[EvilTwin]

I took some time yesterday to really try to address this problem. I started out by using a hose to siphon the slime out into a bucket, but I didn't want to have to replace all the water I was taking out. So I grabbed a strainer from the kitchen and tried running through that. It worked for the most part, but there were still too many particles making it back into the water. I had some old whisper filter bags so I was thinking of what I could do there, but they were too small and the whole thing was going too slowly. What I needed was some kind of power-siphon-filter device. Enter my unused magnum 350 canister filter. I filled the carbon chamber and put a filter sleeve around it. I then configured the hoses so that the return was going back into the tank, being refiltered with the whisper filter. It that point things started working well. I moved from rock to rock, sucking slime from almost everywhere. I was pulling a lot off the bottom, trying not to suck to much substrate with it. Occasionally a small hermit or snail went for a ride into the filter only to be fished out later, none the worse for wear.

To further my efforts, I decided to change my lighting/hood assembly around a bit. Since setting up the new tank I have always had the glass plates that sit on top, just above the water. The 4' aqualight would rest on the top frame of the tank. The canopy would then sit over the whole thing. I decided to remove the glass plates, as I know this is better for air exchange and also would help let more light reach the tank. I had originally bought a set of legs for the aqualight to sit above the tank but never used them, thinking the canopy wouldn't fit. I tried them out and the canopy fits right over it. I also added an additional powerhead at the bottom of the tank pointing along the back wall to get some flow behind the rocks. I am also changing the food to try and see if that helps reduce the slime growth. I was feeding a flake food with frozen treats thrown in every few days. I'm now using only my frozen food to see how it goes.

When I awoke this morning, my tank was crystal clear and the usual scum that floats on top of the water was not there. The tank has a much brighter appearance. I must have stressed my cerith snails as I had 3 of them start to lay eggs yesteday while this was going on. on another note, I now have hundreds if not thousands of calcerous tube worms that have started growing on the back glass. They are the tiny ones and I suspect they are good for things, overall.

What I think I still need are two things: a mechanical filter of some kind and a sump. I stopped using my canister filter when I switched tanks because I had seen so much about them becoming nitrate factories. I know that when I used it my water was always crystal clear. As for a sump, I have acquired a 29g tank that I am thinking of using for that purpose. I would just need to build the baffles in and get a pump and plumbing for the return flow. I already have an overflow box (tidepool S.O.S.) that has yet to be used.

So there we go. I'll bet the slime comes back, but we shall see. I suspect that once it is in your tank it's there to stay.