Ok. WTH is this?

[bananafish]

Happily there is no fish in here.

I completely cleaned the tank on Friday, replaced the old water with fresh and cleaned the sand. Literally all that's in this tank is a piece of driftwood, some aquarium sand, and water. There's a filter and a heater, both running and working properly.

This is what the tank looks like Monday morning. What the heck is going on? The slimy-looking skin is covering the substrate as well.

[aokashi]

oo drain water and refill... looks like a protein film monster....

[xjenuhfur]

The tannins are prolly from the driftwood, but yeah protein film.

[bananafish]

So what causes it (I mean, I'm sure the answer is "protein"), but it literally popped up over 48 hours. What's causing the protein build up? And how do I stop it from happening again?

[aokashi]

I would say the tannins lthat leeched from the wood or the heater... but if the filter was running... I dunno. I think something is growing in there. I know sometimes driftwood brings in weird things. and seeing how much there is in there.... it's a bacteria festival.

[LittleWatty]

I've got the same kind of buildup in my 3 gallon, and there wasn't much in it. I think mine was caused by my heater (Tetra brand, 2-15 gallons) and it popped up over the course of a few days. The same thing might be causing yours, but I can't say for certain, even in my case.

[bananafish]

I boiled the driftwood a couple of times over before putting it in the tank. SO frustrating, not to mention gross. Thanks for the help y'all.

[vilmarisv]

I like your tank! (minus the gunk, of course)

[bananafish]

Thanks vilmarisv. It's a Mr. Aqua 3-gallon rimless. I love the tank, minus the gunk.

I drained the tank, then filled a 5-gallon bucket with boiling water and emptied the tank's accoutrements (thermometer, filter (minus the sponges, which I tossed), heater, driftwood and some of the substrate into the bucket. It's been soaking for an hour or so. Meanwhile I cleaned the tank itself with hot water. Hopefully this will take care of it. I'm just going to keep the driftwood soaking in hot water until it's time to try again, I guess.

[Shirleythebetta]

It almost looks like sand dust to me, was the sand a recent thing and did you rinse it? It reminds me of the tank I set up with sand before I realized I could rinse it... :/