Hi all and (?)

[ohaverd]

Hello everyone, I am new to this board and to reefing as well. My tank is about 3 months old, and I've been having a blast trying to figure everything out! My tank stats

 

55g (20g sump)

40lb live rock

UV steralizer

seaclone 100 skimmer

 

3 sps

2 clowns

1 strawberry (the little guy, cant remember rest of name)

2 damsel fish

 

PH 8.3

Amonia/nitrite/nitrate all good

 

 

So I have a couple of questions to ask...

1) Out of no where one day I look in my sump and it has a large amount of small white fuzzy things growing all over it. They dont move, and they look alot like a pineapple sponge, but not as perfectly oval. I figure they are sponges because that is where the best quality of water is right after my UV sterilizer and skimmer. Any thought?

 

2) I'm getting a couple of full cups of brown nastyness a week from my skimmer, so I guess its working, but all of a sudden it is foaming way too much and coming out of the small hole on the top of the lid. One day the foam was literally covering the entire top of my sump tank. What is this all about? What should I do?

 

3) I re-aquascaped my tank last week and there is a couple of reasons why. firstly I hated the appearance of my rocks, but mostly because I had a bad case of Dino algae... At least I think it was. It was massive layers of redish brown goo on my sand bed and rocks that filled with air bubbles so much that they would float to the top of my tank. it was nasty, so after reading up about it, I learned that 3 days of lights out, completely cleaning the tank of as much algae as possible and raising my PH was the best way to do this. Back then my PH was only 8.0. So I researched how to Kalkwasser drip and since have raised it up to 8.3, on my way up to 8.6. So now when I turn the lights on, after an hour or so I start to see dark brown on the sand bed and small air bubbles forming. I then get scared and turn the lights off. So what am I missing here? Do you think my bulbs have something to do with it? I bought them used off of someone from this forum. he actually is the one that told me about this forum, but I dont remember his name lol. I run 4 T5s... I'm thinking about getting new bulbs. Any suggestions for a mixed tank? I'm thinking 2 blue and 2 white? I like the bluish look. Not so hot on purple, makes everything look red to me.

 

thanks for anyone that actually read through my ramblings and tries to help me, I know, I know... I'm a mess.

[Jan]

Welcome!

1- Sounds like sponge. A good sign!

2- Your skimmer would act up if you had an algal bloom. Could have also been from stirring up the sandbed...increase in detritus, protein (food), etc..

3 - Did it look like brownish mucous? Dino looks like mucous dripping on everything. Dinoflagillates take some work to get rid of.

 

Have you had any diatom algae? What's your water flow like? what are you other parameters like?

[Coral Hind]

Welcome!

 

1. I agree with Jan, it sounds like a type of sponge.

 

2. Try adjusting your skimmer so it skims a little dryer, just lower the water level a little.

 

3. Algae issues like Dino's are common with newly setup systems. Are you using filtered water like something form an RO unit? Using tap water can add to the algae issues.

[ohaverd]

thanks for the replies. It does look like my skimmer acting up was do too my re-aquascaping and moving the sandbed around. I dialed it back a little bit and it seems to be doing good now.

 

JAN - The algae, I'm pretty sure was dinos, it was like dark red mucus that covered rock and sandbed... It made all my snails appear dead; they just wouldnt move. But when I cleaned the tank, changed the water flow, and raised the PH all my snails came back to life and are all over the glass when I wake up in the morning. Anyways... The sandbed looks good now when I first turn the lights on, but after about an hour I see dark brown spots forming. Like the dinos are trying to make a come back or something. I'm still working on raising my PH very slowly using Kalkwasser drip. its still 8.3ish right now.

 

"Have you had any diatom algae? What's your water flow like? what are you other parameters like? "

I know I need to start checking my phosphates and calcium (when having algae problems), but I havent gotten the kits yet for those. The only thing I have been checking are PH/Amonia/nitrites/nitrates. I added two power heads after I cleaned the tank of the dinos, this created a turbulant flow. I dont know the gph they are pushing but from the look of it, its enough. Before the dino problem I did have a small bout with green hair and bubble algae, but after adding a few blue leg hermits and a couple of emerald crabs those two algaes disappeared.

 

 

Coral Hind - I forgot to say, yes I am using RO/DI water in the tank and for makeup water.

 

Now a question I forgot...

 

Chaeto! I bought a golf ball sized chaeto ball a few weeks ago, but when I put it in my sump the darned thing just fell apart and made a huge mess in my sump and viewing tank. How the heck do I get one of those nice sized balls that stays together and just rolls around the sump?

[Jan]

Dinoflagellates are not red. They are a pale brown/beige. They usually always have bubbles in it. Reminds me of a child with a runny bubbly snotty nose. Cynaobacteria is red dark green and/or red blackish. Diamotms are a golden rusty brown. New Tanks are moe prone to Cyano, Diatom and green algae. Increased water flow and water changes help a lot with cyanobacteria and diatom. Diatom tends to go away on its own.

 

I'm more inclined to think you had cyanobacteria and maybe some diatom. Cyano appears to go away with the lights out and after a short time when the lights are back on it starts to get darker and spread. I've heard of folks losing inverts and corals to cyano more so to dino. Cyano usually appears in matts on the surface of anything in your tank including the sandbed. Similar to what you are describing. Most all algae that grows like flim is slimey but not mucousy.

 

Good to hear that you got rid of it, whatever it was.

 

Diatom algae

Cyanobacteria

Dinoflagellates

 

 

 

 

 

 

thanks for the replies. It does look like my skimmer acting up was do too my re-aquascaping and moving the sandbed around. I dialed it back a little bit and it seems to be doing good now.

 

JAN - The algae, I'm pretty sure was dinos, it was like dark red mucus that covered rock and sandbed... It made all my snails appear dead; they just wouldnt move. But when I cleaned the tank, changed the water flow, and raised the PH all my snails came back to life and are all over the glass when I wake up in the morning. Anyways... The sandbed looks good now when I first turn the lights on, but after about an hour I see dark brown spots forming. Like the dinos are trying to make a come back or something. I'm still working on raising my PH very slowly using Kalkwasser drip. its still 8.3ish right now.

 

"Have you had any diatom algae? What's your water flow like? what are you other parameters like? "

I know I need to start checking my phosphates and calcium (when having algae problems), but I havent gotten the kits yet for those. The only thing I have been checking are PH/Amonia/nitrites/nitrates. I added two power heads after I cleaned the tank of the dinos, this created a turbulant flow. I dont know the gph they are pushing but from the look of it, its enough. Before the dino problem I did have a small bout with green hair and bubble algae, but after adding a few blue leg hermits and a couple of emerald crabs those two algaes disappeared.

 

 

Coral Hind - I forgot to say, yes I am using RO/DI water in the tank and for makeup water.

 

Now a question I forgot...

 

Chaeto! I bought a golf ball sized chaeto ball a few weeks ago, but when I put it in my sump the darned thing just fell apart and made a huge mess in my sump and viewing tank. How the heck do I get one of those nice sized balls that stays together and just rolls around the sump?

Edited October 27, 2011 by Jan

[Chad]

Hi and welcome!!

 

Looks like these guys got it!

[surf&turf]

Welcome!

[ohaverd]

The second picture of the cyano is definetly what I had before... I guess I just assumed it was dinos because it was always filled with gas bubbles and chunks were rising to the top. but it definetly looked just like that middle picture.

 

Guess its time to research cyanobacteria lol.

[Jan]

I need to make a correction....those "bubbles" that I mentioned are seen in dino are seen in cyanobacteria and other algae, too. It's commonly seen in cyanobacteria. It's oxygen. I don't know why I forgot this but one of the first things I see before I actually see cyano or anyother non-filamentous algae are the bubbles on everything.

 

The second picture of the cyano is definetly what I had before... I guess I just assumed it was dinos because it was always filled with gas bubbles and chunks were rising to the top. but it definetly looked just like that middle picture.

 

Guess its time to research cyanobacteria lol.

[ohaverd]

yup, that explains why my live rock had bubbles all over it too just before the outbreak.

[Coral Hind]

Now a question I forgot...

 

Chaeto! I bought a golf ball sized chaeto ball a few weeks ago, but when I put it in my sump the darned thing just fell apart and made a huge mess in my sump and viewing tank. How the heck do I get one of those nice sized balls that stays together and just rolls around the sump?

It sounds like the chaeto was not a real dense ball but maybe a bunch of small fragments rolled together that later fell apart. I would post something asking if any local reefers in your area have some chaeto they need to thin out. Back when I used it I was always throwing the stuff away. Make sure the water flow isn't so strong that it is tearing the chaeto up in the area that you place it.

[ohaverd]

ok, so after reading up a little about cyano, I think my flow is good, there are no dead spots, and my nitrates are good. But I think what is happening is two things, one, my wife is over feeding my tank... She's got that mother mentality that she has to feed the SPS, BTA and fish a crap load of food so they can survive . She literally dumps whole cubes of frozen shrimp in at a time... so thats going to stop. And also, I'll get new T5 bulbs, as I have no clue how old mine are. I guess I'm supposed to check o2 levels or something? should I add air stones?

[Jan]

If you're feeding cubes of mysis and not thawing and rinsing that will also increase nitrates.

 

Place your shrimp in a container with some tank or RO/DI water. Let it defrost. Empty defrosted shrimp into a net and rinse it with RO/DI water. Then disperse for feeding.

 

 

ok, so after reading up a little about cyano, I think my flow is good, there are no dead spots, and my nitrates are good. But I think what is happening is two things, one, my wife is over feeding my tank... She's got that mother mentality that she has to feed the SPS, BTA and fish a crap load of food so they can survive . She literally dumps whole cubes of frozen shrimp in at a time... so thats going to stop. And also, I'll get new T5 bulbs, as I have no clue how old mine are. I guess I'm supposed to check o2 levels or something? should I add air stones?

[ohaverd]

If you're feeding cubes of mysis and not thawing and rinsing that will also increase nitrates.

 

Place your shrimp in a container with some tank or RO/DI water. Let it defrost. Empty defrosted shrimp into a net and rinse it with RO/DI water. Then disperse for feeding.

 

 

 

 

 

We just put some tank water in a cup, dump the frozen cube in it, wait 10 minutes or so, stir it up, then turkey baster the corals and nem. the rest gets dumped in. I'll try straining it through a net before use also. but my nitrates have never really spiked on me... I dont think.

[Coral Hind]

We just put some tank water in a cup, dump the frozen cube in it, wait 10 minutes or so, stir it up, then turkey baster the corals and nem. the rest gets dumped in. I'll try straining it through a net before use also. but my nitrates have never really spiked on me... I dont think.

I know it isn't the ideal method but that is exactly how I do it.

 

What do you have in the tank for water movement?

[davelin315]

One thing to be careful of is that all of these organisms can be colored differently in various aquariums. The dinoflagellates I have had in my systems have always been a deeper reddish brown, very similar to cyanobacteria (which for the record is not cyan colored usually, it's more typically a reddish brown).

 

I wouldn't raise your pH to 8.6, no reason to have it that high. 8-8.3 is a good range with 8.3 being more desirable. 8.6 is getting too high and if you have the normal fluctuations that most have and average out at 8.6 you're going up to 8.9 or 9 which is high enough to kill things off.

 

The seaclones are notoriously difficult to keep tuned in properly, but if you're getting a large amount of skimmate off of it, then I'd keep it going like that. You can always drill the collection cup and have it drip into something else, but watch out for having your skimmer go absolutely crazy and remove all of the water from your system if it overflows too much.

[ohaverd]

I know it isn't the ideal method but that is exactly how I do it.

 

What do you have in the tank for water movement?

 

 

between 4 powerheads and return pump it is 1400 GPH. My return is back left and shoot along the back glass to the bottom middle, then I have a an 800 in the back right shooting along the back glass to the middle. Then I have a 600 in the top middle of the back glass shooting diagonally down towards the front glass. Then just two 200s in the back corners shooting down to get rid of the dead spot at each front corner.

 

It seems to be pretty good flow... Am I doing that right?

Edited October 31, 2011 by ohaverd

[ohaverd]

OK,

 

So below are some pictures of my tank... Including two shots of my sandbed. One when I first turn the lights on, and one after about 2 hours of lights. The brown alge is clearly visible. is this cyano?

 

 

Then after that are just some shots of my tank, but aftr that are 4 images of my sump... and the wierd creatures that are literally overtaking it. What are they?

 

when the lights first come on...

 

 

after 2 to 3 hours of lights

 

 

 

My tank

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What the crap are these things in my sump?

 

Close up of one of the ugly mugs...

 

 

 

 

Thanks for any help you can provide...

[SunWyrm]

Are they kinda prickly looking but almost soft? It looks like what I have, though not quite that many. Whatever it is, it's most likely just a harmless filter feeder. I've touched them before and they showed no reaction. Mine live in my filters and dark places in my tank.

[zygote2k]

I'd recommend getting the Delbeek and Sprung book- "The Reef Aquarium" and start reading.

It's funny how someone gets involved in SW enough to spend a grand from the local LFS, but the thing that they didn't buy was a good book explaining it all to them....

[ohaverd]

I'd recommend getting the Delbeek and Sprung book- "The Reef Aquarium" and start reading.

It's funny how someone gets involved in SW enough to spend a grand from the local LFS, but the thing that they didn't buy was a good book explaining it all to them....

 

 

wow, thanks for the slap in the face bud... sheesh

[Jan]

Please keep asking all the questions you want.

 

wow, thanks for the slap in the face bud... sheesh

[SunWyrm]

We're here to help, and we've got a ton of collective personal experience...while books definitely help (google is my personal bff), they might not have specific answers to personal ponderings.

[Jan]

Ditto what she said

 

We're here to help, and we've got a ton of collective personal experience...while books definitely help (google is my personal bff), they might not have specific answers to personal ponderings.