# Bright Orange Goo



## fishlips (Jul 8, 2014)

Reposting this here because I posted in the wrong place the 1st time.

I have a new (8 weeks) 50 gal set up that is just finishing cycling. 

Water parameters: amm .25 (I have .25 in my tap) nitrite .25 and nitrate riding around 20 ppm. Using a full single dose of Prime with every water change and they are frequent (15-20% almost daily). A couple of days ago I noticed a bright orange to orange pink substance growing on the tank seams, on the silicone. It's not brown or rust colored, but bright orange today. 2 days ago it was pinkish orange. The texture is a bit slippery and it comes off on the sponge looking pretty thin, almost liquid. I'm going to wipe it out, but does anybody have any idea what it is? My goldfish look great; healthy and happy. I'm feeding Soilent Green gel food and peas. 

Thanks!


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## brads (Mar 23, 2013)

I've herd of this before so I'm gonna take a stab at it. Here is some bits and pieces from Fishlore about it. Seems to be a new tank thing and is actually brown (or in your case, more orange looking.) diatoms.

Hope this helps. 


Thanks to: FishLore

...most likely brown diatoms, a sort of form of algae. Simply wipe them off with a clean aquarium-only sponge (do not use a household sponge, they often have chemicals that will kill your fish). 
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Orange substance on the tank walls... 
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Not sure but it seems they are in normal water columns. It actually occurs after the nitrogen cycle has completed. They are actually diatom skeletons. One site says this:

"It is a normal occurrence, as diatoms are one of the first to appear in the chain when the tank conditions are conducive for algae growth, and is usually a precursor to other forms of desirable and undesirable nuisance type green macroalgae."

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I thought it was the silica/silicon on new tanks that caused the diatoms. 

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Not silicone on tanks but silica in the water column can be a problem as well, yes.


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## fishlips (Jul 8, 2014)

Thanks. I read that very same thread last night while scouring the net for info. I'd love for this to be diatoms! Problem is that I can't find anything about them being bright orange. I mean, we're talking really orange. I just posted a pic under my albums, user name fishlips.


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## brads (Mar 23, 2013)

Hmmm, yeah. Very strange color indeed. Still, it is growing and that kind of makes it organic, if only by default. (just kind of following logic here) So, even with the strange color variation, diatoms are still the most likely cause. Now like you, I've never seen that color but... what else could it be? I dunno. Hopefully, someone else has seen this and will chime in here. Until then, I guess you just keep doing what you're doing and wipe it off. Sorry I couldn't be more help. Good luck.


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