brown thick crap

link1956

In Memoriam
im getting this brown thick crap on my sand if i clean my sand next day its right back any one know what it might be? all my fish and corals are doing great i get some light brown stuff that grows on my glass to sorry i dont have a pic of tank right now dont have any thign to take a pic with tanks been up for allmost 9 months
 
the stuff on your glass could be diatom algae. Chances are the stuff on your sand if slimy is cyanobacteria.
 
i would look into increasing your flow inside the tank, check your bulbs to make sure none are cracked or too old, you also might want to look into getting a phosban reactor to help get your phosphates in order
 
cyno is basically red slime, its a type of bacteria. I would go start with increasing your flow, this usually fixes the problem. What are you running for powerheads in your tank now?
 
also what type of lighting are you using? and how old are the bulbs? and what brand bulbs? what spectrums?
 
just some cheap power heads dont even know flow rate i have 2 175 watt xm 10k on tank bulbs are a week old with 2 140 watt vho
 
i would definitely work on getting a few power heads in the tank to help get the circulation going, most of the problem is probably from the new bulbs, sounds like they caused a cycle and with lower flow in the tank it's caused a cyno bloom. Oh just for the record you probably have 110 watt vho's
 
i have 2 power heads do i need more? or better ones do you know wher i can get a used return pump or a good price on a new one if i clean sand tonight tomorrow it will be brown spots all over i want to take care of this the right way and im new to all this so i dont know how is why i ask what is a good in sump return pump and ill get it do i have crappy lights? or will the bulbs stop maken this stuff grow after some time
 
i have 2 power heads do i need more? or better ones do you know wher i can get a used return pump or a good price on a new one if i clean sand tonight tomorrow it will be brown spots all over i want to take care of this the right way and im new to all this so i dont know how is why i ask what is a good in sump return pump and ill get it do i have crappy lights? or will the bulbs stop maken this stuff grow after some time
 
i have 2 power heads do i need more? or better ones do you know wher i can get a used return pump or a good price on a new one if i clean sand tonight tomorrow it will be brown spots all over i want to take care of this the right way and im new to all this so i dont know how is why i ask what is a good in sump return pump and ill get it do i have crappy lights? or will the bulbs stop maken this stuff grow after some time
 
Well powerhead wise i would say you would need more than two, pending the two you have arent super huge pumps (which i doubt or you wouldnt have flow issues). I would say finding a few decent semi high rated pumps would be your best bet, 3 or 4 maxi jet 1200's would be a good start for a 75 more if you decide on more corals down the road, your light are probably fine the system is just going through a shock right now,I'm guessing you had either lower par lights like pc's before or your bulbs were really old. Are you running the lights for 8 or more hours? If yes thats probably part of the problem too, if it's the first time youve had halides on the tank you should cut back your lighting time to give the tank and corals time to get use to the lighting change. I dont have any idea where you could find a used return pump, you could always try fosters and smith for a new one
 
Another option would be to get a sand sifting goby. An orange spot keeps my sand very clean in a 90.

Combined with what glaspie is suggesting should have you fixed up.

good luck
 
yes im getting 4 maxi jets 1200 and a mag 9.5 return pump from Drs. Foster & Smith and cut back on my light like glaspie69 told me to do and hope for the best i think i might be droping to much fish food in tank to so ill cut back on that to and i will get that goby and try it thanks
 
What type of sand are you using?
Silicate sand can increase diatom growth.

Check your water parameters also. Especially Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium.
 
really don't know what kinda sand i got it at petsmart know it's white sand fine i want to change it to black so that crap dont show so bad i change 15 gallons of water a week is that to much can that be whats doing it ? i have 2 seacloan skimmer's on it thay are 150 gallon ones i bought off aquatic environments guy sold me both think hes is the owner but dont know all i know is my corals are doing great and my fish are doing great so i dont know what it is i think i might be over feeding
 
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