Algae Question....

I have a 29 gallon that is cycled. Actually, it's been maturing for ALMOST a year. Amonia, Nitrites both 0, nitrate 5 - 6, SG 1.024, PH 8.3, temp 82. I have a Milennium 1000 (90 gph) with it's media removed and two maxijet 400s providing circulation and I have about 95 watts (soon to be 240) over the tank. 25 lbs LR and about 35 LS with 2 damsels and a few random crabs and snails.

My question:

At one point during the cycle I had an algae outbreak that covered the sand like a blanket, and more than that, actually penetrated down into the sand by 1/2 to 1 inch. Now, the algae on the rock and glass is gone, the algae on the sand is ....by my best guess.... dead, but the sand looks terrible. People keep telling me that my cleanup crew (1 sally lightfoot, 1 emerald crab, 5 blue leg hermits, 5 scarlet hermits, 2 large turbos, 5 astreas, 5 ceriths) will get it, but in many many months they have shown NO interest..... well, the sally picks at it SOME......

Is there a way to clean this up so that my otherwise very nice looking tank doesn't look so cruddy? Is there a way to do it where I won't loose a bunch of sand and/or bacteria? Someone told me to just "stir" it into the sand?

FYI, I do want to eventually have some corals and whatnot.

Thanks very much.

What color is the algae?It could be cyanobacteria, which would explain why most of the cleanup crew won't touch it. If it is cyano, queen conch, and fighting conch will eat it. The fighting conch won't grow as large as the queen, if size is a concern.

DO NOT stir it into your sand this will turn your sandbed black, and could upset the tanks cycle.

I have never seen dead algae that hangs on like that I guess I would resort to drastic measures and vacume out a few inches of it each time you do a waterchange. Go slow like over a month so you dont decimate the aerobic bacteria in the top layers.

HTH,

Toy

The algae is mostly dark brown or black, and it's NOT hair algae (or if it is, it's short enough that it doesn't look the part). Also, I am not sure if it's "dead" I just know it's not spreading or growing anymore. I may just vacuum it up and replace the sand now that NEW algae isn' a big problem.

Thanks

Do you have a picture you can post? I did a little more research, and I am more convinced that it is a black cyanobacteria rather than an algae. The fact that your cleanup crew isn't touching it, that it has stuck around for so long, and that it is on the substrate, and that it is black in color all point in that direction.

Regardless, the real question is what do you do? The answer is exactly what toyfreek said. For some back-up on this check out this link and scroll down to cyanobacteria.slime,goo, and hair(a discussion ofalgae)

Good Luck!