Feed tank problem

So i have a 55 gallon reservoir a low profile one for under a flood table. Ive been trying to use it just to mix my nutes in and feed with the hose and pump i have for it. I'm using athena blended line plus powerSI.
Now for my question after i fill my tank mix my nutrients a few days later i have this thick white slime on my pump and my 4 air stones. It looks disgusting and not sure whats causing it.

My temps in my room dont go over 78. My tank is sitting on a concrete floor.

Thats bacteria of some type.

Are either of those nutes have organic components - derived form any kind of plant or animal - like seaweed or worm castings, enzymes, etc?

Organically based nutes in hydro are a bad idea. Bacteria just love that crap.

Next thing is light. Most bacteria need light to grow. How light tight is your rez tank? It needs to be perfectly light proof. Yellow or white plastic wont cut it. Wrap the lid and sides in foil if need be. Also wrap all white fittings, pipes, etc and block all holes.

You really really need to be fanatical about light.

This also applies to the flood table. You need to keep light out of it too. Panda film works well.

Finally, bacteria grow faster as the temp goes up. water temps above 70F are bad unless you have everything else perfect - no organics and zero light.

You probably need to start running a sterile rez at those temps even if the other two things are perfect.

could it be unchelated nutrient? possibly insufficient mixing before being pumped

Unmixed nutes would not be slimy, plus they wouldnt wait a few days to show up.

No the nutrients are not organic. My tank is solid black with a solid black lid that sits under my flood table i dont knot how it would be getting hit with any light. I'll have to fill it back up and see whats going on.

If you can, try to sterilize the effected parts as well as possible when you re-fill. Like I said, it might be time to start running a sterile rez.

Larry3215 said:

If you can, try to sterilize the effected parts as well as possible when you re-fill. Like I said, it might be time to start running a sterile rez.

Click to expand...

What do you mean by sterile rez

Gorillaglue4u said:

What do you mean by sterile rez

Click to expand...

Using things like pool shock instead of beneficial bacteria to hold the scary stuff at bay.

Destroyer of chairs said:

Using things like pool shock instead of beneficial bacteria to hold the scary stuff at bay.

Click to expand...

That wont mess with the nutrients or the plants?

As long as its not too strong, you will be fine. You can run chlorine at concentrations as hi as 5 PPM and its still safe for plants and humans.

Here is an old post about calculating concentrations based on using pool shock - which is just a concentrated form of the same chlorine in household bleach. Pool shock is much cheaper.

Note: I have some calcium hypochlorite (pool shock) that says 49% available chlorine. How much do I add to get 2 ppm of chlorine to a 100 gallon reservoir?

To figure for 2 ppm of TOTAL chlorine is simple.

Remember 1mg/L = 1 ppm

So 2 ppm would be 2 mg per liter of water.

100 gallons = 378.5 liters. So 378.5 x 2 = 757 mg

But its only 49 percent strong. So 757/.49=1545 mg or 1.545 g


Example2 - I've been using a pool shock solution for the last 1.5 years now. Its been working great. I was hesitant to try it at first, but its been the most cost effective solution to a sterile res. I spent $9 on powdered pool shock and have not even used 1/4 of the container since I started. I mix 1/2 tsp of shock powder with 1 gallon of water and shake. Then I add that solution to my res at 1 ounce of solution per gallon in the res about every 3-4 days. Just thought I'd share my experience.

Most household liquid bleach is also around 49%. Check your bottle if you go that way. You can use the volume of liquid bleach in ml or cc or you can use the weight in grams and substitute it in the formulas above. ML, CC, or grams will all work out close enough if you are using the liquid bleach.

Thanks for the help ill have to give that a try.

Larry3215 said:

Unmixed nutes would not be slimy, plus they wouldnt wait a few days to show up.

Click to expand...

once the white dries its not slimy its more like chalk and it is un-chelated nutrient!

harrythehat said:

once the white dries its not slimy its more like chalk and it is un-chelated nutrient!

Click to expand...

This is bad advice that makes no sense. If the nutes are UNmixed, then that white stuff would be there from the very beginning because they were UNmixed.

Plus, you have the wrong understanding of what chelated means. It has nothing to do with solubility.

Larry3215 said:

This is bad advice that makes no sense. If the nutes are UNmixed, then that white stuff would be there from the very beginning because they were UNmixed.

Plus, you have the wrong understanding of what chelated means. It has nothing to do with solubility.

Click to expand...

may have used the wrong word am famous for that. But what happened to cause that is this
nutrient was put into tank then water added rather than mix water and nute then add to tank. done it myself and had the white chalky slimy when wet stuff so i know what happened.