lots of slimy bubbles

[0000]

I am a noob, I am currently cycling my 36 gallon.

There is water, salt, and sand so far. 3rd day, NOTHING ELSE. except a little bit of chlorine remover.

I have a fluval 205 running.

The top has lots of thick, slimey bubbles.

IS this becuase I dont have a protein skimmer? is this normal for only the 3rd day of the tank running?


plz help

 

[neilanh]

yeah, it's normal. It's more of a film that gets produced on the surface of the water. It's a build up of "stuff" from the sand, the dechlor and the water. Nothing to be worried about just yet.

 

[0000]

so I am wondering is this slime coat stuff, is it doing anything beneficial?

or should I scoop it up with cup of water and remove it?

 

[neilanh]

Nah, you can skim the surface to remove it.

Most SW tanks utilize some type of overflow system. Since these overflows ingest the water from the surface of the tank, it's usually not seen. Since you're using a canister filter, this will be an ongoing thing. It happens in my FW tanks too.

One thing you can do to help is take a powerhead and aim it towards the surface of the water. This will help to break the slime up so that it doesn't stay on the surface, so hopefully the canister filter can collect it and filter it out.

 

[milhous3er]

You could also quicky place a paper towel on the top of the water. Just plain paper, no aloe/girly stuff. Don't submerge the paper towel, just lightly place it on top of the water surface.