Weird stringy slim!!!

[JHAI4]

Okay this is not my week for reefing!!!!

Came home today and my toadstool leather has literally stretched out and almost increased in size by 50% - no PE. The tank was filled with this wierd stringy white stuff that normally occurs when one coral is pissed off at the other. In my previous post I was asking about skimmer production, well let's say now it's pulling thick black crap out of the water. My sump is filled with what looks like KY Jelly, and I have had to replace the filter sock three times in less then two hours.... The tank is filled with the mini brital stars and worms, caught a 9" fire worm in my siphon :)

I have siphoned out most of the stringy stuff, changed the carbon and done a 10g water change. Other then losing my cleaner shrimp, the tank seems to be fine but I will wait until the morning!

Thanks Scott (Redeye) for your guidance, he seems to think the leather spawned! Any ideas?

[j1gregor]

yikes.. the pink leather? I have a frag of that guy, which is doing quite well. I don't have any good advice other than water changes, but I'll be watching this thread for sure.

[barometer]

without any more details I'm inclined to agree with Scott.....sounds like a spawning event. I'd do a few WCs, run fresh carbon and let the skimmer pull what it can :)

[JHAI4]

This was the most bizarre reefing experience to date.

I kid you not the tank surfaces feel like someone dumped a gallon of KY Jelly in the tank. The filter socks would clog up within 15 minutes, the sponges in the phosban reactor for the carbon would clog after 30 mins....

I have to siphon out the gunk all afternoon going through 25g of water changes and three laundry loads of towels and filter socks... The tank is stable and seems to be doing fine. The leather has shrunk back down to it's previous size which is 25%-50% smaller then what it was doing last night!

I guess the leather was spawning! Makes me realize that even though I love the fulled stocked tank how fragile this eco system really is and a mixed reef in a 50g is really a small tank no matter how detailed you maybe. No, I have not decided to upgrade!! :)

It has been a reefing week for sure starting out with the failed RK2 and over heating pumps to this spawning 24 hrs later. I haven't had my hands in the tank for this long for months!

Seems to have a happy ending with the exception of the passing of our 2 year old cleaner shrimp "Pepe"! R.I.P.