Red and green sand

[Editour2]

Just a question: tank has been running about 4 months now. The top surface of the sand has red and green areas developing, I assume this is algae however did not think it would grow on the sand. Is this normal? I have a phosban reactor running and a small clean up crew in the tank, (about 12 nassarius snails, 2 blue hermit crabs and 3 turbo snails). All parameters are within the norm. The clean-up crew eat the algae off the rock and glass however I don't know about the sand. The red algae is starting to develop on the rock as well. Anything to worry about?
Frank

 

[jnfallon]

yuck. cyano-bacteria.

Normal, as in we all get it from time-to-time, but unwanted and can be a pain to get rid of sometimes.

Since tank is pretty new it might be part of your initial cycle.

Be sure to really take care of reef basics for a while, and hopefully it will clear up. (feed only what they eat, max flow, good skimming, low phos., etc)

 

[Monkeyfish]

You can syphon it out with air-line tubing when you do a water change.

 

[puckbs]

i've found water changes, a little syphoning, and upping overall tank flow to help a lot.

 

[Curve50880]

Def part of the cycle. Make sure you are using RO/DI water...I switched from tap water and it made a huge difference in my fight against cyano. You could also try feeding less and shortening your lighting period. Phosban reactor is a great addition and will help a lot as well. The clean up crew wont eat the cyano either. Do you have a skimmer?

 

[bobbbm]

I went thru the same thing about 3 months in... I ended up using red slime remover as a last resort and it worked but I used 1/2 the dose and did alot of water changes and it never came back.

 

[Editour2]

Thanks guys!!!!!!! I did a water change last night, (10%), and siphoned most of it off. I do have a skimmer, (Aqua C EV120), which has been running the entire time. Foam is forming inside the skimmer however nothing collecting in the cup to date, (not sure if that is due to the low fish load and newness of the tank). I am trying different adjustments to the skimmer weekly. I do use RODI water as well. I will cut back on lighting and feeding, (I only have 3 fish and 2 low light corals in the tank. I read that if you use frozen food with the gelatin that this would contribute to the problem, (of course I'm using this kind in frozen mysis and brine shrimp). Hopefully all of this will help or eliminate the problem. I also added some mechanical filtration in the sump. Thanks to all for your input.
Frank

 

[bobbbm]

Frank, I know people say the frozen food can add nitrates but with the amount of water you have and how few fish you have I doubt it is causing the problem.

It sounds like your Skimmer needs to be adjusted some more. When I had the problem I made sure my skimmer was skimming so much that I had to empty it everyday. I don't think you can overskim when you have a problem like this.

 

[Editour2]

Bob,
How long did it take for your skimmer to start producing?
Like I said, the skimmer is working, (foaming up), however nothing is rising up to the collection cup.
Frank

 

[bobbbm]

From day one. It sounds like the water needs to be a little higher in the skimmer.

 

[Monkeyfish]

Agreed.

 

[Editour2]

Adjusted the skimmer and eliminated 2 elbows that was directing the intake of the skimmer pump and woohlah heavy skimmer action. I've been running the skimmer for 3 months incorrectly. I siphoned the cyno from the sandbed, hopefully with the skimmer running correctly I can control or eliminate it from coming back.

 

[bobbbm]

Great!

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12089395#post12089395 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Editour2
Adjusted the skimmer and eliminated 2 elbows that was directing the intake of the skimmer pump and woohlah heavy skimmer action. I've been running the skimmer for 3 months incorrectly. I siphoned the cyno from the sandbed, hopefully with the skimmer running correctly I can control or eliminate it from coming back.