Sand bed algae
- Thread starter Crocpete
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nautical_nathaniel
Indecision may or may not be my problem.
My tank has had some form of that algae ever since I started it, I don't think it is something to be worried about but probably should be seen as a sign that the sandbed might need siphoning and/or mixing up.Hi, I seem to have a lot of funky stuff in my sandbed. At least what I can see if it against the glass. It’s red & green streaks and clumps, looks like red slime possibly? Should I be concerned?
robocop1906
Erick McLemore
Looks like Cyano algae which is typically caused by an imbalance of P04 Phosphates and NO3 Nitrates. Search "Redfield ratio" that will give you a guide to what they should be and how they should balance. Key word "Guide". I nailed them perfectly and had algae problems. I had a spike in my Nitrates and it all went away which is weird lol! Also, looks like from your rock color that your tank is fairly new so this would be a normal process the tank goes through in cycling. How old is your tank? Do you have test kits to confirm the various levels? My go to's are Hanna Checker for the P04 and Red Sea for the Nitrates. Don't bother with products that rid the algae, if you don't get to the root, it will come right back.
I use Red Sea for all my testing. I had a problem with high nitrtrates and algae from the beginning. I used NOPOX for about a month and algae cleared up and nitrates steady at 5ppm. Then out of nowhere my phosphates jumped off the charts! I stopped using the NOPOX and algae came right back. My nirtrares are steady at around 5ppm and phosphates slowly coming down. Tank is about 7 months old
robocop1906
Erick McLemore
If you have a sump you can use Cheato to bring down the PO4 naturally or run GFO. GFO can get expensive over time so if you can I'd suggest Cheato. Be careful with both because they can easily drop you to zero which for fish only don't matter but corals need a little. Or a consistent water change schedule would work if you're changing out enough each time.
I don’t have a sump and it’s not an option and doing water changes constantly is a real pain in the rear. My RODI system is in my basement so I have to siphon out a few gallons into a 5 gal bucket and dump it. Then fill, mix and heat the water in basement and carry bucket back upstairs to pour into tank! Not fun. I just tested and nitrates at 2ppm, phosphates still high at 3ppm! I never had any readings for phosphates until I started using MOPOX and then one test boom! Phosphate spike and been like that for a few weeks. Not sure what to do!
robocop1906
Erick McLemore
Not sure what MOPOX is but if you get your water chemistry correct it will go away naturally. I'd say invest in another bucket and have your water already premixed. So after you do a water change just fill it, mix it and run a small cheap powerhead through it. Just heat it the day before the next water change. Not sure what size your tank is but if you just divide the 20-25% water change volume by 4 and do it weekly hopefully that something that can be managed with a 5gal bucket.
Again, not sure the size of your tank but you can still get GFO. Bulkreefsupply has great instructions on how to use the product so you may just need a small bag of it that you can sit in your filter box. Just start out with a little. You'll need to test pretty regularly to ensure the levels stay stable. The monitor to see who long the media is exhausted. so lots of calculation and monitoring work vs tightening up on your water changes.
Again, not sure the size of your tank but you can still get GFO. Bulkreefsupply has great instructions on how to use the product so you may just need a small bag of it that you can sit in your filter box. Just start out with a little. You'll need to test pretty regularly to ensure the levels stay stable. The monitor to see who long the media is exhausted. so lots of calculation and monitoring work vs tightening up on your water changes.
