Dust like fungi in tank, can anyone id

[hooked]

Hello everyone,

I wish I had a digital camera to take some pics, what I have looks like in my best explanation is dry dust on a table that is bunched up. It is just laying on my rocks and some on sand bed. It isn't attached, if I brush the water it comes right off. It is a greyish color. I have lots of it and tried to get some off with my last cleaning. Can anyone identify this stuff and will an emerald crab, snails, camel shrimp eat it? Thanks for any help.

[dark horge]

Hi Hooked,

Based on your brief description.
It is likely what is called 'mulm' in may parts of the hobby.

It is a combination of the poop of various worms and molluscs within the rock and sand, as well as debris from a thousand tunels being bored by the same sort of critters.

In the wild reef, this sort of debris gets largely swept away by current, to settle in calmer parts as mud flats. In the reeftank, it serves as a refuge and food for various worms and small crustaceans.

hth,
horge

[hooked]

Thanks Horge,

I went out and bought a camel shrimp and emerald crab, hope they will eat some of it. If not it will be manual extraction for me

Thanks
Jim

[Alice]

Hey Jim;

Detritis (mulm) build up can be a pain. If you can put a powerhead in where it can sweep the rockwork area the gunk will get suspended in the water column, not only allowing your filter feeders a go at it but so that it can be cleaned up by the skimmer and prefilter as well.

You can also get a turkey baster to blow it off the rocks and then syphon it out when you do water changes.

HTH,

Alice

oh, btw; camel shrimp like to eat polyps and LPS on occasion