# Clear plastic tubing(PVC) turn from clear to milky white, killing fish(not safe)?



## geisterwald (Jul 18, 2016)

Airline tubing is made of silicone or sometimes vinyl, it's not the same thing. Is this tube flexible? Are you sure it's PVC? Milky white + slimy sounds like fungus to me. Have you tried scraping any of it off? Can you? 

What are your readings for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate? How long has your tank been set up? Did you wash the tube before putting it in, and if yes, how? How long did you have the tube in the tank before it turned white? How long after that before things started dying, or did they before the tube turned white? Were things dying before you put the tube in the tank? Is anything else in the tank growing the same white stuff?


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## Overwatch (Nov 26, 2016)

geisterwald said:


> Airline tubing is made of silicone or sometimes vinyl, it's not the same thing. Is this tube flexible? Are you sure it's PVC? Milky white + slimy sounds like fungus to me. Have you tried scraping any of it off? Can you?
> 
> What are your readings for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate? How long has your tank been set up? Did you wash the tube before putting it in, and if yes, how? How long did you have the tube in the tank before it turned white? How long after that before things started dying, or did they before the tube turned white? Were things dying before you put the tube in the tank? Is anything else in the tank growing the same white stuff?


I placed it on my aquarium around the same time as Black Friday November 25 2016 and today being 12/11/2016. I also added fish to my aquarium which I assumed was the cause of this massive fish death. Some of the dead fish I took out were covered in the same kind of milky white covering. Its looked like cured superglue. 

My readings are all normal, tank has been setup over 1 year, I did wash the tube before placing it in the aquarium but I also used aquarium safe Silicone which I let cure for over 2 days, things were NOT dying before the tube was placed in it( but as I said, I also placed new fish in the tank at the same time) the tube was in the tank for maybe a week before it turned white. Maybe sooner, I'm not exactly sure. 

Stuff started dying the next day after I got the new fish/placed the tube in the aquarium. I have probably had to remove 25 fish so far. 

I place replaced it with the original outlet and did an emergency water change of 40 gallons(in my 75 gallon tank) followed by another 40 gallon water change a few hours later. Hopefully to dilute any type of chemical that may be in the tank. 

I also ordered a powerful 55 watt UV sterilizer which should be in on December 15th in addition to a 9 Watt internal UV sterilizer plus another 9 Watt UV sterilizer in my canister filter. 

I have a 500 GPH canister filter as well as a 264 GPH secondary canister filter. There does seem to be a white milky pasty slime substance which I can see when I run my finger along it. The tube still stays the milky color. It does not turn clear when I run my finger along it.


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## geisterwald (Jul 18, 2016)

Like this? http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/21-fish/99565-white-slime-death.html

Edit: OK wait I don't think columnaris can grow on anything but living creatures (someone correct me if I'm wrong). That makes me think it's a fungus again. I don't think it's anything from the pipe if it's also growing on the fish that died. It probably came in on your new fish. Could it be saprolegnia? Look at this article: http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Columnaris.html


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## Overwatch (Nov 26, 2016)

geisterwald said:


> Like this? http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/21-fish/99565-white-slime-death.html
> 
> Edit: OK wait I don't think columnaris can grow on anything but living creatures (someone correct me if I'm wrong). That makes me think it's a fungus again. I don't think it's anything from the pipe if it's also growing on the fish that died. It probably came in on your new fish. Could it be saprolegnia? Look at this article: Fish Columnaris | Fungus & Saprolegnia | Treatment & Prevention


Possible however its more of a white flaky look vs a porcupine fuzz. Some of the fish die without the white on them. 

My 55 gallon did have that full porcupine look when I first set it up a year ago.


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## Mattb126 (Nov 13, 2016)

Like this? http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1108058

Sent from my iPhone 8 (Dev) using Tapatalk


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## Overwatch (Nov 26, 2016)

Mattb126 said:


> Like this? White sticky coating on outflow/inflow pipes - The Planted Tank Forum
> 
> Sent from my iPhone 8 (Dev) using Tapatalk


Think of taking baking power and mixing it with a little water to make kind of a paste. That is what this looks like however it feels slimy. 

I can't really tell if that other picture is the same or not because his PVC are naturally white I think. My situation the tubes are naturally suppose to be clear like airline or siphon tubes however is as white as milk. 

It seem to mainly be on the inside of the tube vs the outside of it. Maybe the waterflow


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## Coralbandit (Feb 25, 2013)

I get 'bio slime' CRAP on silicone /vinyl lines regulary. Mostly when they are new.Just wipe it off and rinse the wiper outside of tank. They say shrimp favor it but mine don't much care.
It is to the best of my knowledge NOT killing your fish.It certainly is not the cause of any fungal or bacterial infections...
But if the new fish brought in something you may very well still be dealing with a bacterial infection...
As mentioned above columnaris ,mostly with little info I base this on how quick fish are dying...
The first offered link on columnaris above is awesome so read it carefully..Maybe multiple times..
next keep an open mind and look at this one also..

http://www.myaquariumclub.com/columnaris-and-what-i-have-learned...-1689.html

Columnaris loves warm clean water so keep temp down in mid to low 70's if you think that your fish are infected.


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## Bananableps (Nov 6, 2013)

Like this?









Would be very helpful if you could provide pictures of the tube and the fish.


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## Overwatch (Nov 26, 2016)

Bananableps said:


> Like this?
> 
> 
> 
> ...



That picture looks more like a dried residue whereas this more like milk. I placed the tube outside as to not contaminate the air in my fish room so these pictures are about after a day in the sun. It looked like it was literally filled with milk while in my tank. The spray bar has only been there for like 2 weeks. 

Also, the fish was pulled out of the freezer so its does not look as bad as when I found him in the tank. It has something white all around it which looks like a fungus. 


https://goo.gl/photos/QiqCv3ERpQfREpUo6






























Click here to see them all. 
https://goo.gl/photos/QiqCv3ERpQfREpUo6


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## darklord (Feb 22, 2015)

The pipe material looks like rubber than PVC. You are sure it's PVC?

Sent from my F5122 using Tapatalk


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## Overwatch (Nov 26, 2016)

darklord said:


> The pipe material looks like rubber than PVC. You are sure it's PVC?
> 
> Sent from my F5122 using Tapatalk


That is what the label said however home depot has mislabeled things before. 


It feels like a siphon hose on a larger scale.


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## geisterwald (Jul 18, 2016)

The dead fish does look like it has columnaris (highly contagious/deadly bacteria) to me, though it could also be saprolegnia (fungus). I don't know anything besides those two that looks anything like that and appears, then kills so quickly.

If it feels like a siphon hose I'd guess it's vinyl but it looks like there is such thing as flexible PVC tubing which probably feel about the same: Tubing Catalog Regardless, vinyl should probably be OK in your tank too. You never answered though, _how_ did you wash it?

My current best guess is that your fish have columnaris and whatever's growing in the tube is unrelated and different, maybe just a bio-film like others have said (unless columnaris _can_ grow on non-organic surfaces).


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## Overwatch (Nov 26, 2016)

geisterwald said:


> The dead fish does look like it has columnaris (highly contagious/deadly bacteria) to me, though it could also be saprolegnia (fungus). I don't know anything besides those two that looks anything like that and appears, then kills so quickly.
> 
> If it feels like a siphon hose I'd guess it's vinyl but it looks like there is such thing as flexible PVC tubing which probably feel about the same: Tubing Catalog Regardless, vinyl should probably be OK in your tank too. You never answered though, _how_ did you wash it?
> 
> My current best guess is that your fish have columnaris and whatever's growing in the tube is unrelated and different, maybe just a bio-film like others have said (unless columnaris _can_ grow on non-organic surfaces).



What do you know about phthalates ? Could this be sometime in the clear flexable PVC pipe but not in the hard PVC white pipe that are common in irrigation systems? 

Do you think this white stuff could be phthalates leaching out due to the water pressure of my 500 GPH filter? 

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/20-diy/24015-pvc-vinyl-aquarium-safe.html


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