Live rock
- Thread starter sherri112
- Start date
D to the P
New member
If it looks slimey and easily comes off of the rock it is cyano. If it is hard and encrusted on there, it is brown algage. I'm willing to bet its cyano which comes from excess nitrates and/or phosphates in the water.
How long as the tank been set up?
cyano can sometimes pop up during the cycling of the tank.
What do you feed?
some foods can contribute too much nutrients to the tank and should be avoided.
How often do you feed?
too much food = too much nutrients
What are you water parameters (ie nitrate, phosphate)?
these both need to be 0, or undetectable.
What is your water flow?
you should be circulating your tank atleast 10x over, 20x is even fine, otherwise cyano will be able to take hold on rock. Also, good water flow doesn't leave dead spots in the tank where there is no flow and detritus (ie fish crap or food) can build up.
What is your water source? if its not RO/DI, than nitrates or phosphates may be coming from that.
Do you clean your live rock?
taking a turkey baster to the live rock to blast detritus out of it while you syphon the detritus out of the tank monthly is a good idea.
ask yourself these questions, post answers on here, and we should be able to get to the bottom of this.
some foo
How long as the tank been set up?
cyano can sometimes pop up during the cycling of the tank.
What do you feed?
some foods can contribute too much nutrients to the tank and should be avoided.
How often do you feed?
too much food = too much nutrients
What are you water parameters (ie nitrate, phosphate)?
these both need to be 0, or undetectable.
What is your water flow?
you should be circulating your tank atleast 10x over, 20x is even fine, otherwise cyano will be able to take hold on rock. Also, good water flow doesn't leave dead spots in the tank where there is no flow and detritus (ie fish crap or food) can build up.
What is your water source? if its not RO/DI, than nitrates or phosphates may be coming from that.
Do you clean your live rock?
taking a turkey baster to the live rock to blast detritus out of it while you syphon the detritus out of the tank monthly is a good idea.
ask yourself these questions, post answers on here, and we should be able to get to the bottom of this.
some foo
internetreefer
In Memoriam
It would help if you have a picture
returnofsid
New member
Could be cyano or diatoms. Diatoms usually appear more like gold dustiness to the sand. For both, increased flow will help tremendously.
amonia, phosphates and nitrites are 0 ppm, the nitrate is 5.0
the tank has been set up for almost 1 year. I have excellent water flow, I even use a propeller for extra flow. the red was easy to come off, but did not feel slimey
I am feeding the fish green flakes twice a day - is that too much? I have a coralife super skimmer and i use RO water
the tank has been set up for almost 1 year. I have excellent water flow, I even use a propeller for extra flow. the red was easy to come off, but did not feel slimey
I am feeding the fish green flakes twice a day - is that too much? I have a coralife super skimmer and i use RO water
D to the P
New member
nitrates are whats doing in then. remember though that algae can use the nutrients as soon as they're available so it may make it seem like there is less nutrients, but actually you test kit is just showing what your algae hasn't got to yet. If it peels off easily than it is cyano. I would cut the feeding back, and consider using a different source of food because flakes can pollute your water pretty well. If you really want to feed twice a day, make it two really really small feedings, and all of the food needs to be eaten. Do not rely on your CUC to just pick up whatever was left over because that is not always the case. Which super skimmer do you have? hopefully it isn't the 65 because that one is not big enough to really make that much of an effect on your tank (even though it is rated for 65 gallon tanks). keep doing your regular weeding, make sure your RO water isn't tainted (TDS meter is a good investment if you don't have one), cut back on the feeding and possibly change the food all together, and start doing 10% water changes weekly until the problem stops.
amonia, phosphates and nitrites are 0 ppm, the nitrate is 5.0
the tank has been set up for almost 1 year. I have excellent water flow, I even use a propeller for extra flow. the red was easy to come off, but did not feel slimey
I am feeding the fish green flakes twice a day - is that too much? I have a coralife super skimmer and i use RO water
the tank has been set up for almost 1 year. I have excellent water flow, I even use a propeller for extra flow. the red was easy to come off, but did not feel slimey
I am feeding the fish green flakes twice a day - is that too much? I have a coralife super skimmer and i use RO water
D to the P
New member
what kind of fish do you have?
D to the P
New member
I would feed a good pelleted food that has spirulina algae in it, every now and then some mysis enriched with garlic or vitamins, and depending on how much algae your tang...wait a minute, Tangs? well, we'll get to that. Depending on how much algae your tangs have available to them I would put in a clip with algae on it for them to pick at daily, and remove it every night. If you feed the right amounts over a long period of time (don't just dump and go) then you'll have no problems from your food. Now before I go accusing you of anything. are you planning on upgrading the tank within the next few months?
Where he is going with this is that it is generally not a good idea to have tangs in smaller tanks because they require a lot of swimming room and they get fairly large relative to your tank size.
But we are glad you are here and feel free to ask whatever questions you might have.
But we are glad you are here and feel free to ask whatever questions you might have.
Sherri i feed my fish mysis shrimp once every three days and put one piece of kelp in for my tangs. I have never had a problem with exxesive algea becouse of this. The fish will not starve on the two days that you dont feed them becouse they can pick at your live rock and algea on your glass. I Have been doing this for two years now and my fish and corals are healthy and happy as can be.
D to the P
New member
what kind of tangs are they and how many do you have? In my and many others opinions one tang shouldn't be in anything smaller than a 75, two tangs shouldn't be in anything smaller than a 5 or 6 foot tank, and three tangs shouldn't really be in anything smaller than a 125/150. The smallest of the tangs still gets to about 8 inches and will need plenty of space to swim. You may have been suckered into buying a couple of 1-2" tangs in hopes that they wouldn't get too big or they would grow to the size of the tank (atleast these are the common reasons for why we find tangs in small tanks), but these ideas are wrong, and negatively effect the fish. In addition to that, just trading the tangs in later on is also not good for them because tangs can be sensitive to changes like that and there is a good chance that the fish will probably pick up a disease from such a transfer. I would look into upgrading the tank, or joining an aquarium keeping club where you can meet people with larger tanks that might want to adopt your tangs. Otherwise these tangs might have a bleak future.
