Am I losing this battle?

[Stblindtiger]

I have been fighting a green hair algae outbreak, and what looks to now be turning into a Cyanobacteria battle for a few weeks now. The fish in my tank include a lawnmower Bennie, a pistol shrimp, a yellow watchman gobie and a clownfish. Also have a bunch of pods (5 separate additions from Algaebarn), 3 Mexican turbos, and 2 torches snails. I use Ro/DI water. I’ve got a 15 gallon sump going with a refugium and some Chaeto. Added an air stone, and some carbon in bags in the baffles.I just added another hang on the back filter with some additional charcoal. All the base rocks were dry rock, and the 75 Gallon tank is 4 months old. I have the light set for 7 hours, also I just raised the lights a little higher as well.

Will the majority of this mess go away on its own over time, or do I need to take each and every rock out to scrub and basically remove the top layer of sand too?

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and any and all suggestions.

 

[Goaway]

Tank around 6 months of age?

 

[MischiefReef]

I have been fighting a green hair algae outbreak, and what looks to now be turning into a Cyanobacteria battle for a few weeks now. The fish in my tank include a lawnmower Bennie, a pistol shrimp, a yellow watchman gobie and a clownfish. Also have a bunch of pods (5 separate additions from Algaebarn), 3 Mexican turbos, and 2 torches snails. I use Ro/DI water. I’ve got a 15 gallon sump going with a refugium and some Chaeto. Added an air stone, and some carbon in bags in the baffles.I just added another hang on the back filter with some additional charcoal. All the base rocks were dry rock, and the 75 Gallon tank is 4 months old. I have the light set for 7 hours, also I just raised the lights a little higher as well.

Will the majority of this mess go away on its own over time, or do I need to take each and every rock out to scrub and basically remove the top layer of sand too?

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and any and all suggestions.

Hey bud, definitely not losing. I’ve seen worse, hang in there!

You’ve got a few options to explore:
A)Hydrogen Peroxide scrub for the rocks
B) Increase nutrient export/decrease nutrient import + wait it out
C) 3-5 day blackout
D) RIP Clean the sand

 

[CoastalTownLayabout]

What’s the detritus situation in your display and sump? If you blast your rock for a bit how much waste comes off? Any points of accumulation around the base of your scape?

 

[Double monti 61]

Is that a skull on the bottom right side?

 

[GatorGreg]

Is that a skull on the bottom right side?

I saw that. Kinda creepy

 

[stovenut]

To start... what are your nitrates and phosphates and how are you testing them? How often are you doing water changes and how much?

Regardless you should try to feed your fish smaller portions of a quality foods 2 or 3 times daily. Increase your water change regiment and add more to your clean up crew. Get more hermits and try a few Mexican turbo snails.

 

[alexmara76]

I have been fighting a green hair algae outbreak, and what looks to now be turning into a Cyanobacteria battle for a few weeks now. The fish in my tank include a lawnmower Bennie, a pistol shrimp, a yellow watchman gobie and a clownfish. Also have a bunch of pods (5 separate additions from Algaebarn), 3 Mexican turbos, and 2 torches snails. I use Ro/DI water. I’ve got a 15 gallon sump going with a refugium and some Chaeto. Added an air stone, and some carbon in bags in the baffles.I just added another hang on the back filter with some additional charcoal. All the base rocks were dry rock, and the 75 Gallon tank is 4 months old. I have the light set for 7 hours, also I just raised the lights a little higher as well.

Will the majority of this mess go away on its own over time, or do I need to take each and every rock out to scrub and basically remove the top layer of sand too?

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and any and all suggestions.

add one or two of these (sea hare), they are voracious for algae , I have one (blue spotted sea hare)

 

[Stblindtiger]

I saw that. Kinda creepy

So many people always hating on the skull!

I was always wondering why every tank I saw pictures of, didn’t have “extra” things in the sand of their tanks other than the rocks… i.e. extra shells, dead coral, skulls, treasure chests (There’s one of those in there too!). It just means extra things to clean!

My kids like naming things in the tank though… i.e. “Dead Man’s Cave,” and “The Bone Yard,” and “Barnacle Bend/Bay.” So those things will always stay. I guess it just ends up being more stuff for me to clean, but that’s ok!

 

[Fungusamongus]

So many people always hating on the skull!

I was always wondering why every tank I saw pictures of, didn’t have “extra” things in the sand of their tanks other than the rocks… i.e. extra shells, dead coral, skulls, treasure chests (There’s one of those in there too!). It just means extra things to clean!

My kids like naming things in the tank though… i.e. “Dead Man’s Cave,” and “The Bone Yard,” and “Barnacle Bend/Bay.” So those things will always stay. I guess it just ends up being more stuff for me to clean, but that’s ok!

I like the skull. Nice to hav3 the kids involved and engaged in the build. Hang in there!

 

[Stblindtiger]

What’s the detritus situation in your display and sump? If you blast your rock for a bit how much waste comes off? Any points of accumulation around the base of your scape?

Besides the algae, there’s not really anything any different than any other area of the tank.

I just changed the direction of my wave makers though. I always had them pointing towards the top to try and add some aeration, but since I added an aeration stone to the sump and a hang in the back filter to the display tank, that isn’t as necessary anymore.

 

[Stblindtiger]

Hey bud, definitely not losing. I’ve seen worse, hang in there!

You’ve got a few options to explore:
A)Hydrogen Peroxide scrub for the rocks
B) Increase nutrient export/decrease nutrient import + wait it out
C) 3-5 day blackout
D) RIP Clean the sand

I’m hoping for B!

 

[stretchnuts]

I have been fighting a green hair algae outbreak, and what looks to now be turning into a Cyanobacteria battle for a few weeks now. The fish in my tank include a lawnmower Bennie, a pistol shrimp, a yellow watchman gobie and a clownfish. Also have a bunch of pods (5 separate additions from Algaebarn), 3 Mexican turbos, and 2 torches snails. I use Ro/DI water. I’ve got a 15 gallon sump going with a refugium and some Chaeto. Added an air stone, and some carbon in bags in the baffles.I just added another hang on the back filter with some additional charcoal. All the base rocks were dry rock, and the 75 Gallon tank is 4 months old. I have the light set for 7 hours, also I just raised the lights a little higher as well.

Will the majority of this mess go away on its own over time, or do I need to take each and every rock out to scrub and basically remove the top layer of sand too?

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and any and all suggestions.

Tank and rock are savable. If you don’t have a way to remove the algae by chemical, you will have to remove it by hand take the rock out scrub it use RO water to scrub not tap.
I went through that stage too. Need to establish biological filtration. Microbacteria will help
Turning the sand and doing water changes will definitely work and if no photosynthesis in the tank lights out

 

[stretchnuts]

Tank and rock are savable. If you don’t have a way to remove the algae by chemical, you will have to remove it by hand take the rock out scrub it use RO water to scrub not tap.
I went through that stage too. Need to establish biological filtration. Microbacteria will help
Turning the sand and doing water changes will definitely work and if no photosynthesis in the tank lights out

Temp looks high 84 degrees 78-80 degrees better

 

[Kapachuka3]

So many people always hating on the skull!

I was always wondering why every tank I saw pictures of, didn’t have “extra” things in the sand of their tanks other than the rocks… i.e. extra shells, dead coral, skulls, treasure chests (There’s one of those in there too!). It just means extra things to clean!

My kids like naming things in the tank though… i.e. “Dead Man’s Cave,” and “The Bone Yard,” and “Barnacle Bend/Bay.” So those things will always stay. I guess it just ends up being more stuff for me to clean, but that’s ok!

I think its sick man, awesome idea, pretty metal too.

 

[Lavey29]

You probably need to sit down and have a drink when you hear what I'm about to tell you. In the reefing hobby you are going to experience a variety of ugly phases over the course of the first year so prepare yourself in advance by knowing its part of the tank maturing process. There are a variety of remedies available depending on the battle you are in but try to avoid harsh chemical bandaid solutions if at all possible. Employ natural remedies which includes utilitarian cleaners fish and inverts. Harsh chemicals will disrupt your biome and set you back in the maturing process.

 

[Stblindtiger]

Temp looks high 84 degrees 78-80 degrees better

I don’t know why in the pic it looks like the temp is 84°??? It’s been locked in at 78° for months?!?!! Maybe it was just the pic????

I just checked, and it definitely reads 78°, so I will have to keep an eye on that!

So weird that the pic shows 84° though!!! I’ve honestly never noticed any temp spikes. I’m hoping it was just the picture!?!???

 

[55NEVER]

I noticed you said you have a 15g sump, if you don't have skimmer then I would definitely add a quality one.
It will do a much better job at pulling out waste/organics than a hob filter. Beef up, water changes and bigger cleanup crew.

 

[John Bolden]

You could try a Reef flux treatment to clean the tank. It would clean the tank but not fix the underling issue but it would give you a place to start!

 

[jabberwock]

Another version of the dry rock blues. Been there, done that. Hate it for you.