Film on Silicone

Well I started to noticed some big blobs of film floating in my tank and today I noticed it was coming from the silicone. The tank is new so I have no clue what it could be. I thought it was from the heater being to close but it's not because it's on the other overflow box which is far from the heater. What could this be? You can see that it's peeled off.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

looks like cotton... what you using for a sponge in that sump, or did you get a canister yet? I added some white pillow fiber stuff to my sump and same thing happened in the begining... it settled and slowly circulated back to the filter... never seen it again.

I'm using filter socks on one sump and a filter pad on the other. I'm in the process of removing the fish and putting them back in the other tank.

Was the tank 100% dry when the silicone was applied? Did it have enough time to cure?

Are any of the PVC pipe or pump from a previous set up? If so you may have had a natural film in them that had just become dislodged and came out. Kind of like when canister filters get cleaned but the hoses do not. The increase in water pressure from the filter will loosen up the gunk in the hose and spit it out into the tank.

Just a few ideas.

All the silicone around the overflow boxes are covered in this crap. The tank was brand new. The filters were used but cleaned up. The filter media is new.

Did you wipe down or rinse the tank first? (Before filling)

My tank had collected a bit of dust and junk from the garage even though I had it covered. I had to wipe it down inside with a moist microfiber cloth before I filled it.

Could it be just something like that that was stuck on the silicone that decided to come loose when full?

Have you netted out some of the stuff and looked at it yet? Is it soft like filter fiber material of hard little chucks like dirt or debris?

I did wipe down the tank inside and out. I filled it a couple times to rinse it out. I netted it and its really soft. It's inside the boxes to. I used cycled media in my wet/drys for an instant cycle.

sandnuka wrote:looks like cotton... what you using for a sponge in that sump, or did you get a canister yet? I added some white pillow fiber stuff to my sump and same thing happened in the begining... it settled and slowly circulated back to the filter... never seen it again.

Could it be what sandnuka said? Just some fiber from filter socks or what not? Probably something that will just settle down with time?

I don't know. I think I'm done. The socks are cotton I think. I don't know why this would be on the silicone only.

cause the tank is so new, the silicone is probably more sticky.... stuff may just get stuck on or near the silicone..... Im still thinking its just debri of some sort, dirt, new tank stuff.... or fiber of some sort from the socks or filter pads..... Never heard of silicone residue, or residue coming off into soft chunks..... Im sure it will settle soon enough.... I know you had this thing running for awhile, but how long??? Personally, I beleive a brand new tank and filter should run itleast 3 weeks to just let stuff settle before adding fish etc.... this also is a good amount of time to cycle the tank..... I know some just use cycle filter media, but im a big fan of the wait tech.

sandnuka wrote:cause the tank is so new, the silicone is probably more sticky.... stuff may just get stuck on or near the silicone..... Im still thinking its just debri of some sort, dirt, new tank stuff.... or fiber of some sort from the socks or filter pads..... Never heard of silicone residue, or residue coming off into soft chunks..... Im sure it will settle soon enough.... I know you had this thing running for awhile, but how long??? Personally, I beleive a brand new tank and filter should run itleast 3 weeks to just let stuff settle before adding fish etc.... this also is a good amount of time to cycle the tank..... I know some just use cycle filter media, but im a big fan of the wait tech.

Yep I used cycled media. It did run for about a week then I added the media and fish. I wanted to let it run, drain it and run it again to clean it out.

Well, I cant tell you for sure what you problem is... but I can tell you what I would do if I was in your sistuation..... I would start by netting as much of the soft stuff out as I possibly could... then i would do 20% water changes daily until its gone.... be carefull not to overdue it, you dont want a ammonia spike.... Im always super cautious now after loosing 400 dollars with of tropheus cause of an ammonia spike after a big water change. thats why I dont even like the used filter media tech, I always go with the 3 weeks and feeder fish... its cruel, but saves my expensive babies.

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What do you guys think? Since the tank is new the silicone is probably a little sticky and this stuff is sticking to it. My wood isn't covered like the picture in the link. I netted the stuff and it's slimy. The pic is from the website.



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Just pull the items out, clean them in hot water, take a hose and start siphoning out the slime everywhere you see it. It will go away. I had it in my 250 when I first set it up. Mine was mostly on the wood, but it is no big deal.

I did hose them off before putting them on. They were newer pieces of wood that came with the first 210 I bought. The slime that is around the silicone in the boxes I'm not going to be able to get to. Will that go away on it's own? After reading about the slime it looks like its harmless and will go away with time.

I say just let the tank settle in and see what happens. As long as you keep your eye on water parameters and they are in check these little issue usually are nothing. When I had my large driftwood in the tank I had a lot more issues with a slime that would cover the inside glass and get all over. Since I took out the wood to treat the fish, it has been a lot cleaner. Just one of those things that I realized by letting some time pass.

So stop the fret and worry and snap some more pictures....

Do you plan on putting the wood back in? The slime will stop with time. Plecos love it.

As soon as the issues in the tank are over I want to put it back in. I have it soaking in a barrel to keep it water logged.

Do you think the film that is on the silicone in the overflow boxes will far off on it's own? I can't really fit anything in there since the pipes are in there.