Most annoying substances with aquariums?

[FINWIN]

Is it

Poop
Algae
Detritus Worms
Bio Film/Calcium Crust
Mulm
Humidity loving flies

For me, it's Mulm. When it builds up it goes in and under everything and piles up quick. The slightest movement makes it fly everywhere. You can't even siphon the stuff good.

Crusty calcium that sticks to the glass, lids, filters, and top frame. Sometimes white, sometimes kinda yellow.

Those pesky flies from moisture in the summer months.

 

[AR1]

Humidity loving flies.My pond has hundreds of these darn pests. The warm/hot weather here allows them to thrive.

 

[Midwater]

All of the above. (Sorry, is that a cop out?)

 

[HUKIT]

I’m in the Chicago suburbs and I’ve got a private well which is essentially liquid rock for water so calcium deposits and hard water stains are the bane of my existence.

 

[tlindsey]

It depends on what type of fish so algae, biofilm, and detritus worms are welcome.

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

I think that algae (if not properly dealt with) can be a pain in the yeehaw. Also, poop is a pain when you have light-colored sand/gravel and dirty fish like plecos.

 

[phreeflow]

I’m in the Chicago suburbs and I’ve got a private well which is essentially liquid rock for water so calcium deposits and hard water stains are the bane of my existence.

 

[jjohnwm]

All of the above. (Sorry, is that a cop out?)

Yup...of the worst kind!


Mulm? Just a nice way of saying "poop". Back in the day, mulm was looked upon as an integral part of a healthy, naturalistic aquarium...often recommended as a necessary part of a breeding tank to replicate natural conditions. As my father used to say: "Moolm? What is moolm? Dis is ****!"

Flies? I'm in the subarctic; we don't got no stinkin' flies. Never seen a detritus worm for many years either.

Algae? Generally speaking, I like algae. I clean the front of my tanks of it, otherwise never touch it. The one exception to this is Black Beard algae; I hate the stuff.

Biofilm is a natural layer of living growth on surfaces in a tank, is unavoidable and in most cases beneficial; if you are badmouthing it, I assume you mean that white fungus-like fuzz that appears on newly added wood sometimes. I don't like that stuff, but I can just wait it out.

And the winner is: calcium/mineral deposits! I have hard water, and this crusty crap is the bane of any tank that is not filled up right to the top, like my turtle tank. I also use a lot of air-powered sponge filters, and am forced to contain the escaping bubbles so they don't burst in the open and spray mineral-rich water all over exposed glass, frames, etc.

 

[cockroach]

Biofilm bothers me more than most things for some reason. I am talking about the scummy film on the surface of the water when there is insufficient surface agitation. Not what grows on the hardscape.
Next would have to be front glass algae. And only because I have to clean it to see my tanks properly. Inside the tank, on the side and back panels, does not bother me much.