you haven't been seeing this in your other tanks. Do you have lime deposits in the sinks, tub, and toilet too?

If it is lime, the best long term solution is a RO unit. Household water softeners would work too, but they generally replace Mg and Ca with Na, which could cause other problems.

[Fishyfanatic]

We have to use lime away about once a month or so in the sinks to keep them looking nice. I figured that it was excess lime, but wondered why it is only in this one particular tank. The only thing different with this tank is the live plants. Could that be enough to cause this to happen?

[CGGorman]

I would guess tha tthe live plants are absorbing enough calcium, magnesium, iron, etc. to throw the balance off and allow the lime to precipitate out of solution.

Could also be temperature or agitation/aeration related. If the temp drops or agitation stops, solubility will decline...allowing minerals to precipitate.

You should STRONGLY consider getting a whole house water softener....for the well-being of your plumbing, your health, your detergent bills, your water heater, and your fish.