Routine Maintenance Failure

Bacteria could of been from another source and the chances of killing all of it are low I imagine so I'd expect it to be an ongoing issue.

Won't oxygenating the water help keep it down or higher agitation constantly.

 

I've cross contaminated my storage so many times by doing something stupid that it got cleaned on a regular basis anyhow.
But it is a good idea to add this to the to do list. Thanks for bringing it up.

Also don't want to hijack.. at the same time don't want to start another reminder thread but everyone that uses filter socks should be in the habit of turning the dirty one inside out as soon as it's taken off of the plumbing.
I only use one on my split drain and it's on the side that over flows directly to the return. Yesterday I found my Tiger Pistol in it.

 

It could really be anything. A hair from my arm falls in and provides a source of Phosphorus. Nitrifying bacteria are EVERYWHERE so it's not surprising they got in there and there's freshwater species too. It's not like our hobbyist RO/DI filters are putting out PURE water. Testing with our hobbyist TDS meters and our hobbyist grade test kits and coming up with zeros doesn't mean diddly-squat. The water is NOT PURE.....not even remotely. However, it's good enough for our hobby. If we had to use dielectric water, no one could afford a reef tank.

Trust me, the water is agitated very well. The powerheads are the only heat source used with the exception of Dec~March.

The problem is that Basement Cat sheds like you wouldn't believe. Sometimes I forget to put the lid back on. Here's the biggie I think. These cans haven't been cleaned in 4 years.