Help!

[bcarrillos]

My tank is almost 2 months old. But in the last 2 weeks, brown hair algae has been growing all over the sand. All parameter are good, Ammonia Nitrite and Nitrate are at 0. Is this bad? How can I get rid of it? I do water changes every other week.

 

 

[vlangel]

Do you mind answering a few questions? Is your tank just finishing up its cycle? If so its normal to get some algae and you are ready for a clean up crew.

If you already have been finished with the cycle and have some fish in the tank maybe the bioload is more than the new tank can handle.

[bcarrillos]

No, it's been about 3 weeks that my tank finished cycling. I have 5 hermit crabs, 4 snails, and 1 green chromis. I don't think it's because of bio load.

[Simulated Fish]

No, it's been about 3 weeks that my tank finished cycling. I have 5 hermit crabs, 4 snails, and 1 green chromis. I don't think it's because of bio load.

How big is that tank? You would be surprised at how much hermit crabs add to you bio load... they crap.... a lot.

[bcarrillos]

Tank is 28 gallons, with 19lbs of LR.

[Sunstar]

Tap or RODI?

 

I had algae issues when I used tap. RoDI its hardly an issue.

[bcarrillos]

Tap or RODI?

 

I had algae issues when I used tap. RoDI its hardly an issue.

RODI. Pre Mixed in lfs

How big is that tank? You would be surprised at how much hermit crabs add to you bio load... they crap.... a lot.

28 Gallons.

[Pinner Reef]

Add more cleanup crew members. 9 individuals cannot keep up with a 28g system; that's why you're seeing algae

[bcarrillos]

Add more cleanup crew members. 9 individuals cannot keep up with a 28g system; that's why you're seeing algae

Any recommendations on what CUC to get?

[Snow_Phoenix]

Get some sandsifting snails like Nassarius.

 

If you're from the US, there is a dude named John from Reefcleaners who provides good CUC packages. I also read that he can't count so chances are you will wind up with a lot of extra freebies.

 

I wish we had such a guy over here. My tank glass could use some cleaning.

[bcarrillos]

Get some sandsifting snails like Nassarius.

 

If you're from the US, there is a dude named John from Reefcleaners who provides good CUC packages. I also read that he can't count so chances are you will wind up with a lot of extra freebies.

 

I wish we had such a guy over here. My tank glass could use some cleaning.

I will start to do some research on sandsifting snails! Thanks.

 

I'm lucky to live in the LA area! So we have a lot of good lfs around here.

[Sunstar]

I adore nass snails. I got 10 or so little guys in my tank.

Feeding time looks like a zombie apocalypse with their snoofle tubes poking out of the sand followed by the surge of snail bodies.

[bcarrillos]

I adore nass snails. I got 10 or so little guys in my tank.

Feeding time looks like a zombie apocalypse with their snoofle tubes poking out of the sand followed by the surge of snail bodies.

Yes! I need to get some. How big is your tank? I don't want to add to many snails to my tank.

[Sunstar]

10 gallon - nuvo fusion., but these guys are quite tiny - about the size of a navy bean. The get rid of leftovers in a hurry.

I also have an emerald crab and 5 other hermits. (blue legged x 2, black thin line legged, scarlet legged and hallowe'en)

[bcarrillos]

10 gallon - nuvo fusion., but these guys are quite tiny - about the size of a navy bean. The get rid of leftovers in a hurry.

I also have an emerald crab and 5 other hermits. (blue legged x 2, black thin line legged, scarlet legged and hallowe'en)

Okay got it!! I'm thinking about getting 5 Nassarius Snails. You think that will be enough?

[Simulated Fish]

Okay got it!! I'm thinking about getting 5 Nassarius Snails. You think that will be enough?

In a tank that size I would do 8-12 minimum. I have a 8g Biocube and I've got 5 in there and could happily add a few more. They are small and hide in the sand bed so you if your not a fan of seeing snails all over they are a perfect addition.

[ajmckay]

Note that nassarius snails don't eat algae... They do eat left over food and other carion/detritus.

 

The stuff you see IMO is more likely a diatomaceous slime/cyanobacteria. It should be pretty easy to siphon out. Since the tank is fairly new I'm not particularly surprised that it's there. I take it you haven't seen much of it until now?

 

Just keep up with the maintenance and that should help. Also make sure you have enough flow in the tank to keep too much crap from settling. Finally bulk up your CUC as mentioned. The sand sifters help, and many snails eat the stuff. Most hermits that I've had don't really mess with it too much though.

[bcarrillos]

In a tank that size I would do 8-12 minimum. I have a 8g Biocube and I've got 5 in there and could happily add a few more. They are small and hide in the sand bed so you if your not a fan of seeing snails all over they are a perfect addition.

Awesome. Thanks for your input. I'll be getting snails this week, hopefully that takes care of all the sand problems.

[bcarrillos]

Note that nassarius snails don't eat algae... They do eat left over food and other carion/detritus.

 

The stuff you see IMO is more likely a diatomaceous slime/cyanobacteria. It should be pretty easy to siphon out. Since the tank is fairly new I'm not particularly surprised that it's there. I take it you haven't seen much of it until now?

 

Just keep up with the maintenance and that should help. Also make sure you have enough flow in the tank to keep too much crap from settling. Finally bulk up your CUC as mentioned. The sand sifters help, and many snails eat the stuff. Most hermits that I've had don't really mess with it too much though.

I didn't have much hair algae, just a couple spots that had it. But last week I did a water change, and before doing the water change I got a turkey baster and started to slowly hit the sand. After 3 days I could see it come back, but this time worst.

 

For flow I have a Koralia 425. Although I have it facing up, towards that water surface. Maybe I should try facing it towards the sand? Or buy another one facing the sand..

[Sunstar]

Face the sand and you'll have one honey of a dust storm. mine was slightly at sand and I had dunes at the back of my tank.

[bcarrillos]

Face the sand and you'll have one honey of a dust storm. mine was slightly at sand and I had dunes at the back of my tank.

haha okay! Ill just leave it as it is

[uisge-beatha]

The stuff you see IMO is more likely a diatomaceous slime/cyanobacteria.

 

+1 to this. I'm new to the hobby myself, but my tank is similar to yours (24 gal, RODI water, 5 wks old) and I also saw the brown slimy diatoms around the 2-3 week mark post-cycle. It went away quickly. My understanding is the disappearance of the diatoms happens partly due to the tank maturing, and partly due to the CUC.

 

For reference, I've only got a small CUC so far: 3 blue-leg hermits, 1 emerald crab, 2 astrea, 3 cerith, and 3 nassarius snails. I'll add more if I need them, but so far, the algae load is very low since there are no fish in the tank yet.

 

Also, check out Nano sapien's posts on tank maintenance (e.g. http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/172031-nano-sapiens-12g-7-12-yrs-of-minimalist-reefing/) Very useful stuff!

[bcarrillos]

 

+1 to this. I'm new to the hobby myself, but my tank is similar to yours (24 gal, RODI water, 5 wks old) and I also saw the brown slimy diatoms around the 2-3 week mark post-cycle. It went away quickly. My understanding is the disappearance of the diatoms happens partly due to the tank maturing, and partly due to the CUC.

 

For reference, I've only got a small CUC so far: 3 blue-leg hermits, 1 emerald crab, 2 astrea, 3 cerith, and 3 nassarius snails. I'll add more if I need them, but so far, the algae load is very low since there are no fish in the tank yet.

 

Also, check out Nano sapien's posts on tank maintenance (e.g. http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/172031-nano-sapiens-12g-7-12-yrs-of-minimalist-reefing/) Very useful stuff!

Thanks for your input! Im going to keep doing what I'm doing (10% WC every week), and add some nassarius snails. We'll see what happens in a couple of weeks.

[Sancho]

Its just new tank stuff. Siphon it off and get some good flow in the tank, you should be good in a few weeks. Test the TDS on your LFS RODI water. Not saying this is the case but some LFS are cheap and dont stay on top of the RODI water they sell. Before I bought a RODI unit one of the LFS was selling DI water that had 50ppm TDS. Hermits are a waste of time IMO and just end up killing snails and eating coral. Try a few Turbo Snails or even a Tuxedo Urchin. Nassarius snails are great to move sand around so are pistol shrimp. If it becomes problematic try a bit less light. 99% sure its just new tank syndrome.

[bcarrillos]

Its just new tank stuff. Siphon it off and get some good flow in the tank, you should be good in a few weeks. Test the TDS on your LFS RODI water. Not saying this is the case but some LFS are cheap and dont stay on top of the RODI water they sell. Before I bought a RODI unit one of the LFS was selling DI water that had 50ppm TDS. Hermits are a waste of time IMO and just end up killing snails and eating coral. Try a few Turbo Snails or even a Tuxedo Urchin. Nassarius snails are great to move sand around so are pistol shrimp. If it becomes problematic try a bit less light. 99% sure its just new tank syndrome.

Thank you! Hopefully its gone in a few weeks