Protein Deposits...(tip)

pinballqueen

pinballqueen

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Aug 4, 2002
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Sevierville, TN
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I don't know if I am the only person that has this problem from time to time, but my cichlid tanks have always had problems with protein buildup on the tank hoods.

I found a decent solution to deal with this problem (other than wiping the light hood down DAILY). Contact-lens protein deposit remover. (Not cheap, but REALLY effective...). Take off the affected hood, place it on a level surface, upside down, and pour a little protein remover onto the deposits, and let it sit for the time indicated on the bottle. Then rinse and wipe off, problem solved...(just make sure you got all the solution off, though...)

I fed my fish a very high-protein diet, probably more than most people do (staple flakes, shrimp pellets, and various meat-based snacks on a regular basis), so I might be alone in this problem (in a freshwater tank anyhow).

Just thought I would share a bit of (potentially worthless) information....

By the way, DOES anyone else have this problem?....
 
I don't actually get it on the reflector part, mostly on the part that flips up to feed...I'm pretty sure I might have seeded the problem myself by accidentally getting some of the food on the hood...

Never tried oxy-whatevers, I might give it a try whenever I set the tank back up to see if it works. Seems feasable, oxygen cleaners "bleach" by destroying organic matter...
 
What do protein deposits look like in comparison to mineral deposits? I have mineral buildup over time around areas of my hood that get heavy moisture evaporation
 
Hmmm...how to describe without being gross....

Cataracts on your tank hoods? No, not exactly right, but close enough.... They tend to look whitish-to-brownish, slick and rubbery-feeling. It's almost the exact same phenomenon as when you get protein buildup on your contact lenses. (I came up with the idea while watching my ex-husband cleaning his, as a matter of fact...) Mineral deposits are usually hard, scaly and grainy (or mine always have been). I kept the water level high enough that overspray would cause the flip-tops on my hoods to be damp, and the deposits would collect like solid water-droplets over time wherever the water would evaporate and condense on the lids. (I would also get them occasionally if I left the lights off on the glass that protects the light fixtures, but if I turned the lights on, it would dry up and go away, I think the heat broke down the bonds that held the deposits together...)

Speaking of heat, maybe a hair-dryer would work as well....gotta give that a try sometime...
 
You were right! LOL.....I'm gonna go to bed tonight listening to a repeating voice recording of myself saying "Listen to Pinballqueen from now on.....Listen to Pinballqueen from now on...."

There should be no more confusion in the future;)

Really though, I'd probably cut back on your high protein diet. That's got to be adding up in your gravel and such. Even frequent major tank cleanings can't compensate for all disolved proteins/fats in the watercolumn. I would think your fish would do fine with some more processed food (high quality, of coarse). I know certain fish eat nothing but fish in the wild, but I'm sure it is probably beneficial to cut back on some of it in aquariums, especially when you have globs of protein forming on your hood and equipment. Most of our fish are farm raised anyways. This is just my opinion, you know......WAIT!.........
.........."Listen to Pinballqueen from now on.......Listen to Pinballqueen from now on......."
 
For the moment, the cichlid tank is disassembled, so I don't have to worry about it.

The reason I fed such a high-protein diet is because I would buy the fish as babies with the intent of selling them back to the lfs as much larger specimens....you know, make money with what I love... Anyhow, the rich diet helped them to grow up faster....

I fed them non-fatty meat products, such as beef heart, meal worms, and dried krill, in addition to the "normal" staple flake food.

My fish never grew less than an inch a month, so I must've been doing something right...even normally slow-growing species shot up in size like that....

I'm also a real fanatic about tank maintainence when I'm growing fish out for sale, changing water/cleaning gravel at least twice a week, testing water quality every other day, etc. Like I said, I think the protein buildup is from where the food would accidentally touch the lids of the tank (either due to my own sloppiness or by getting splashed up by hungry fish...), thereby seeding a place for the protein to build up.
 
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