Algae and poop problem?

[juanmanuelsanch]

Hi all ! Well Im fairly new to the hobby (3 months into it).

The tank is maturing nicely, 5 fish in it. All good so far.

The problem is that Im having this long algae in the tank. Not a real bother, but checking if something is off (all water params are at 0 ammonia,nitrites,nitrates)

Im also having some type of poop accumulation or something similar in the back. Is there anything to fix this?

Here is all the info about the tank:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2585764

Pics:

 

[alfred14]

I am newer then you but the poop looks like detritus.


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[ReefEco]

Hey there - you have some issues that are relatively normal on a new tank, though 3-months in the algae should be starting to resolve. The "poop" you mention behind the tank is likely detritus - or accumulated waste - poop, un-eaten food, etc. Basically stuff you want to remove. It has probably settled there, because it is an area of the tank without much water flow - a dead spot. You can increase your water flow, siphon it out, or use a turkey baster to blast it into the water column where hopefully it will go into your overflow and get filtered out by filter socks, skimmer, etc.

In order to help diagnose your issue with algae, some other details about your tank will be helpful - size, lighting, other nutrient export (skimmer, carbon/gfo, etc.) and your bioload (fish, fish size, corals, how much you feed, etc.) Once we have a thumbnail of your tank, we will be better able to help.

 

[juanmanuelsanch]

Hey there - you have some issues that are relatively normal on a new tank, though 3-months in the algae should be starting to resolve. The "poop" you mention behind the tank is likely detritus - or accumulated waste - poop, un-eaten food, etc. Basically stuff you want to remove. It has probably settled there, because it is an area of the tank without much water flow - a dead spot. You can increase your water flow, siphon it out, or use a turkey baster to blast it into the water column where hopefully it will go into your overflow and get filtered out by filter socks, skimmer, etc.

In order to help diagnose your issue with algae, some other details about your tank will be helpful - size, lighting, other nutrient export (skimmer, carbon/gfo, etc.) and your bioload (fish, fish size, corals, how much you feed, etc.) Once we have a thumbnail of your tank, we will be better able to help.

Here is all the information you need ! Thanks !
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2585764

 

[lockdown52]

I agree that the stuff in the back of the tank is"detritus." As has been pointed out, remove it and get another powerhead back there or direct more flow to that area if you can.

 

[ReefEco]

Read your build thread - interesting on the foam. Heard about people using that stuff, but never seen it on such a large scale - hope it is ok. Build didn't mention a great deal of detail about your filtration, other than the skimmer - which is on the small side for your tank, might consider upgrading to something rated for about 2x your tank. I'd just try some basic maintenance - siphon the detritus, manually remove as much hair algae as you can (make sure to add a filter sock when doing this, to catch all the small bits in the water column), test your phosphates - if high run some GFO. In case you are over feeding - only feed as much as the fish can eat in 2-3 minutes. It is also possible that starting the tank with non-RO/DI water may have set you back a bit, and you might have to do a little more to get whatever was in that water, out. Running some carbon couldn't hurt either - who knows that is in the foam, regardless of how many people say it is inert once cured...

 

[juanmanuelsanch]

Read your build thread - interesting on the foam. Heard about people using that stuff, but never seen it on such a large scale - hope it is ok. Build didn't mention a great deal of detail about your filtration, other than the skimmer - which is on the small side for your tank, might consider upgrading to something rated for about 2x your tank. I'd just try some basic maintenance - siphon the detritus, manually remove as much hair algae as you can (make sure to add a filter sock when doing this, to catch all the small bits in the water column), test your phosphates - if high run some GFO. In case you are over feeding - only feed as much as the fish can eat in 2-3 minutes. It is also possible that starting the tank with non-RO/DI water may have set you back a bit, and you might have to do a little more to get whatever was in that water, out. Running some carbon couldn't hurt either - who knows that is in the foam, regardless of how many people say it is inert once cured...

So far I got 0 problems with the foam. If I have to do it again I will do it differently since using it in large scale and gluing to the ground was an issue.

RODI was a problem but for the water changes and top off I think all the old water must be out now. Im also doing carbon... so far so good.

Im getting 2 new wave makers to create greater water movement.

I was wondering what skimmer should I use then... so far the bio load is not that high but it could be an issue in the future.

THanks for the feedback