Algae always on one side of the tank... - Page 2

TangReefer · 10/09/2017, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by devastator007

I had a dragon goby to sift my sand in what was a 40 gallon at the time. He was an A-hole and would gulp as much sand as he could, swim up to my powerhead, and spread the sand all over everything in the tank. It was his sole purpose in life to make sure my rock and coral were sand covered 24/7. He lasted maybe a month before he went back to the store. I think I'd maybe try a sand sifting starfish? I havne't had great luck with any snails for stiring the sand, and the only fish I had that would turned me off to them.

To be fair these yellowhead gobbies were doing a great job, they "eat" sand and have it go through their gills but they remain at the bottom of the water column, so they don't spread much sand around. Pitty there is one less, I confidently bought them because they were actually housed in a open tank for quite some time...

sde1500 · 10/09/2017, 01:16 PM

tiger cucumber maybe?

JZinCO · 10/09/2017, 01:33 PM

I have never had anything but clean sand using my twin spot goby, diamond watchman goby, and cucumber. Couldn't say for sure since they've always been together but any of them would do the trick alone.

McPuff · 10/10/2017, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JZinCO

I have never had anything but clean sand using my twin spot goby, diamond watchman goby, and cucumber. Couldn't say for sure since they've always been together but any of them would do the trick alone.

Which species of cucumber? And what size tank?

TangReefer · 10/10/2017, 07:40 AM

I will look into cucumbers to see if any is available here. How about sea stars, any good recommendation of a reef safe sand shifting one?

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TangReefer · 10/11/2017, 10:31 AM

Guys, another question. I definitely have a lot of flow on the tank, but maybe it is not as well spread as I would like...Any tips on how to make sure the wavemakers are best positioned to get flow to all the corners of the tank?

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F1EA · 10/11/2017, 03:26 PM

Cyano is almost always caused by two things: low oxygen and too much light.

Low oxygen is typically the result of low water flow/dead spots, low surface agitation or surface scum, too much dissolved organics (organic decomposition consumes oxygen), high temperatures (warmer water contains less dissolved oxygen than colder water).

The cyano will typically start on the worst flowing area of the tank due to lack of circulation and lots of light - oxygen will be depleted here first because there's no new flow oxygenating the area nor moving the organics towards your skimmer or surface...

Almost nothing eats cyano. But you can kill it with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). I used 1ml/10Gal per day (of a 3% solution) on my freshwater tanks by spot treating with a syringe when they had Cyano.... typically in the hotter days of summer and on over-stocked tanks getting lots of light. Cyano outbreaks also meant depleted NO3 (nitrates) = 0.

So the solution on freshwater tanks was:
1. siphoning as much of the visible cyano as possible
2. spot treating with H2O2
3. dosing KNO3 to ~5-10ppm NO3
4. improving surface oxygen exchange (make sure there's enough flow at the surface, at least ripples, and absolutely NO surface scum)
5. decreasing the water temperature,
6. decreasing the light period and
7. decreasing fish feeding

Will it work in saltwater? probably. Out of those you can definitely try 1, 4, 5 6 and 7. The siphoning will also work as a small water change... you can siphon until you're about ~10% of a water change.

MAYBE 2 as well. I haven't tried it on saltwater. Corals and shrimp would be the most susceptible to damage. But H2O2 would get the cyano bubbling and little by little it will start floating off and dying, so you remove it once it floats to the top. The H2O2 in the water column would also help killing some the cyano on a more long-term way if you keep coming back to the spot-treatment for a few days. Just make sure you DO NOT dose directly to anything alive. H2O2 is an oxidizer (a chemical burn). Try a google search to see if it's been used for reef tanks (ie will it kill corals and shrimps) and to what dosages...

High NO3 concentration due to high organic decomposition was a bad thing (because high organics mean some ammonia production and decreased oxygen amongst lots of other bad things). High NO3 concentration (say ~20ppm) due to dosing, is not a problem (on freshwater tanks).

JZinCO · 10/12/2017, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TangReefer

Guys, another question. I definitely have a lot of flow on the tank, but maybe it is not as well spread as I would like...Any tips on how to make sure the wavemakers are best positioned to get flow to all the corners of the tank?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sea swirl sea sweep?

JZinCO · 10/12/2017, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by McPuff

Which species of cucumber? And what size tank?

Florida sea cucumber.

The tank (125 gal) is definitely not large enough to house all of the sand obligates I listed but I make it work. The cucumber is hardy and goes through unintended diets here and there.

TangReefer · 10/20/2017, 07:28 AM

Hi guys,

I just finished a water change and general cleaning, unfortunately that how it looks only 2hrs after:

Obviously the sliminator didn't really do much. I am fortunately flying tomorrow to the US so will finally get hold of Chemiclean and red slime remover to help me in this battle. Will let you guys know how it goes in about 10 days.

Cheers.

mcgyvr · 10/20/2017, 07:38 AM

I just used Chemiclean in my tank with great results.. Just had a few minor outbreaks on corals pulled over from my old tank and a decent sized rock in my fuge covered in it no other cyano in the tank..

Took about 3 days after the initial dose but the cyano is dead/gone..

Now if I can just get my skimmer to stop going nuts..

rusty idaho · 10/22/2017, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TangReefer

Hi Guys,

I am having algae problems in a new setup in a way that the bulk of the algae is forming only on the right hand corner of the tank. If I clean it in the morning, it will be looking like the picture in the afternoon. Water parameters are good with Phosphates at 0 (salifert) although it may be because any phosphate may be consumed immediately by the algae, Nitrates are a bit higher than desired at 5 but shouldn't be causing all this. Circulation is good with 2 wavemakers set at minimum power as to not shift the sand bottom. Does anybody has an idea of what would be the reason why algae is forming so much more on this corner?

Thanks.

is there a natural light source (window or skylight) check location and direction of powerheads could be low flow area.

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Goss · 10/22/2017, 11:39 AM

Get some mini hermits...they will do some work on that stuff

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TangReefer · 11/15/2017, 08:34 AM

Hi guys,

Quick update to let you know I have finally dealt with the cyano:

Unfortunately I did loose the acropora and a bubble coral in the course of fighting it, and also had a ich outbreak that I believe was caused by so much messing with the water (sure, the ich must have been there before but was somehow kept in check until then) which took away some quite nice fish I had.

At the end of the day, two courses of red slime remover didn't do much, so I went with chemiclean which finally did the trick. To be fair, when chemiclean was used, all of the fishes had been removed so it had the advantage of no bioload available anymore to be feed the cyano, plus a second course of a 3-day blackout.

Hoping it did solve the issue for good, thanks all for your help!

10/09/2017, 01:16 PM	#27
sde1500 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Glocester, RI Posts: 3,336	tiger cucumber maybe? __________________ My build thread: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2548422 Current Tank Info: 65 gallon mixed reef, Eshopps sump and HOB overflow, RO-110int skimmer, Reefbreeder 32" photons V1.

10/20/2017, 07:38 AM	#36
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	I just used Chemiclean in my tank with great results.. Just had a few minor outbreaks on corals pulled over from my old tank and a decent sized rock in my fuge covered in it no other cyano in the tank.. Took about 3 days after the initial dose but the cyano is dead/gone.. Now if I can just get my skimmer to stop going nuts.. __________________ Who me?

10/09/2017, 01:33 PM	#28
JZinCO Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Location: northern CO Posts: 502	I have never had anything but clean sand using my twin spot goby, diamond watchman goby, and cucumber. Couldn't say for sure since they've always been together but any of them would do the trick alone.

10/10/2017, 07:40 AM	#30
TangReefer Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2017 Posts: 42	I will look into cucumbers to see if any is available here. How about sea stars, any good recommendation of a reef safe sand shifting one? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

10/11/2017, 10:31 AM	#31
TangReefer Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2017 Posts: 42	Guys, another question. I definitely have a lot of flow on the tank, but maybe it is not as well spread as I would like...Any tips on how to make sure the wavemakers are best positioned to get flow to all the corners of the tank? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

10/11/2017, 03:26 PM	#32
F1EA Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2017 Posts: 15	Cyano is almost always caused by two things: low oxygen and too much light. Low oxygen is typically the result of low water flow/dead spots, low surface agitation or surface scum, too much dissolved organics (organic decomposition consumes oxygen), high temperatures (warmer water contains less dissolved oxygen than colder water). The cyano will typically start on the worst flowing area of the tank due to lack of circulation and lots of light - oxygen will be depleted here first because there's no new flow oxygenating the area nor moving the organics towards your skimmer or surface... Almost nothing eats cyano. But you can kill it with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). I used 1ml/10Gal per day (of a 3% solution) on my freshwater tanks by spot treating with a syringe when they had Cyano.... typically in the hotter days of summer and on over-stocked tanks getting lots of light. Cyano outbreaks also meant depleted NO3 (nitrates) = 0. So the solution on freshwater tanks was: 1. siphoning as much of the visible cyano as possible 2. spot treating with H2O2 3. dosing KNO3 to ~5-10ppm NO3 4. improving surface oxygen exchange (make sure there's enough flow at the surface, at least ripples, and absolutely NO surface scum) 5. decreasing the water temperature, 6. decreasing the light period and 7. decreasing fish feeding Will it work in saltwater? probably. Out of those you can definitely try 1, 4, 5 6 and 7. The siphoning will also work as a small water change... you can siphon until you're about ~10% of a water change. MAYBE 2 as well. I haven't tried it on saltwater. Corals and shrimp would be the most susceptible to damage. But H2O2 would get the cyano bubbling and little by little it will start floating off and dying, so you remove it once it floats to the top. The H2O2 in the water column would also help killing some the cyano on a more long-term way if you keep coming back to the spot-treatment for a few days. Just make sure you DO NOT dose directly to anything alive. H2O2 is an oxidizer (a chemical burn). Try a google search to see if it's been used for reef tanks (ie will it kill corals and shrimps) and to what dosages... High NO3 concentration due to high organic decomposition was a bad thing (because high organics mean some ammonia production and decreased oxygen amongst lots of other bad things). High NO3 concentration (say ~20ppm) due to dosing, is not a problem (on freshwater tanks).

10/20/2017, 07:28 AM	#35
TangReefer Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2017 Posts: 42	Hi guys, I just finished a water change and general cleaning, unfortunately that how it looks only 2hrs after: Obviously the sliminator didn't really do much. I am fortunately flying tomorrow to the US so will finally get hold of Chemiclean and red slime remover to help me in this battle. Will let you guys know how it goes in about 10 days. Cheers.

10/22/2017, 11:39 AM	#38
Goss Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Valley Center, Ca. Posts: 222	Get some mini hermits...they will do some work on that stuff Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

11/15/2017, 08:34 AM	#39
TangReefer Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2017 Posts: 42	Hi guys, Quick update to let you know I have finally dealt with the cyano: Unfortunately I did loose the acropora and a bubble coral in the course of fighting it, and also had a ich outbreak that I believe was caused by so much messing with the water (sure, the ich must have been there before but was somehow kept in check until then) which took away some quite nice fish I had. At the end of the day, two courses of red slime remover didn't do much, so I went with chemiclean which finally did the trick. To be fair, when chemiclean was used, all of the fishes had been removed so it had the advantage of no bioload available anymore to be feed the cyano, plus a second course of a 3-day blackout. Hoping it did solve the issue for good, thanks all for your help!