There seems to be these weird white spots building up on anything rubber in my tank. I couldn't find any threads here, so I did a general search on google. I won't link or put screenshots from other forums but I hope copying and pasting some of the text is okay.
My main concern is whether or not this is something that will be harmful to plants or fish.
Some internet sources guess that it is bacteria, mineral or fungal issues (these are old posts that describe the same issue, not replies to any post of mine.)
My first thought was salt, because it looked like it was. This was the first tank I used play sand (well rinsed) or 'foraged' beach stones (thoroughly scrubbed and soaked in hot water.)
Since it is only on surfaces made of rubber it didn't make sense for it to be mineral deposits. Especially because I have never noticed this in my other smaller tanks, and because my water isn't extremely hard. (9 dH)
Attached are two images, one of a close up and the second where you can see the spots on the rubber connector for the filter and also on the suction cups behind the heater.
This comment/theory made the most sense to me:
"Pretty sure this is the deal on this junk...Its bacteria , but thats not the main cause. Its actually just dissolved organics in the water that attracted to certain materials based on charges. Its a simple chemical attraction. Proteins in the water stick to the rubbers and plastics and then bacterias feed on this. and the cycle perpetuates as more organics are attracted, and the deposit builds up."
Has anyone experienced this before, and if so was it harmful to any tank residents or plants? I would guess not but I wanted to make sure before plants or fish go in.
My main concern is whether or not this is something that will be harmful to plants or fish.
Some internet sources guess that it is bacteria, mineral or fungal issues (these are old posts that describe the same issue, not replies to any post of mine.)
My first thought was salt, because it looked like it was. This was the first tank I used play sand (well rinsed) or 'foraged' beach stones (thoroughly scrubbed and soaked in hot water.)
Since it is only on surfaces made of rubber it didn't make sense for it to be mineral deposits. Especially because I have never noticed this in my other smaller tanks, and because my water isn't extremely hard. (9 dH)
Attached are two images, one of a close up and the second where you can see the spots on the rubber connector for the filter and also on the suction cups behind the heater.
This comment/theory made the most sense to me:
"Pretty sure this is the deal on this junk...Its bacteria , but thats not the main cause. Its actually just dissolved organics in the water that attracted to certain materials based on charges. Its a simple chemical attraction. Proteins in the water stick to the rubbers and plastics and then bacterias feed on this. and the cycle perpetuates as more organics are attracted, and the deposit builds up."
Has anyone experienced this before, and if so was it harmful to any tank residents or plants? I would guess not but I wanted to make sure before plants or fish go in.
