-
Folks, if you've recently upgraded or renewed your annual club membership but it's still not active, please reach out to the BOD or a moderator. The PayPal system has a slight bug which it doesn't allow it to activate the account on it's own.
Red Slime = Diatoms = let it run it's course?
- Thread starter duijver
- Start date
The water change idea up top is what got rid of that for me. Use a tube and go at it and suck it out of there and do that as your water changes and that makes a difference.
Hello,
I didn't see if anyone asked any of these really important questions.
Temp? Salinity? Do you use RO/DI water? If not you may just be adding silicate to your mess.
I should state that I had your problem bad and Mynd and couple others straightened it out.
Here is the easy way to do it.
1) Get your turkey baster(you will use it to blow the crud off your rocks)
2) Do a 50% water change the first couple of times(2 times first week), then do a 20% change weekly. YOU MUST USE RO/DI water when mixing or buy your water from good source.
3) Get a silicates and phosphate test kit. Test to see where you are.
4) Keep your temp down but stable I noticed higher fluctuating temp contributed to the problem.
5) Run some sort of Phos and Silicate absorbing medium
6) Use a real aquarium pad of some sort. (You are not doing arts and crafts
)
7) Try to get good water movement, sounds like that is not a problem. If you don't have a power head moving the water at the surface make sure you do so if you can.
I think within a month I got everything straightened out. Heavy duty water changes with quality water is key. I wasn't using the right water, ended up with crap in my rocks, and it took a while to get rid of it but it works.
I didn't see if anyone asked any of these really important questions.
Temp? Salinity? Do you use RO/DI water? If not you may just be adding silicate to your mess.
I should state that I had your problem bad and Mynd and couple others straightened it out.
Here is the easy way to do it.
1) Get your turkey baster(you will use it to blow the crud off your rocks)
2) Do a 50% water change the first couple of times(2 times first week), then do a 20% change weekly. YOU MUST USE RO/DI water when mixing or buy your water from good source.
3) Get a silicates and phosphate test kit. Test to see where you are.
4) Keep your temp down but stable I noticed higher fluctuating temp contributed to the problem.
5) Run some sort of Phos and Silicate absorbing medium
6) Use a real aquarium pad of some sort. (You are not doing arts and crafts
)7) Try to get good water movement, sounds like that is not a problem. If you don't have a power head moving the water at the surface make sure you do so if you can.
I think within a month I got everything straightened out. Heavy duty water changes with quality water is key. I wasn't using the right water, ended up with crap in my rocks, and it took a while to get rid of it but it works.
Everyone: Thank you again for all of your posts/Help!
JRWOHLER:
Temp = 74 degrees F
Sailinity = 1.024
Water = Air, Water, and Ice Typhoon III (about a month old). I just started using the "PURE" water as my output for water instead of RO.
1. I have been doing this, but it's endless
2. Are there any considerations that I need to take into account when doing such a large volume of a water change?
3. I need to get one of these
4. Lower than 74 degrees?
5. I will probably need to change my current Phos's controller. It's about a week old and it's totally red (7 tbps for 47 gals)
6. I will buy a filter pad.
7. I will move one of the 4 power heads near the top of the tank. I added an extra one to blow on the bottom rocks. It seems like the Cyano can't grow with direct flow.
JRWOHLER:
Temp = 74 degrees F
Sailinity = 1.024
Water = Air, Water, and Ice Typhoon III (about a month old). I just started using the "PURE" water as my output for water instead of RO.
1. I have been doing this, but it's endless
2. Are there any considerations that I need to take into account when doing such a large volume of a water change?
3. I need to get one of these
4. Lower than 74 degrees?
5. I will probably need to change my current Phos's controller. It's about a week old and it's totally red (7 tbps for 47 gals)
6. I will buy a filter pad.
7. I will move one of the 4 power heads near the top of the tank. I added an extra one to blow on the bottom rocks. It seems like the Cyano can't grow with direct flow.
duijver said:
You do have corals...zoos and star polyps are corals that have a symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae that assist in "feeding" them through photosynthesis. So by providing light, you are providing "food" for the zoos and polpys. I currently run two 10K's and two actinics for 10 hours a day to feed my corals. An hour on the front and an hour on the back are with low lights for wakey time and nite-nite time.
I also have a BTA so, yes, light is a requirement. I don't call the zoos, polyps etc "corals" because other forum members have corrected me in the past for doing so. It seems like several forums feel that the word "coral" is left for LPS and SPS.
There are just too many pieces to the equation and I am my worst enemy. I just thought of another trigger in the chain and replaced it. I'm guessing that CF bulbs also need to be replaced every 6 months as well or does that rule only apply to PC and MH? The bulb I had over my ref/sump was purposed I believe (although it may have been new). I just replaced it with a new 96watt(26watt) CF. Then again, there is no red cyano in the sump so I'm not sure. I just mixed up 20-30 gals in the brute so I will give the tank the first 50% water change on Saturday.
Thanks again guys for the all the help!!
There are just too many pieces to the equation and I am my worst enemy. I just thought of another trigger in the chain and replaced it. I'm guessing that CF bulbs also need to be replaced every 6 months as well or does that rule only apply to PC and MH? The bulb I had over my ref/sump was purposed I believe (although it may have been new). I just replaced it with a new 96watt(26watt) CF. Then again, there is no red cyano in the sump so I'm not sure. I just mixed up 20-30 gals in the brute so I will give the tank the first 50% water change on Saturday.
Thanks again guys for the all the help!!
Just checking you are using RO water right?
I cannot stand PC/FC lighting I know it is cheaper but you really have to keep up with bulb replacement and it gives off a ton of heat compared to T5 or VHO florescent.
Anyway good luck with the water change you are doing the right thing...make sure you blast those rocks ;D.
I cannot stand PC/FC lighting I know it is cheaper but you really have to keep up with bulb replacement and it gives off a ton of heat compared to T5 or VHO florescent.
Anyway good luck with the water change you are doing the right thing...make sure you blast those rocks ;D.
I am definitely using RO water. 0PPM's on the TDS.
I know.. I really kicked myself in the butt for buying the coralife PC instead of spending a little more on the T5. I've even considered selling it and taking a loss, but it's a hard sell with the wife. I guess in the end it's probably a cheaper investment - that's the ploy I used to get the reverse osmosis...
I have about 30 gallons ready to go in the Brute for tomorrows WC. I figure I will use about 20 for the WC and another 10 in 2-5gal buckets that I will use as water to scrub the rocks down with. Or should I just scrub the rocks in the tank before the WC? I am alittle concerned about doing in in the tank because it may shock the inhabitants? The shock is really from the dirty dirty water (getting in the gils and the such).
My plan of attack is this:
1. Take out the 20 gallons of water (give or take when it's at the 1/2 mark because of the live rocks, etc. (47GAL)
2. Take out the rocks individually and scrub them down in the buckets
3. Scrub the power heads and filter down (leave the refu/sump)
4. Replace the filter pads and phosban
5. Put the new water in the tank
6. Hope that everything survives?
Do I want to syphon the bottom substrate (crushed coral)? There is a lot of red cyano on the bottom, but I am alittle concerned since last time I syphoned the bottom thoroughly the problem seemed to get worse and my scooter blenny showed up dead the next day. I think I lost a few ghost shrimp as well.
However, all levels were 0 when I did a test for nitrates, nitrite, ammonia, etc.
Thanks guys!
I know.. I really kicked myself in the butt for buying the coralife PC instead of spending a little more on the T5. I've even considered selling it and taking a loss, but it's a hard sell with the wife. I guess in the end it's probably a cheaper investment - that's the ploy I used to get the reverse osmosis...
I have about 30 gallons ready to go in the Brute for tomorrows WC. I figure I will use about 20 for the WC and another 10 in 2-5gal buckets that I will use as water to scrub the rocks down with. Or should I just scrub the rocks in the tank before the WC? I am alittle concerned about doing in in the tank because it may shock the inhabitants? The shock is really from the dirty dirty water (getting in the gils and the such).
My plan of attack is this:
1. Take out the 20 gallons of water (give or take when it's at the 1/2 mark because of the live rocks, etc. (47GAL)
2. Take out the rocks individually and scrub them down in the buckets
3. Scrub the power heads and filter down (leave the refu/sump)
4. Replace the filter pads and phosban
5. Put the new water in the tank
6. Hope that everything survives?
Do I want to syphon the bottom substrate (crushed coral)? There is a lot of red cyano on the bottom, but I am alittle concerned since last time I syphoned the bottom thoroughly the problem seemed to get worse and my scooter blenny showed up dead the next day. I think I lost a few ghost shrimp as well.
However, all levels were 0 when I did a test for nitrates, nitrite, ammonia, etc.
Thanks guys!
I think it is best to get it out yes. Get a test kit too at some point for Phos and SI, I know I have the Phos one if you are close to Little Silver you can use it for a few tests.
Be careful you may release some ammonia if you take rocks out of deeper sand. I didn't go that route when I did it. Just blew the crud off and siphoned the water out for the big water change. I am not sure if you will have problems by taking the rocks out....hopefully someone will chime in on that.
You can try to sell the PCs and then upgrade. I just use my AquaPod now for QT so don't care about the algae bloom haha but if I am going to set it up as a display again I think I am going to try to do something with LED lights....would eventually like to go that way for my 120 but pretty darn expensive. T5s are nice for now, certainly after the PCs on my AP, they make me happy.
Be careful you may release some ammonia if you take rocks out of deeper sand. I didn't go that route when I did it. Just blew the crud off and siphoned the water out for the big water change. I am not sure if you will have problems by taking the rocks out....hopefully someone will chime in on that.
You can try to sell the PCs and then upgrade. I just use my AquaPod now for QT so don't care about the algae bloom haha but if I am going to set it up as a display again I think I am going to try to do something with LED lights....would eventually like to go that way for my 120 but pretty darn expensive. T5s are nice for now, certainly after the PCs on my AP, they make me happy.
JRWOHLER: Thanks. I appreciate it and I'm not to far away, but i'm probably just going to pick up one at the local LFS or on ebay.
Also..
I noticed that this morning the red cyano is recessing a bit. I still plan on doing a major water change, and scrubbing the rocks that are stacked (maybe leave the bottom level), but I'm wondering if I should leave the bottom substrate (large pieces of crushed coral) to allow it to self heal? I think last time I sucked it up it didn't really clean the coral it just "sturred" it and moved the algae underneath.
Also..
I noticed that this morning the red cyano is recessing a bit. I still plan on doing a major water change, and scrubbing the rocks that are stacked (maybe leave the bottom level), but I'm wondering if I should leave the bottom substrate (large pieces of crushed coral) to allow it to self heal? I think last time I sucked it up it didn't really clean the coral it just "sturred" it and moved the algae underneath.