Filter Question...

[Cecile1]

So I have a very non descript Marina filter on tank (5.5 gal) with three fancy guppies. I was doing my regular tank maintenance and decided to take a peek at what type of bacteria is building up in my filter.

I found some red stuff on mouth of the output, and on the filter mesh and filter motor and such some yellowish stuff. Any clue on what it is?

Also the mesh has quite a bit of the yellow stuff on it, and I tried to take some picks,... anyway thanks for looking.

[dbosman]

If you are male, I'd ask if you have red/green shade weakness or red/green shade blindness. Since I do have a red/green shade weakness I can't specifically comment on the colors.

Filter pads start out one color and quite often change over time as they capture gunk and build bacterial cultures. My white sponge filter spares turn yellow due to oxidation and turn greenish in the filters. If your filters are in an area where ambient lighting is high enough algae can easily be growing on them.

Algae and bio-film will build on intakes and out flow tubes. Usually it would be green algae, but depending on the type of lighting it may be something else, or in high light situations the underlying color may be showing.

The build up on the cord and the filter looks to me like normal mineral build up.

[Cecile1]

I was wondering about minerals! Thanks for the response. I am female, so no color indistinctions. I assume mineral buildup is fine, so I will leave it be as long as it doesn't clog my motor!