PROBLEM: red/purple sand

[jimbracco]

greetings all! Ive been battling a problem for a while now that i just cant seem to figure out. my sane keeps getting covered in this "blanket" of purple/red sand that im constantly cleaning up. It looks like crap! I cant figure out what it is or how to control it...my rocks also done seem to be as puple as they used to be, which is ironic...
any ides? see pic below
tank is four years old, levels are ok but not great, nitrates are a little high at the moment
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[theplatypus]

Look into cyano bacteria.

 

[jtshack]

Bleh!! :yuk: :sick:

I had this in my tank not too long ago...cut my lights back to where they were only on for 4 hours a day for about a week. Did one water change after the week of reduced lighting time and it cleared up the problem like a champ. Now, if I see it even beginning to creep back, I cut back on how long my lights are on to get control almost immediately.

Good luck!

 

[tebriel]

My problem was that I wasn't using RO/DI water, my actinic schedule was wayyy off and I wasn't doing frequent water changes. I think the biggest factor though was the switch from tap water to RO/DI!

 

[jimbracco]

thanks everyone..
moons - all the time
actins - 930am - 730pm
dayligths - 10am - 630pm

i do use carbon in my sump , but it is not forced just placed in the stream..
i do use rodi, at least according to my shop hopefully they use rodi for their mix also, which i buy from them..
i feed once a day, 1 frozen cube of something, some flake and some pellets.
(2 clowns, 1 tang, 1 regal, 3 damsels all original to tank 4 years running, first one) + misc snails, shrimp etc
three power heads (that do slow down thanks to the cyano clogging)
1 small skimmer
lights are <span style="font-size: 12px;">48"Aqualight Pro 150W HQI mounted about 14" above covered tank</span> , original to tank

i also seem to have a problem keeping soft corals, they shrink down over time to nothing, have been sticking to leathers or fingers..anyhelp there apprec also.

i will kill lights and cleanup today w water change and phosbuster.
ill post new pic tomorrow and see how goes it, thanks!

 

[tebriel]

How often do you change your carbon, it gets full of stuff and then starts releasing large amounts of waste back into the tank if you don't change it often. You should probably feed less than once a day, you don't have a ton of fish and in the wild they don't get nearly that much food daily. I'd say once every other day or every third. I would take out your powerheads and attack them with a dilute white vinegar solution or a clean toothbrush to get the cyano off to bring them back up to speed, flow will really help kill the cyano. It builds up in places where detrius and nutrients are allowed to fall and sit. What skimmer is it and what is considered small, is it rated exactly for or maybe below your tank? Also, how old are your bulbs? I think you're supposed to change your MH bulbs every 10-12 months, the lower output from being old is known to help support cyano too.

 

[ralph atl]

<span style="font-family: Verdana;">1. Use only RO or RO/DI water for your makeup water. Tap water has too much crud in it.
2. Increase flow in the tank with an extra powerhead or two.
3. Siphon out as much as you can regularly as you do water changes.
4. Use a phosphate remover, and change it out frequently at first.
5. Feed a little less.

Turning the lights off doesn't solve this problem so quite often when the lights are turned back on the cyano is back.</span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">While everyone tries to solve cyano bacteria problems, nutrients are not the sole cause of their existence in our tanks. Increased flow, random water movement, and lighting (age of bulbs) should also be considered.</span>

 

[raisingtwo2006]

Our tank got so bad, that I just couldn't get ahead of it.. I went without lights and blacked out the tank with blankets for 24 hours, twice.. I fed only twice a week, changed carbon, got a powerhead.. and nothing happened. I changed water, peeled it off of the sand and rocks, and bought new bulbs.

Still nothing, that crap was persistant. Nothing ate it, nothing helped it.

Finally, I looked into getting some Red Slime Remover (ChemiClean) because some guys on the board suggested it. It is not a cure for the problem, just a quick fix solution. Anyway- I used it, and it cleared up a little.. Then came back. So I used it again a month later, and after the 48 hour wait (instructions on the box) I did the water change and dosed again immediately. It took the cyano away completely!! After that, I watched the age of my bulbs, did more water changes, fed only what they would eat (so the problem wouldn't come back) and it never did..

Hello, my name is Kimberly, and my tank has been cyano free for 5 1/2 months.

 

[tebriel]

Yeah, I used that stuff and killed all my corals and not the cyano...I dunno if I used it wrong or what, that was very stressful. I finally got a RO/DI unit and got three 50% water changes ready, woke up every morning for three days and scrubbed every bit of it away with a toothbrush and sucked it up with my siphon. Killed my light cycle for a few days and I'm not cyano free, but there's maybe 2 small quarter sized patches until I scrub them off. I think that's the best I could hope for.

 

[raisingtwo2006]

Sorry that happened to you!! That would really suck!!

I didn't lose anything, not even the froghammer that was in there..
It's not supposed to hurt anything.. wonder what happened...

 

[jimbracco]

ok, excellent replies all!
so i change my carbon about once every 60 days...
in fact, i do everything relatively longer periods of time than i should
the skimmer i use is a built in unit to my aquaclear...it does an ok job. i actually own a much bigger unit but it literally does not fit within the confined space of my sump and enclosure....74gallon bowfront (76?)
here is my plan:

kill lights
swap carbon, filter, clean sump and skimmer
crank up skimmer
shake up sand a couple times over course of 24 hours
reduce feeding
perform water change, sucking out whatever debris i can
clean existing power heads and aim more towards sand bed
grab some chemiclean (possibly) and follow directions
wait 48hr (churning up sand in the mean time)
perform water change
purchase new bulbs (current ones original - 4 years old)
bring skimmer to normal speed
reduce lighting time for 5 days
change carbon and filter
perform water change

thats what ive come up with as a plan....
couple of questions (ihave to check out the power buys as i just renewed my membership thanks to you'all ~)

instead of replacing all my bulbs, (ive gotten my use out of these!) im thinking of going LED. i have allot of electronic experience so Im naturally leaning towards this tech. any opinions? not too concerned about cost.

also, would like to replace my power heads, with maybe the new rio's (no oil) or something similar, but im running at 84 degrees already and just heading into summer (close top, my Dori loves to jump SHES HUGE), suggestions and resources would be great

You guys (and gals) kick ***...my wife was like "you already got 10 responses??" and she owns an IT messaging/collaboration company

thanks again

 

[tebriel]

Sounds good, thought I don't suggest you stir up the sand bed, if you do that too much you might re-cycle your tank. Cranking up the skimmer sounds like a good idea and definitely get new bulbs! As far as LED fixtures, if money really is no object and you wanna go high tech, http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_pages/tlist/ledlighting/ledlighting.php?category_ID=144">http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_pages/tlist/ledlighting/ledlighting.php?category_ID=144</a> the solaris are pretty neat, I've read they put out the right spectrum of light but some say they are as hot as MH others don't. I'd read up reviews on them first!

For powerheads, I love my Hydor Koralias, other people like the Tunze which will satisfy your techno-lust :)

 

[raisingtwo2006]

Lol! I read all that and the thing still in my head is 4 YEARS on LIGHTS!!?? Were you even able to see??? LOL!! I only had PCs, but I'd start wanting new lights after about 2-3 months..

No worries though, when I first got into the hobby, I didn't know you had to replace the lights, and went well over a year with my first bulbs.

Now- AGREED!! DO NOT STIR that sand bed!! Ammonia, Nitrates, whatever.. there are all kinds of icky stuff in there. Just leave it, and do all that other good stuff that Barbara commented on.

I have a Koralia 2 in my 90 and I love it.. It's not controllable, but it was only 30 bucks..

 

[ralph atl]

just do what Barbara suggested, and you'll be fine. And don't do what Barbara suggested not to do either! Please don't stir up your sand. That could crash your whole tank. Some people have luck with Boyds Chemi-clean, & some people lose their entire tank! Do you bet? 50/50

 

[genesisblue]

I use that chemiclean stuff myself and have never lost any corals to it. I've used it off and on for about a year. Just my 2 pesos

 

[jimbracco]

yes, i bet..more often than i should
i will replace my bulbs first then look for led replacement later on...
i am down to ONE coral, the leather thats shrinking, so im not to concerned as long as my fish will survive...im very attached to them as for a first tank, thats been running for 4 years with original fish thru all the ups and downs and ****ty maint procedures i do/not do, id hate myself if anything went wrong trying a "cure" that doesnt really seem to be bothering them all that much, just me
ive looked up the koralias and im def gonna shoot with them.
now i need to find a good online retailer

 

[jimbracco]

ok
new lights (went with 20k instead of original 10k), hydors, actinics are on the way...
does anyone have advice or thread referral on placement of power heads? im specifically referring to placing them lower in the tank.
I have traditionally had my power heads up towards the top of the tank to avoid the unsightly cable lengths in my tank.
also i own a red sea wavemaker altho never used i plan on using now. has anyone else gone down this path?