Is this red slime?

[Ram_Puppy]

are we headed for a Nemo Hijacking here?

[Ram_Puppy]

I wonder if whoever coined the phrase "scum of the earth" had cyano bacteria in mind.

[Ram_Puppy]

mmm... bryopsis - tough as all get out, and toxic to boot.

truth, but cyano looks worse imho.

although, if I was going to call someone the scum of the earth, I would rather imagine them as a 5 day old bowl of melted anemone.

[Ram_Puppy]

truth, I had bryopsis once... and i successfully got rid of it... I let a pump overheat in my tank and man, it took that bryopsis out! (course, it killed everything else but my clowns.)

[Ram_Puppy]

hey, it could have been worse josh, he could have put a rio pump in there and plugged it in. ;)

for a tank that got nuked w/ a battery it's not lookin to bad.

[Ram_Puppy]

well, what kind of battery was it?

1) if it was an alkaline, it may not be that bad
2) you would be suprised what salwater can chemically neutralize - nasty stuff like sarin and mustard gas for one. (my sister used to dismantel chemical weapons and destroy them for a living... one of their fallback safety features was 'da ocean' ;)
3) if the batteries casing did not rust through, your probably looking at a little excess iron, and maybe not much else. I doubt the copper that remains is to bad, because, we know for one you have no problem w/ invertebrates living in your tank... peps, aiptasia, tons of coral...

I don't think your as bad off as you think, biological indicators infact, are pointing to life thriving in your tank...

[MattK]

It was an alkaline battery and the top was all foamed up with about a golf ball sized mushroom cloud looking structure, appropriate considering it "nuked" all my fish.

[thread jack in progress, do not be alarmed]

This is how you used your 10,000 post! No long post of how you were discouraged at first but with perseverance and determination you achieved your goal of 10,000? <_< Oh well, maybe 20,000 we'll have a party.

[thread jack over, you are now returned to your regularly scheduled program already in progress]

[Ram_Puppy]

hmm... your description makes me think the electrolyte escaped - that is potassium hydroxide in most batteries (according to google. )and is even more base than saltwater.. thus the reaction (maybe... gary could probably do a far better job w/ this than me, or for that matter any of the teachers we have here).

other than the steel case, everything else seems fairly inert, and far less deadly than elemental copper...

I think what probably happened is your PH * ALK skyrocketed to unholy and ungodly proportions... and zinc, potassium... all these things feed plants - thus your algae problem. light that sump up and throw some cheato in there.

Positive cap: Formed protrusion at one end of the battery can which identifies it as the positive terminal.
Steel can: Nickel-plated steel which is formed into a container to hold chemicals and serves as the positive collector.
Outer Jacket: A plastic sleeve which contains decorative printing identifying the cell type and size.
Separator: Porous non-woven fibrous material which separates electrodes; holds electrolyte between electrodes.
Electrolyte: A solution of potassium hydroxide in water which carries the ionic current inside the battery.
Cathode: Manganese dioxide and graphite which take up electrons from the external circuits.
Anode: Powdered zinc metal which serves as the source of electrons.
Anode Collector: Tin-plated brass which serves as a path for the electrons from the anode to the external circuit.
Seal/Vent: Molded plastic disc which holds internal components inside the cell and releases internal pressure when battery is abused.

[Ram_Puppy]

try again!

there is razor caulerpa in your display, we know macro will survive in there now.

[Ram_Puppy]

heck, josh, run B-streeps HIATT torpedo on it for a couple days and you will probably see a massive increase in water quality.