VanillaDamsel Posted April 7, 2003 Share Posted April 7, 2003 Hello there! Well the reason I write is because I'm very nearly on the verge of nano-crash-and-burnout. Honestly, I realize that it's mostly my fault and probably the result of poor planning, but I love the tank and the inhabitants and I don't want to give up. Right now I have an Eclipse System 12 with just one Chocolate Chip starfish and one Yellow-Tail damsel in it. I use just the provided Eclipse filter, and unfortunately, the stock lighting, plus a submersible powerhead. I have live sand and live rock too, although more live rock would be much more preferable. (Again, where can I get some money tree seeds : ) I realize the lighting is quite inefficient for saltwater endeavours and, imo, quite ugly looking. Money is an issue however, so I make do. The main problem is the horrible algae. Covering my live rock is a terrible red scourge that looks like some wretched slime creature with flagellae reaching out to snatch my fish. Well, ok, perhaps I exaggerated, it's really just a slimy mat of red algae with strings that sway in the powerhead current. All over the acrylic is ugly blotches of green and pale brown and reddish algae. I realize it's most likely because of the poor lighting that this primitive algae is taking over the corraline algae but all in all it looks terrible and I just don't have the money to remedy the problem by way of lighting anytime in the near future.... Soooo... besides getting off my lazy bum and scrubbing the walls and removing the red mats from the rocks, is there any creature that will eat this particularly hideous stuff, or at least keep it from running rampant all over the tank? Water quality and sg are all within normal and acceptable parameters.. I do regular water changes and still... nasty algae. Would it simply be smarter to put the fish and the star in a temp. tank and start the 12 over with the proper equipment when I can? Help? I feel like an idiot because what can I expect with poor lighting but....yeah. :*( Any help and suggestions is most appreciated ~*Emily*~ Link to comment
drdrew Posted April 7, 2003 Share Posted April 7, 2003 sounds like cyanobacteria. not likely a problem with the lighting...more so a problem with pollution. are you overfeeding? what are your parameters? do a water change, carbon change, feed less.....use a product called "antired" tang in a 12 gal? look out! Link to comment
drdrew Posted April 7, 2003 Share Posted April 7, 2003 oops.. i misread...it was a damsel... try the antired, reduce feedings, increase water flow. Link to comment
OscarBeast Posted April 7, 2003 Share Posted April 7, 2003 Where do you get your water for mixing with salt? Are you using tap water? Link to comment
VanillaDamsel Posted April 7, 2003 Author Share Posted April 7, 2003 Mm... not because of the lighting.. interesting. I guess I should have done some research first ? I guess I just attributed it that because everything else seems fine.. Carbon is only three weeks old or so.. I certainly don't overfeed, more likely underfeed.. with only a damsel and a star I don't just dump in food but the star is a messy eater.... I'll try a scrub, a water change, and some antired. Thanx ~*Emily*~ Link to comment
VanillaDamsel Posted April 7, 2003 Author Share Posted April 7, 2003 Yes, water is straight from the tap, mixed with salt, aerated and aged. We have very hard water though.. ?? Is that concern? ~*Emily*~ Link to comment
Fant Posted April 7, 2003 Share Posted April 7, 2003 It could be caused by lighting. The spectrum shifts with aged bulbs, if the bulbs are old try replacing them. Link to comment
OscarBeast Posted April 7, 2003 Share Posted April 7, 2003 DOH Tap water has a lot of stuff in it that can create algae blooms. Start using some good RO or RO/DI water and the problem will go away as long as you aren't over feeding. Link to comment
TiGs Posted April 7, 2003 Share Posted April 7, 2003 Yeah! Don't use tap water. If you cant get RO/DI water you can buy bottled distilled water. Link to comment
BustytheSnowMaam Posted April 8, 2003 Share Posted April 8, 2003 Check Wal Mart or whatever grocery store you have for drinking water that's "purified by reverse osmosis" (if you're unsure where to find RO water). I just buy about 5 gallons a month at 60 cents apiece for top-off and water changes in my 10. Tasha Link to comment
Dave ESPI Posted April 8, 2003 Share Posted April 8, 2003 stock answer. Use RODI, and a good salt. Also NO-CYA-No from Fish Vet. Knocks out that phosphate driven slime within a week . keep yer head up.... noone said reefing was a walk in the park.... Link to comment
coralreefengr Posted April 8, 2003 Share Posted April 8, 2003 What are you using for a cleanup crew? I would tweak that before adding chemicals. That's just my preference. Link to comment
LiQuiD Posted April 8, 2003 Share Posted April 8, 2003 Dose that sucker! Go with either the NO-CYA-NO that Dave mentioned or get CHEMI-CLEAN which has worked well for me in the past. Or just drive yourself crazy trying to fix it naturally. On word to the wise, siphon out as much as you can before you dose. After you dose, the dead and dieing bacteria will cause more problems if there is a bunch of it in the tank upon initial dose. Also, airade the tank and be prepared to do a water change within 24 hours of the dose. PS: And for gods sake, use some better water. All your problems I would believe are stemming from your water. If you can't find RO/DI, go buy some Distilled at your local grocery store and stop the insanity. Link to comment
mxpro32 Posted April 8, 2003 Share Posted April 8, 2003 im not endorsing tap water by any means because all local sources are different, but i have used tap water treated with amquel for 2 years in both of my tanks without algae or any other sorts of problems. the one time i topped off with distilled water my corals didnt open for three days. i must have gotten some bad distilled. i have used a product called red slime remover that has worked flawlessly for me in the past. Link to comment
VanillaDamsel Posted April 9, 2003 Author Share Posted April 9, 2003 Thanks so much everyone for your suggestions and ideas. I will definately try some RO water, that sounds like a good idea, but I will buy some cyano-killer too, just in case. Concerning using a natural clean-up crew for additional/long-term control, what little critters would be recomended? Red-legged hermits and Astrea snails ? Anything else ? As a side note, the light-bulbs are new. Merci, Gracias, and Thanks ~*Emily*~ Link to comment
freakaccident Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 Astreas wont look twice at cyano. I used Baja red legs in my 10g and they ate it all in two days. I bought 12 of them from PA. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.