Spring Cleaning my Tank

[Futurecanadian]

Hey guys/gals,

I am thinking about really cleaning my tank. I want to take out all of the LR and really clean the sand bed. I seem to have a green algae issue. IS it safe to remove all LR and softies and place them in a bucket with water removed from the tank for a bit to do such a vigorous cleaning? I do not want to break the cycle either.

I just need to redo my live rock display and get the tank looking attractive again. I will wait until I am cleared by the pros. Thanks.

Shawn Paul

 

[sohal1025]

I think it would be alright. I am going to do the same to my tank soon. Thats the only way I can think of doing it.

 

[MMOORE0324]

That will be fine... you might have just a little die off on the rock but not enough to even promote a mini cycle. Just maybe put a powerhead in the bucket for some movement.

 

[kevinohio]

Wow I was logging on to post a similar question.
My live rock is covered in some parts with green hair algae. Is it safe to take the rock out and scrub with a took brush or will this kill off a lot of the good bacteria? tank has been running 2 or 2 1/2 years. I know my nitrates are high and that is part of the issue. But there is too much hair algea to just let it die off I think.
Any suggestions?

 

[kevinohio]

of course i mean a tooth brush, not a tiik brush. It would be a new one of course

 

[Futurecanadian]

I call your bluff. You know you share a tooth brush with your tank... lol kidding of course. I have bought a ton of different critters to work on my green hair algae and have gotten nowhere. I am even considering throwing the affected LR out or breaking it into rock rubble for my mini-fuge I am seetting up. Does green algae hurt anything?

 

[PirateFish52]

do you have an emerald crab? they work wonders with green algae.

 

[boozerell]

I've removed my rock and scrubbed the rock to remove green hair algae, without problem. (I'd do a pice at a time.) My little tank, battles this and seemed to get to thich for anything to handle. I used a tooth brush, but then went to a stronger vegetable brush.

 

[kevinohio]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14345693#post14345693 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PirateFish52
do you have an emerald crab? they work wonders with green algae.

I have not had an emerald crab, they are good at eating hair algea? How sensitive to nitrates are they. I have a fish and live rock, my nitrates sometimes do get a bit high, 25 to 40. I water change a lot more in the summer than in the winter.
And how many would you put into a 75G?

 

[aerius007]

Here is what I have done in the past.

1) I fill my old sump with water from the tank and put any corals in it, I also have a small 50w heater and small pump for circulation in that tank. I have left them in there for well over 24 hrs and they didnt know the diff, just thought it was a cloudy day.

2) I take a rubbermaid tub put a couple gallons of tank water in it and then fill it with all of the rock in the tank, or most of it anyways. Also put a power head with a hose in there to circulate the water. Once the rock is out of the tank I take each piece and hose it of with the pump that is in the rock tub, that gets alot of trapped debris off of the rock. Then if the rock needs it I scrub it off in a 5 gallon bucket, rinse, then drop it in the tank. I do that until the tub is empty and all of rock is in the tank.

Fill the tank with new water, make sure the temp is the same as in the coral tank, then add corals. What you are left with is clean rock and a tub that will look like its filled with mud.

3) Then I listen to my wife complain about me not picking up my mess because by the time I'm done with all of that, I am so sick of rocks and water I dont feel like doing a thing with it, so it sits until I can stomach going back in that room.

 

[puffster]

If you are looking for a product to use, algeafix by (api) worked wonders in my 150. If you dont, scrub off the algae and do water changes and use some phosphate remover to get your phosphates down, also worked. That is ths food source for the algea. But removing lr won't hurt a thing. Test your phosphates to see how high they are. Everything concerning any problems with marine or reef tanks that I read is all about water quality and how inportant water changes are. Although a good spring cleaning should be a step in the right direction.

 

[BrunstuckyJoe]

I had a phosphate issue when I had the nano....seems that small scale tanks have issues with hair algae at one time or another....

 

[Futurecanadian]

You guys are amazing. So who wants to volunteer to swing over and share in this amazing adventure? Any takers at all... I have tons of beer! lol..

 

[holfishbay]

Beer? Hmmmmmmmm tempting:0

 

[kevinohio]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14350581#post14350581 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Futurecanadian
You guys are amazing. So who wants to volunteer to swing over and share in this amazing adventure? Any takers at all... I have tons of beer! lol..

Works for me, hell I am close to Cleveland heights.

 

[Futurecanadian]

Pick the day Kevin... lol I always have Friday off, and thats a great beer drinking/tank cleaning day !

 

[kevinohio]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14358203#post14358203 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Futurecanadian
Pick the day Kevin... lol I always have Friday off, and thats a great beer drinking/tank cleaning day !

Yeah just cleaned mine a bit, the algae is there still but i adeed a couple emeralds

 

[Futurecanadian]

I have 3 emeralds right now, and am thinking that the rocks that are covered with algae are going to get broken into peices and put into one of my overflow boxes to start my mini fuge... next step Chaeto... that is the plan in my head right now.

Can I throw the rocks with algea on them in my overflow with chaeto or is that a bad idea?