Bubbles / Slime.

[doctapeppa]

Hello. I recently made the switch from PC to MH lighting. I have a 250 W 10k HQI hanging over my 30 gallon reef tank. I have mostly leathers, mushrooms and polyps. A maxima clam, a brittle star and like 5 little fish. The tank looked great for about 2 weeks except for some burnt polyps, but no biggie. I have 2 powerheads and a HOT(without filter) for movement and a protein skimmer in my sump.

Now I have developed a problem with some weird string slime growing everywhere. As the day goes on lots of bubbles form in and on my sand and on the surface of alot of my rocks. Along with these bubbles is like a brownish slime that grows into like stringy filaments througout the day. The brown slime can easily be blown away with a turky baster but it just settles down somewhere else. Also there is a mild smell. Nothing too bad but it smells like low tide. In a section of my HOT filter the bubbles are on the surface of the water mixed with brown gunk. it just stays there and it looks as if the tank is rotten. My powerheads and overflow have developed like a brownish slimy coating.

What I have tried to remedy this: In the past two weeks I have done 4 30% water changes. Water change clears this up some but it just grows back. I have reduced the lighting to 8 hours. I have tried sucking the slime out with the turky baster during the day but the next day it just grows back. I have not fed the tank in a week and I stopped dosing b-ionic at that time too.


Tank has been up and running problem free for 3 years. All of my fish look fine and the corals are ok too except for a torch coral that is not opening since this started.Nitrates are 10, ph is like 8.2 temp stays around 78 during the day. None of my tests are abnormal. I have not checked phosphates.

Please help me get rid of this.

Peppa

 

[K-Dubbs]

Sounds like cyanobacteria (slime algae), although i'm not sure about the bubbles. It is odd also that the only thing that has changed is going from PC to MH, mabey someone else has more experience on this. I would also be interested to find out what the problem is seeing as I am going to be upgrading from PC to t5's in a few days.

If it is in fact cyanobacteria I have found the best way to get rid of that is more clean up crew, more water changes, and more water movement over areas where it tends to grow. There is also a product called chemi-clean (chemiclean?, chemi clean or something like that) which will totally wipe it out, and is also reef safe.

HTH,
K-Dubbs

 

[agent007]

Finally, I got the RC search window to work. I have an algae problem too.
I also have bubbles - I believe O2 - just below the surface of the sand and on LR. It all started after I upgraded my NO bulbs to T5s.

It started with a light covering of stingy brown algae (Cyrano ???) on the rocks. Now it has turned into a green gellatin type algae (???)

Water parameters (Ph,A,Nitite and Nitrate) appear to be in order. I just started testing for Alk. I got a reading of 3. I think it's best if it is 4-6? I am pretty sure it was the bulb upgrade that did this. I also believe the algae growth and increased O2 is helping to keep water parameters in line and is masking the true problem.

From what I have been reading across the web, I think my tank is going through another cycle. I have reduced my photo period from 10 to 8.5 hours, reduced feeding and I have also increased my water changes to once a week (I'm in my 2nd week now).

Other solutions I am considering are:
- Changing my protein skimmer
- Increase the clean-up crew (actually this is a definate)
- Increase water flow - add another powerhead

Fish are doing fine but I lost a small Emerald Crab today. I thought they loved algae?