View Full Version : ok this is strange
so about a month ago i put half a dozen scarlett hermits in my tank, 2 serpent stars, a sand sifting star, and a dozen astrea/mexican turbo snail mix (9 and 3 respectively).
I haven't had a single scrap of algea in my tank since, except...
I actually have an algea scum forming on the water surface. the only place the inverts don't get. at first I thought it was just some food debree, now I'm pretty sure it's algea. I have some flow breaking up the surface of the water via powerheads but not enough to completely stir the surface, and i can't add more powerheads... My temp is really high.
Any thoughts?
mogurnda
11-11-2003, 1:51 PM
I find that I get a surface scum if I don't agitate the surface enough. I have dealt with it in two ways. One is using an overflow box for the skimmer (CPR makes one for the bakpak, e.g.), which sucks the scum right off the top. Unfortunately, that became too bulky when I rearranged things. Now I just have both of the outlets from the SCWD partially out of the water, stirring the surface like crazy. No scum.
I hate powerheads in the tank, both because of heat and clutter. I am very happy using a closed loop, where most of the heat and all of the bulk is outside. Could you get a cheap little magdrive and get a little supplemental circulation?
I'd like to do a close loop but i can't really empty my tank and drill it. Not sure what a SCWD is.
mogurnda
11-12-2003, 4:54 PM
My tank's not drilled, I just have the intake of the pump hooked to a u-tube going into the tank. You don't need an overflow, just a way of getting water to the pump.
A SCWD (http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=PA&Product_Code=SQUID-WM&Category_Code=Wavemaking) (siwtching current water director) is a device designed to switch flow between two outlets. The rate of switching depends on the flow. My pump is pushing about 400-500 gph, and the outlets switch about every 30 seconds, and it really looks a lot like real surge.
What kind of skimmer are you using? Both CPR and AquaC make surface skim boxes to fit over the powerheads of their HOB models.
Dale W.
11-12-2003, 8:15 PM
What kind of food are you feeding? There are a number of foods that are high in oils that will leave a scum on the surface which over time will start to "grow". It will turn into a brown slime. A good way to do a closed circulation system is to use a 5/8 draw tube from the tank down to a mag drive pump back up to a spray bar at the surface of the tank. This will break up the slime on top and give plenty of current. Maybe enough to discard a powerhead or two. If you can afford a pump that has a seperate pump housing from the motor housing, you will decrease the water temp quite a bit.