joer3 Posted July 9, 2008 Posted July 9, 2008 This algae in the sand bed has started showing up a week ago. It doesn't stay though. When the lights go out it seems to disappear. When the lights turn on in the morning it starts coming back and a few hours later it looks like how it does in the pics. I had a brown algae infestation in my other tank a couple years ago. I hope it's not the same thing. It was a pain to get rid of. Also, sorry for the bad pics. I do not have a camera on me so I had to use my cellphone.
Nick's Reef Posted July 9, 2008 Posted July 9, 2008 I had the same stuff for almost a months and it just started to go away. i have no clue what it is, but I added carbon and phosphate remover, cut down on feeding, and siphoned as much of it up when i did a wc.
spanko Posted July 9, 2008 Posted July 9, 2008 Probably diatoms. Must not be enough flow to the area. Most likely your have some nutrients settling in that area and the diatoms are feeding off of that. See if you can move a powerhead or the output of your filter towards the area.
mrbigshot Posted July 9, 2008 Posted July 9, 2008 looks like cyno. diatoms are dusty looking, not snotty. cyno can be any color under the rainbow. how old is the tank? look at phospates as a cause. flake food and frozen has large amounts of phos, as well as many tap water and even some ro/di setupups depending on the water. more flow, less light, siphon it up almost every day iff possiable, and lots of water changes. ive been dealing with it for about 3 weeks now, doing 3 gallon changes every 3 days. its gotton alot better but still a pain. its a fairly common thing for new tanks. once the sandbed matures it will elimintae poh4 that feeds it. this can take over a year at times though.
joer3 Posted July 9, 2008 Author Posted July 9, 2008 Only thing housing this aquarium is a a couple snails and a pair of harlequin shrimp. So, I haven't really been feeding. Once in a while I'll drop in a couple pieces of mysid shrimp for the nassarius snails, but that's about it, so i really don't think it's an overfeeding issue. The tank is three months old. I do weekly water changes and I get the Ro/Di water from the LFS. It's the same water that I'm using in my other aquarium which, which doesn't have the problem. I'll increase water changes and begin siphoning it out. Do you think it would be best to tackle it in the morning when there is little to none? Or in the evening when it comes out like it is in the pictures?
mrbigshot Posted July 10, 2008 Posted July 10, 2008 in the evening. siphon it out the best you can, do a large waterchange and keep the lights off for 3-4 days. it will do wonders but probly wont fix it.
HankB Posted July 10, 2008 Posted July 10, 2008 We've had both diatoms and cyano and they both exhibit that sort of daily cycle, disappearing overnight and reappearing by the end of the next light cycle. The good news in that regard is that once you eliminate the conditions that foster their growth, they go away. Ordinarily they run their course and go away as your tank matures, but if you continue to add nutrients they will continue to grow. This went quicker for us with the diatoms which is what your pictures look like to me. Cyano tends to form mats and that's not what I see in your pictures. It seems odd that it is happening now as the diatom bloom usually follows closely on the heels of the cycle. Silica in the water supply can keep it going. How confident are you in what you're getting from your LFS? Good luck, hank
krankykris Posted July 10, 2008 Posted July 10, 2008 cyano and/diatoms are actually a part of a tank's cycling. it typically happens naturally in some tanks a month or two after what people consider their cycle has ended. it takes about 3 or 4 months for a tank to be fully cycled to the point where it's considered a stable or mature tank. lots of things spike then settle down then spike again then settle progressively until a balance of all the things happening in a tank even out. there are things that we don't even test for and therefor can't see. there are many types of bacteria and algae growing that we are usually oblivious to thriving and dieing as their food sources wain. sometimes just as quickly as they come, they are gone. check eric bornemann's building of a reef article for a more in depth explanation. just keep up on your water changes for nutrient export and cut back on feeding a little if you've been doing that. things will settle down in time. however, if the tank has been around a while, you need to figure out what you're doing/adding to feed the tank all those nutrients because something is no longer balanced.
iglowce Posted July 10, 2008 Posted July 10, 2008 my tank is about a month old and my diatom is still on the high. however i did turn the light off for 3 days and the population went down drastically. as of now, its under control. hopefully will be all clean and good looking after 2 or 3 more months. check out my tank thread. you can look at the bottom. it was a little brownish but not that bad yet
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