Bamboo Poles

[stegoodall]

Hi
I am currently fishless cycling my tank and recently i added some bamboo poles for decoration, similar to these. The day after i noticed a slime on the poles, it looks like wallpaper paste. I have been told that to start with the soft part of the wood breaks down. Is the slime normal? Shall i scrape it off? Is it safe to add fish when cycle is complete?
Please help
Stephen

 

[woodie]

i have bamboo in my tank and i have nothing like that did you scrub and soak it well.

i would take it out and give it a good scrub and rinse if i was you

 

[stegoodall]

will try to do that soon then. How long shall i soak it for?

 

[woodie]

i soaked mine for a couple of days doing regular water changes, but if yours has been in your tank already, i would put in hot water not boiling though and soak it for an hour, then give it a good scrub and rinse it for about 15 mins, and keep an eye on it

 

[Tropjunky]

I would put active carbon in ur tank and scrub it cos it could be varnish.

 

[stegoodall]

I'm not sure if i can get it out of the tank as it is stuck to a slate tile and is buried under sand with plants in now. Would it be ok to use an air line to sort of suck the slime off then scrub it and do a water change and put an internal filter with carbon in or shall i try and get it out?

 

[SarahBravo]

If you're cycling it's probably just a bacteria bloom - all the stuff in my tank got covered in white sludge - just like wallpaper paste, when I was cycling. I bought a new washing up brush, rinsed it well and soaked it in dechlorinator for an hour, and I used that to scrub the tank and did a partial water change. No more probs!! This is quite a common occurrence in cycling tanks.

 

[woodie]

you must have jinked me i have simlilar stuff on bamboo in my baby tank, so it has been taken out and scrubbed, and popped back in and i will see how it goes, it's funny though as in my other two wanks that have bamboo in i havnt had a problem

 

[pseud]

(uhhh, woodie.. you might wanna edit your post lmao)

 

[stegoodall]

(uhhh, woodie.. you might wanna edit your post lmao)

[snapback]878501[/snapback]​

lmao true lol

i took what i could out and scrubbed it with a scouring pad
the rest, i have used airline to take the slime off and put a bodged up filter (powerhead, hosepipe, box) with carbon in it to see if it helps. Will get this sorted before i put any fish in.

 

[stegoodall]

I took all the pieces of bamboo out (broke them off the slate) and i have boiled them about 4 times and let dry twice, i have now put them in a small tank with no fish to see if they start to go slimy again if they are OK then i will put them back in my main tank

 

[Synirr]

I had the same kind of thing appear on the wood in my tank when I first got it. I boiled it, baked it in the oven, soaked it forever and could never seem to get rid of the stuff... Eventually, after being in the tank for a couple of months the slime did go away on its own.