robertmun Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 help! what is this brownish stuff on my sand and how do I get rid of it?? http://www.replypro.net/whatisthis/ Link to comment
Raise Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 Either A) You have no clean up crew and algea is growing because of this or You have cyanobacterie, which you can treat with a product called "red Slime remover" Hopefully its A. Link to comment
robertmun Posted May 16, 2003 Author Share Posted May 16, 2003 Hi and thanks. I have: 1 turbo snail 5 astrea snails 3 peppermint shrimp 10 blue leg hermits 1 sand sifting star and 1 false perc and 1 royal gramma...in a 20g tank. Any suggestions? readings look good otherwise. Robert Link to comment
Physh1 Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 Looks like cyano to me. What are you using for filters and water source? Could be a problem caused from your water source (aka tap water!?!?) or something from an additive or food..... Cameron Link to comment
robertmun Posted May 16, 2003 Author Share Posted May 16, 2003 it's a uniquarium with built in wet-dry with bio balls removed...just a sponge in overflow...using premixed water from lfs and also topoff water from lfs... just got my fish on sunday of this week...problem started then...but was feeding hermits and shrimps same food... how do I get rid of cyano? Robert Link to comment
freakaccident Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 Get rid of the sponge in the overflow or wash it out in ro water once a week. I learned the hard way. Cyano IMHO is a product of bad water. High phosphates and nitrates. The sponge can produce nitrates if not washed regularly. You can do water changes, baja red leg hermits, medicine, etc. If you dont have corals yet then use the medicine and be very anal about the water you put in the tank and how much food you feed. Test the LFS's water and make sure their water isnt the culprit. I started using distilled walmart water because the LFS's RO water had high phosphates. Medicine really isnt the right way to fix the problem but it will get rid of it quick and if you are careful from that point on you should be fine. Don't waste your $$ on the red slime remover. Get freshwater Maracyn at the LFS for $5. its the same thing. Crush two tablets up into powder and sprinkle into the tank. One tab for 10gallons. It should be gone the next day. If not then do one more tablet. Give it a day or two and do a big water change with GOOD water. Baja red leg hermits will eat the crap out of cyano BUT the bluelegs will beat them up so no bajas for you. Good luck. Link to comment
robertmun Posted May 16, 2003 Author Share Posted May 16, 2003 Thanks Freak. Can you tell from the photo IF it is cyano for sure? If you take out the sponge, what do you use to filter large stuff that goes into overflow? My ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are all 0. Don't know about phosphates...going to check today...taking photo and water sample to LFS for some more advice. Robert Link to comment
caja Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 I just finished with a huge battle with cyano. It's a PITA, but it can be gotten rid of. Take what the LFS has to say with a huge grain of salt. They'll probably tell you their water is fine. I too now use the Walmart distilled water and have cut way back on the feeding. One round of cyano is all I care to deal with. So, get yourself a turkey baster and plan to spend alot of time removing as much as the slime as you can. Darn stuff seems to grow as fast as you can suck it up! Cut down your photo period. You can even leave the lights off for a day or two to inhibit the growth. And I used chemi-clean (sorry guys, but I was desperate). Had to do two doses a few days apart with a 20% water change 48 hours after the second dose. Take all the filter medium out of the filter and fill it with just floss to catch the gunk. Link to comment
freakaccident Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 That is definitely cyano. Chemi-clean is crushed up Maracyn by the way. Ethromycin or something like that. If you have a skimmer turn it off while using the medicine. If you leave it on it will go wacko. I filled a 2 liter bottle with crap in one night. Oh and Walmart distilled water kicks butt compared to dirty LFS RO water. Its a PITA to haul 20gallons of water out but it works. I went there the oterh day and the cashier asked "Are you thirsty?". I said "No I am stocking up for y2k.". Link to comment
robertmun Posted May 16, 2003 Author Share Posted May 16, 2003 do you use this for top off AND mix yourself for water changes? which salt mix do you use? it's just walmart "distilled"? is that what the bottle says?? Thanks, Robert Link to comment
freakaccident Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 I use it for top off and mixing. It is the Sams Choice cheapo 58 cents a gallon ditsilled water. Its the only distilled the walmart near me sells. Green or blue label I think. I buy 20 a week. I dump them into 2 5g jugs and the rest goes into topoff bucket and salt mixing bucket. I am using Coralife salt mix right now. I had been using IO but I am just trying something different right now. Coralife dissolves for sh*t by the way. Gotta mix it overnight which is what I should be doing anyway. Link to comment
freakaccident Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 By no means am I saying RO water is bad but my local LFS's RO water is. I plan on getting a ro unit someday if I ever have $$ again. The wallyworld distilled works. Link to comment
Yup Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 The walmart water is either in a light purple capped bottle labeled distilled water, or in a green capped bottle labeled drinking water. If you read the green bottle closely it says filtered by RO/DI. Don't buy the spring water. Link to comment
freakaccident Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 Purple! Thats it. You'd think I would have remembed pulling all those friggin' caps off each week. Getting rid of the bottles is the biggest problem. I throw them in the back of my pickup and take them to the recycler when it is full. Don't put motor oil in them. It can eat through the plastic and leak. Link to comment
hickncali Posted May 29, 2003 Share Posted May 29, 2003 i had this crap, and i picked up a sleeper gobie and he went around sifting threw the sand and now its all sparkling white. It only took a day or too. Thats what worked for me, may not for you. Link to comment
robertmun Posted May 29, 2003 Author Share Posted May 29, 2003 Hey Hick, what kind of goby? what's the scientific name? have a pic?? Robert Link to comment
donkeykong Posted May 29, 2003 Share Posted May 29, 2003 How is your water movement in the tank. I had this problem when one of my powerheads dead on me and I had a dead spot. Got the water flowing again and it went away. Link to comment
Masoch Posted May 30, 2003 Share Posted May 30, 2003 Hiya, Two words: fighting conch. They eat cyano, diatoms, and detritus. Unlike gobies, they won't eat beneficial worms 'n' pods and the like. Once you figure out the ultimate source of what's feeding the cyano, a fighting conch will be the hardest working member of your clean-up crew. FWIW, I've also switched to WalMart / Culligan water (RO/DI) and things are looking better. Link to comment
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