Solved one problem now have another question :)

[hammcd]

forgive me in advance for the wall of text

So I have had a little tank trouble recently...im a noobie and this was definately a learning experience. It first started when my giant colony of lavender polyps started closing..they went from big and beautiful to all closed polyps except for a few

then my emerald crab who had happily molted a few times was found dead at the bottom of the tank with bristle worms eating his lifeless body

i checked all the parameters and everything was fine so i chalked it up to bad luck (something i wont do in the future)

I have a tiny true perc clown and a sixline wrasse that have been there from the beginning..the wrasse never showed any signs of slowing down but the clown began to swim at the top more and not want to eat as much

after checking testing all i have tests for and everything coming out normal i decided to do a full breakdown of back of the tank....to my surprise i found a giant ball of cheato that had broken loose and had plugged up half the return pump basically halving the flow of the tank

i felt so stupid...during the time it took me to solve that problem the lavendar polyps had begun to get covered with this orangy-red stuff (what i suppose is algae)...it basically took over the colony...when i touched it it released bubbles....i had to trash the polyps.

since then the flow is back to normal and the clown is eating great and more lively than ever...i have a new emerald crab that seems to be doing fine and all the other corals seem to be doing reasonably well

my ammonia and nitrites are 0
nirates 5-10
SG 1.024-1.025

the thing is the orange algae continues to grow over the sandbed..in some places it almost looks black in color in the middle of the orange...and i can still see bubbles rising from the sandbed in some spots on the glass...is this bubble algae?...bacteria?...is there anything i can do about it?

my filtration right now is a media basket with filter floss, chemipure elite, and some cheato with a fuge light running 24/7

the fuge light is a new thing...is it possible it is causing the stuff to grow more in the main tank...is this stuff just a result of the happening with the flow?
i am feeding the fish once a day...should i cut back feeding?

any help would be greatly appreciated

thanks

 

[hammcd]

i forgot to mention this is a biocube 14 with karalia nano425 powerhead and the stock return pump and a sunpod 70w...the light is also fairly new and it was installed at about the same time as the flow problem so not sure if it was the cause of the algae/bacteria or not

 

[ivegotcrabs]

post pics
more than likely its red cyano algea
ive only noticed it in low flow areas and since your flow was decreased....JMO

 

[hammcd]

ok ill try and take some pics tomorrow (the lights just went off for the night)...today in desperation i tried to net out a lot of it...then i realized i didnt take any pics or it..theres still some around the base of some of the corals though so maybe thatll be enough for an id

 

[hammcd]

and would it continue to grow now that the flow has come back to normal?

 

[skriz]

Sounds like cyanobacteria.

Cyano has evolved to survive. The air bubbles you see is air that the cyano is pulling from outside the tank. It will do this to keep itself raised from the sand/rock surface AND to pull nutrients from the air. The cyano will also feed off of nutrients from the water column.

It will consume these nutrients during the "day" hours (the hours which your tank is illuminated). When the tank is dark, the cyano will start to recede and release nutrients back into the water column (ready for consumption the next day).

The best way to combat cyano is by syphoning as much out as possible just before the lights turn off. This is a perfect opportunity for a nice large water change. Do this daily, if you can, for best results. You will be manually removing the cyano as well as eliminating its food source (nutrients in the water).

Make sure you're using RODI water for topoff and water changes.

You will need to continue with regular water changes to maintain optimal water quality.

 

[hammcd]

also i should mention i have been using distilled water and not ro/di because i dont have a convenient place to get any..at least that i know of...does anyone know where u can get some near the cabbagetown area of atlanta

 

[skriz]

Hammcd;586535 wrote: and would it continue to grow now that the flow has come back to normal?

You generally don't see cyano in areas of high flow because detritus (nutrients) don't accumulate in those areas.

Once you have cyano, you'll need to actively get rid of it. It's not going away just because you've restored flow.

Also, the lack of flow likely reduced the oxygen levels in your tank, leading to die off.

 

[hammcd]

Skriz;586537 wrote: Sounds like cyanobacteria.

Cyano has evolved to survive. The air bubbles you see is air that the cyano is pulling from outside the tank. It will do this to keep itself raised from the sand/rock surface AND to pull nutrients from the air. The cyano will also feed off of nutrients from the water column.

It will consume these nutrients during the "day" hours (the hours which your tank is illuminated). When the tank is dark, the cyano will start to recede and release nutrients back into the water column (ready for consumption the next day).

The best way to combat cyano is by syphoning as much out as possible just before the lights turn off. This is a perfect opportunity for a nice large water change. Do this daily, if you can, for best results. You will be manually removing the cyano as well as eliminating its food source (nutrients in the water).

Make sure you're using RODI water for topoff and water changes.

You will need to continue with regular water changes to maintain optimal water quality.

ahh..yeah it does seem to not look as bad when the lights go off...i do 2 gallon water changes once a week...should i do more than that?...do i need to worry about a mini-cycle if i do more than that?

 

[ivegotcrabs]

publix sells ro water if thats all you can get your hands on
most important piece of a reef tank is a RO/DI filter
i would put that at the top of my list

 

[hammcd]

oh i didnt know you could even buy one for home use....like i said im fairly new at all this...is there one youd recommend for my small tank?

 

[brianjfinn]

What kind of test kits are you using? My guess is you do have nitrate issues and your test kits aren't showing them. Also, reducing your light cycle will help keep it in check. There are a number of sponsors that sell RO/DI systems. For a tank that small you can get away with buying the gallon jugs of water from publix, but that will get old after a while. Spend the $100 and get the filter, it's worth it.

 

[skriz]

Hammcd;586541 wrote: ahh..yeah it does seem to not look as bad when the lights go off...i do 2 gallon water changes once a week...should i do more than that?...do i need to worry about a mini-cycle if i do more than that?

The water itself has no affect on a cycle.

You can do as large a water change as you want. I'd start with a 75% wc and then move to regular 5g wc's.