how do i get rid of algae on sand?

[Capt_kulafu]

hello fellas i'm running 30g saltwater for 5months my problem is how do i get rid of algae on sand? every 2 weeks 20% water change and by using siphon tube.

my filter is HOB w/ protein skimmer

check my picture >>>> on my last message

livestock:
1 lawnmower blenny
1 domino damsel
1 blue yellow tail damsel
1 blue damsel
1 yellow damsel
1 black clownfish
4 or more hermit crab
2 or more snails

[Myka]

Well, to start off you have too many fish in your tank...especially if they are any decent size yet. As they grow the problem will become more pronounced.

What kind of algae are we talking here? Is it diatoms (brown)? Dinoflagellates (brown and bubbly)? The bacterial cyano (burgundy or black)? Something else?

Algae is caused by excess nutrients (fish food, fish poop, etc) which will result in nitrate and phosphate being at elevated levels. Sometime the algae grows so fast that the water will test "zero" for both NO3 and PO4 though. Regardless of the test results, the cure is still the same - reduce nutrients. The main culprits are overstocking, overfeeding, poor husbandry, poor flow, and mediocre filtration (wrong type or not effective enough). If you could provide more information about the type of powerheads, protein skimmer, and filtration you are using that could help.

Most tanks do best with some sort of sand sifter to keep the sand turned over and clean. I keep a shallow sandbed (<1"). I use a freshwater gravel vacuum cleaner to clean the sand. I also use conches to turn the sand over. For a small tank like yours you could put a small Fighting Conch in there (they don't fight btw). Look for one about 1" long. Your hermit crabs might make a meal of him though, so it would be best to replace the hermits with the conch. You can get sand sifting fish, but most of them make a mess and another fish is the last thing your tank needs.

[Capt_kulafu]

the color of the algae is brown and bubly!! how do i prevent that kind of situation @ myka

btw thanks

[Myka]

I added more...provide more information as suggested above. :) The first move would be to find a new home for a couple of the fish. I would say the Blenny and the Domino Damsel. The Domino will grow real fast, and the Blenny will probably starve as they don't normally take prepared foods. Does he eat when you feed the other fish? What are you feeding anyway?

For more information on algae control click on the link in my signature "Written by Myka" and then click on the Nuisance Algae link.

[Capt_kulafu]

yes he eat when i feed them!! i feed them froozen food like shirmp!!
thanks myka

I added more...provide more information as suggested above. :) The first move would be to find a new home for a couple of the fish. I would say the Blenny and the Domino Damsel. The Domino will grow real fast, and the Blenny will probably starve as they don't normally take prepared foods. Does he eat when you feed the other fish? What are you feeding anyway?

For more information on algae control click on the link in my signature "Written by Myka" and then click on the Nuisance Algae link.

[reefwars]

Would agree with myka that you have too many fish for a tank that is 5mts old, it should be a written law that you only add a fish or two untill your tank hits the 1yr mark . Too many people want a fully functioning system in their first few months. It's a common thing to have algae ridden sand when your around the 3-6mth mark there's alot of things you can do as well but first some questions about your tank:)

whY is your lighting?? How long are your lights on and what light schedule do you use??

Post your tank water parameters

How deep is your sandbed???

Can you provide a pic of the algae??

What do you feed your tank???

Where are your powerheads pointed???

Did you use all liverock or a mix of live and dry???

Are to using tapwater???


If it's diatoms(brown) it would go away in time if you practises good tank maintanance ie..... Regular water changes, consistent light patterns , ro water

if it's cyano it could mean too heavy a bio load( too many fish) or inadequate flow etc, something dead etc. This can be removed manually or with reduced lphoto period and water changes, or by blackout

long hair algae tends to take anlittle longer to establish in your tank unless introduced from rock or from another tank. There's alotnof critters who much hair algae but it ges out of control fast so pull as much as you can if it starts to grow

if it's Dino then it's alot harder to get rid of but a pic would help to identify as it's quite similar to brown algae but like myka said it would be stringy with little bubbles

there are more types hut these being the most common in new tanks. All these algaes have one thing in common they will all feed off of excess nutrients so over feeding using tapwater not cleaning filters leavng lights on too long will all feed these algaes so if you do any of these then your first step is to reduce your nutrients. I've read mykas algae thread and I thnk it's a god place for you to strt reading then google these types of algae Nd read as much as you can on them:) hope this helps I've left alot out but I'm typing from my phone so pls excuse anything I left out or my bad spelling lol :) cheers

[daniella3d]

First thing first, you must ID the algae that is causing the problem because the treatment is very different.

Like for dinoflagellates, raising the PH to 8.4 or 8.5 solved my problem 100%. I found getting rid of dino the easiest thing I have ever done in my aquarium. I used Seachem OH balance to raise my PH slowly.

http://www.aquavitro.com/Products/balance.html

for cyanobacteria it is a bit more complicated and the nutriments in the water are too high.

As for if you have too many fish, if your nitrates rise fast even with water change than you have too many.

The best way to ID the algae is to use a small microscope that can do 200X or if possible 400X. At 200X you still can see them. That way it is very easy to ID dino, diatomes or cyano.

Second is to test your water for ammonia, nitrites and especialy nitrates and phosphates. Put some GFO (ferric oxide) in your filter (rinse it well). That will remove the phosphates.

Plus what is the source of your water? RO or tap? if you are using RO water check the TDS to make sure it is efficient. If you are using tap, stop using that as you might just fuel more the algae with every water change. Buy a RO unit.

hello fellas i'm running 30g saltwater for 5months my problem is how do i get rid of algae on sand? every 2 weeks 20% water change and by using siphon tube.

my filter is HOB w/ protein skimmer

livestock:
1 lawnmower blenny
1 domino damsel
1 blue yellow tail damsel
1 blue damsel
1 yellow damsel
1 black clownfish
4 or more hermit crab
2 or more snails

[Capt_kulafu]

whY is your lighting?? How long are your lights on and what light schedule do you use?? using T5 H.O. (2 blue and 2 white) my lights turn on 8hrs a day

Post your tank water parameters ? give en example pls.

How deep is your sandbed??? 2 inch

Can you provide a pic of the algae?? i will post it shortly

What do you feed your tank??? 3 times in a week

Where are your powerheads pointed??? pointed on center in between filter and skimmer

Did you use all liverock or a mix of live and dry??? yes i using live rock not dry

Are to using tapwater??? i'm using RO water


If it's diatoms(brown) it would go away in time if you practises good tank maintanance ie..... Regular water changes, consistent light patterns , ro water

if it's cyano it could mean too heavy a bio load( too many fish) or inadequate flow etc, something dead etc. This can be removed manually or with reduced lphoto period and water changes, or by blackout

long hair algae tends to take anlittle longer to establish in your tank unless introduced from rock or from another tank. There's alotnof critters who much hair algae but it ges out of control fast so pull as much as you can if it starts to grow

if it's Dino then it's alot harder to get rid of but a pic would help to identify as it's quite similar to brown algae but like myka said it would be stringy with little bubbles

there are more types hut these being the most common in new tanks. All these algaes have one thing in common they will all feed off of excess nutrients so over feeding using tapwater not cleaning filters leavng lights on too long will all feed these algaes so if you do any of these then your first step is to reduce your nutrients. I've read mykas algae thread and I thnk it's a god place for you to strt reading then google these types of algae Nd read as much as you can on them:) hope this helps I've left alot out but I'm typing from my phone so pls excuse anything I left out or my bad spelling lol :) cheers[/quote]

[Capt_kulafu]

thanks for the help!!

First thing first, you must ID the algae that is causing the problem because the treatment is very different.

Like for dinoflagellates, raising the PH to 8.4 or 8.5 solved my problem 100%. I found getting rid of dino the easiest thing I have ever done in my aquarium. I used Seachem OH balance to raise my PH slowly.

http://www.aquavitro.com/Products/balance.html

for cyanobacteria it is a bit more complicated and the nutriments in the water are too high.

As for if you have too many fish, if your nitrates rise fast even with water change than you have too many.

The best way to ID the algae is to use a small microscope that can do 200X or if possible 400X. At 200X you still can see them. That way it is very easy to ID dino, diatomes or cyano.

Second is to test your water for ammonia, nitrites and especialy nitrates and phosphates. Put some GFO (ferric oxide) in your filter (rinse it well). That will remove the phosphates.

Plus what is the source of your water? RO or tap? if you are using RO water check the TDS to make sure it is efficient. If you are using tap, stop using that as you might just fuel more the algae with every water change. Buy a RO unit.

[Capt_kulafu]

please see and check my problem on my tank!!

thanks

fish 2.jpg - that's my filter (left) coralia (center) and skimmer (right)
fish 3.jpg - that's my problem right know!!

[daniella3d]

That looks like cyanobacteria. Reduce nutriment, do water change and syphon out as much as you can and put ferric oxide in your filtration or skimmer.

You can also try to reduce the lighting period until it receade.

What are your nitrates and phosphates? You probably have a lot of dissolved organic in the tank and syphoning the sand and doing water change will help.

Red Slime Remover can help but it is just a quick fix and if the reasons for the cyano are not taken car of, it will return stronger.

You probably have a lot of dissolved organic trapped in your sand and syphoning that out will help.


please see and check my problem on my tank!!

thanks

fish 2.jpg - that's my filter (left) coralia (center) and skimmer (right)
fish 3.jpg - that's my problem right know!!

[Capt_kulafu]

thanks for the help!!! i appreciate it!!


That looks like cyanobacteria. Reduce nutriment, do water change and syphon out as much as you can and put ferric oxide in your filtration or skimmer.

You can also try to reduce the lighting period until it receade.

What are your nitrates and phosphates? You probably have a lot of dissolved organic in the tank and syphoning the sand and doing water change will help.

Red Slime Remover can help but it is just a quick fix and if the reasons for the cyano are not taken car of, it will return stronger.

You probably have a lot of dissolved organic trapped in your sand and syphoning that out will help.

[untamed]

I've never been able to permanently get rid of the cyano that appears on my sand. (I have large fish, and they eat a LOT) However, I can control it. What I do is vacuum the sand bed every now and then, and immediately follow the vacuum by 24-36 hours of darkness. I find that really knocks it back and it will remain gone for quite a while.

The darkness doesn't seem to bother any coral or fish. Sometimes, I'll even feed the fish a bit during the dark day.