substrate algae

[toddseimer]

I have always had a build up of algae on my sand bed. I have a 12g ap that I do weekly water changes, I have a clown and watcman goby. I have good flow due to my mj900 and hydorflo. I might be overfeeding a little recently because the YWG is new. Any ideas? Help.

[Muufer]

How long do you leave the lights on? You might want to shorten that time. My lights go on for about 12 hours, but from Actinic to full bright over the first and last 2 hours. I would also try and reduce feeding amount. Do you have a cleanup crew? You might try that, also.

[StevieT]

The hydro rotating deflector is actually cutting about 30% of your flow, so it may be strong just out of that point but not around the sand.

 

How often and what are you feeding? Phosphate test results? What color is this "algae"?

[toddseimer]

I have a good size cuc with about 4 snails and 8-10 crabs. i might consider reducing my light time and feeding amounts, I just worry about slowing coral growth. Right now I do 12 hrs with 1 hr dawn and 1 hr dusk.

 

How long do you leave the lights on? You might want to shorten that time. My lights go on for about 12 hours, but from Actinic to full bright over the first and last 2 hours. I would also try and reduce feeding amount. Do you have a cleanup crew? You might try that, also.

[StevieT]

8 hours of light is plenty for your corals. Do not feed your CUC, them them eat left over food and detritus

 

Again, please explain what, how often, and how much you feed

[tinyreef]

also, how deep is the sand bed? a pic of the setup would help us understand the situation better too.

[Scott Riemer]

Pic would definitely be helpful. At the very least, we need to know what color the algae is.

[toddseimer]

Here are some pics, sorry, I've been sic for the past few days. My sand bed is about 4" deep. Once daily I feed either 1/4 flake of prime reef flakes or 1/4 cube frozen mysis shrimp. My chambers are empty except heater and therm. I have cheato on the right side of tank which will be moving in the back once I get a light, but it's only been in there for a week. The algae ranges from light green to brown.

 

FTS

 

algae detail

 

algae

[tinyreef]

you might want to remove some of the sandbed, as in the overall thickness as well as some of the 'chunkier' bits (crushed coral bits).

 

4" is actually too thin for a true dsb but otoh i'm not a dsb adherent anyways. so imo you're better off with a 1" bed with a mound area for burrowing livestock, if needed.

[minerva]

If you've just got the one clown and the one goby, you probably are overfeeding them with that 1/4 cube of mysis. I've got 6 fish including a puffer with the appetite of a horse, and I feed them between 1/4 and 1/2 a cube of frozen food each day.

 

Buying some snails that target the sand bed (nassarius) and vaccuuming the bed when you do water changes might help as well.

 

-minerva

 

 

*edited for speeling mistayks

[johnmaloney]

needs a stirring and some cleaning. i wouldn't mess with lights and livestock feeding if you can clean it really easily. You got too much nice stuff in there to risk messing with them for a minor algae outbreak.

[toddseimer]

really good advice guys. My PO4 tested at .1, PH @ 8.6 and Alk @ Norm. I'm going to cut back a little on feeding, maybe like 1/6 flak or cube and cut lighting back to 9 hours with 1 add hour accintics, I'm going to start stiring the top layer of sand every water change and today I'm going to add another 1-2" sand. I'll keep u posted.

[Scott Riemer]

I'm going to add another 1-2" sand. I'll keep u posted.

Why? No.

 

you might want to remove some of the sandbed, as in the overall thickness as well as some of the 'chunkier' bits (crushed coral bits).

 

4" is actually too thin for a true dsb but otoh i'm not a dsb adherent anyways. so imo you're better off with a 1" bed with a mound area for burrowing livestock, if needed.

this^

[toddseimer]

I want to have a dsb and I've read 4"+ and now I've got 5 so maybe this will help. No?

 

Why? No.

 

 

this^

[Scott Riemer]

DSB isn't really going to benefit you in a 12 gallon. JMHO

 

I want to have a dsb and I've read 4"+ and now I've got 5 so maybe this will help. No?

[toddseimer]

so not many nano-reefers have dsb's? What do the bubbles under the surface of the sand mean?

[tinyreef]

so not many nano-reefers have dsb's? What do the bubbles under the surface of the sand mean?

very few nano-reefers keep dsb's afaik. there are some and there are some that use a remote/sump dsb format too.

 

most of the effective dsb's i've seen and read about typically use 6" or more and usually have some specific stirrers. you also need to be vigilent on clumping issues, which often precludes most of the popular dosing methods for ca/alk.

 

ime, more often than not the substrate bubbles are actually photosynthesis/O2 bubbles from room light rather than nitrogen bubbles from denitration. and if so, this further impedes denitration (i.e. limits the anaerobic conditions near the sides).

[toddseimer]

Well, It's been a little while and I haven't had any better results. I've taken out a bunch of sand so my sand bed is about 1" now and I've cut back on feeding a little. Any idea what this stuff is and how to get rid of it. I'll suck it off during a water change and it will be back in a week. Seems to grow like weeds during the day. My nitrite and ammonia are at 0.

[r20crazy]

algae grows in the presence of excess nutrients. are you dosing anything? phytoplankton (if so stop), marine snow, etc?. are you draining the liquid from the frozen food? if not you should be as its full of phosphates. cut the feeding down to every 2 days, you are still overfeeding -->excess nutrients --> ALGAE food --> algae grows

 

whats your phospates test showing?

 

also, if you have decent temp swings from day to night it can casue algae to grow

[toddseimer]

i'm not dosing anything. My feeding lately has been every other day. My temps have been swinging from 76 - 80. Should I set my heater higher so that it doesn't go down to 76 because with the heat it's hard to keep it below 80 in this weather.

[toddseimer]

alright, so I tested my phosphates and they tested at 0.1 and I read that they should be no higher than 0.3 so that's ok. Also, my red shrooms have begun to turn black and are dying. Everything else in my tank appears to be doing really well. I'm confused.

 

algae grows in the presence of excess nutrients. are you dosing anything? phytoplankton (if so stop), marine snow, etc?. are you draining the liquid from the frozen food? if not you should be as its full of phosphates. cut the feeding down to every 2 days, you are still overfeeding -->excess nutrients --> ALGAE food --> algae grows

 

whats your phospates test showing?

 

also, if you have decent temp swings from day to night it can casue algae to grow

[toddseimer]

just an idea, but do think my substrate is getting enough flow across it? I have a mj900 with a flo rotating deflector. Should I get a sand sifting sea star?

[lakshwadeep]

You don't want a sand sifting starfish (or goby) because they are mainly eating the pods and other organisms that help make live sand "live".

[toddseimer]

hmm... I did a water change yesterday and i suck up as much of the algae as I can.

[toddseimer]

alright so the algae is back after only a week. Do you think I should replace my bulbs? They're over a year old. Do you think I should add Chemipure to one of my chambers? Should I do weekly water changes instead of monthly water changes?