An algae bloom..
- Thread starter SuperScro
- Start date
It is certainly going to help it along, and nope, it wont have any effects on the inverts in the tank, they will be fine mate...
Some people buy pre-bagged activated carbon, in put it in place of a layer of media in a filter...
Niko
Some people buy pre-bagged activated carbon, in put it in place of a layer of media in a filter...
Niko
Well I added some more clean up crew guys. I got an emerald crab, 2 red leg hermits, 2 blue legs, 2 turbos, and 2 large nassarius snails (huge!). Of course these guys won't be able to do it all, but I am goign to get carbon tomorrow sometime, I was in a hurry.
Also added a Maxijet 1200. Its really strong too. I thought my SEIO 620 was strong.
Something interesting I discovered than when I messed around with the substrate, it was like a blanket covering. I moved the sand around, and it was literally like a blanket covering my sand, and broken apart when I messed with it, nows it all clumpy and such. Its about less than 2 inches of sand, noman's land in other words, so i might consider removign a lot of it.
Also added a Maxijet 1200. Its really strong too. I thought my SEIO 620 was strong.
Something interesting I discovered than when I messed around with the substrate, it was like a blanket covering. I moved the sand around, and it was literally like a blanket covering my sand, and broken apart when I messed with it, nows it all clumpy and such. Its about less than 2 inches of sand, noman's land in other words, so i might consider removign a lot of it.
From what I hear, or rather read (in that link earlier in this thread), hair algae reproduces when it breaks...like worms, I guess...
Best thing you can do to quickly remove it is to hover just far enough away from the sand, a syphon hose and such the dust layer of algae from the substrate...you will prolly get a littel sand aswell, but not much...You want it just so the suction is gripping the top of the sand bed...
Niko
It wasn't just like a covering, but an actual physcial blanket if I didn't make that clear. I could pick it up and lay it across something, its weird... I can get pictures.
Actually it seems like the brown hair algae has lessed a lot after the addition of the maxi-jet. However like Subliminal said, they reporduce when breaking, so i should prepare for a return unless I keep my water quality better.
Actually it seems like the brown hair algae has lessed a lot after the addition of the maxi-jet. However like Subliminal said, they reporduce when breaking, so i should prepare for a return unless I keep my water quality better.
Yeah, powerheads seem to help.
Like I mentioned before, I added a power filter and have been regularly blasting the hair algae with my turkey baster and making sure it goes right into the filter.
Well, I added a 3rd powerhead yesterday and it really started kicking up some of the algae on the bottom.
So, my 55g right now has:
Coralife Skimmer with what I can only imagine is a Rio pump (I'd guess 100GPH)
2 Maxijet 1200s (600GPH total guestimate)
Emprorer 400 (says 400 GPH, I'd guess 200 is closer)
Misc powerhead that says 300 GPH on it...I'll guess 200 again)
That's a total of 1100 GPH total, divided by 55gallons is 20x turnover.
Hopefully that'll help a bit...lol. 20 still seems pretty low, but...work with what I've got!
Like I mentioned before, I added a power filter and have been regularly blasting the hair algae with my turkey baster and making sure it goes right into the filter.
Well, I added a 3rd powerhead yesterday and it really started kicking up some of the algae on the bottom.
So, my 55g right now has:
Coralife Skimmer with what I can only imagine is a Rio pump (I'd guess 100GPH)
2 Maxijet 1200s (600GPH total guestimate)
Emprorer 400 (says 400 GPH, I'd guess 200 is closer)
Misc powerhead that says 300 GPH on it...I'll guess 200 again)
That's a total of 1100 GPH total, divided by 55gallons is 20x turnover.
Hopefully that'll help a bit...lol. 20 still seems pretty low, but...work with what I've got!
You think I could net out everything on the bottom that doesn't get sucked up by the syphon? Its kind of large and clumpy, probably too difficult for the syphon to clean up.
I really want to get my tank clean, was planning on adding a first coral and fish right before this happened.
BTW My large Nassarius snails are awesome. I put a small amount of brine in the tank, and in a few seconds out came all 7 of my nassarius snails. Really fun to watch them.
I really want to get my tank clean, was planning on adding a first coral and fish right before this happened.
BTW My large Nassarius snails are awesome. I put a small amount of brine in the tank, and in a few seconds out came all 7 of my nassarius snails. Really fun to watch them.
To get stuff off the bottom, in my experience, the best way is to turn off all water flow in the tank, then use a small cup or something (if you could find something with one flat side, that'd be the best but...) and gently scoop the crap off the top.
Disturbing your sandbed can be a real troublesome thing, as it can affect the bacteria living in it, sometimes causing a 'mini-cycle' from the die off.
That's what I did with mine. I have some kind of sand/shell substrate. Everywhere I've scooped out that stuff, the hair algae hasn't come back. I have clean white sand and then nasty brown substrate with hair algae growing on it.
Anyway, you need to be really slow to do this to stop from having a sandstorm. Maybe if you just grabbed the clumbs and pulled it out of the tank, that'd work too...just turn off the jets.
Disturbing your sandbed can be a real troublesome thing, as it can affect the bacteria living in it, sometimes causing a 'mini-cycle' from the die off.
That's what I did with mine. I have some kind of sand/shell substrate. Everywhere I've scooped out that stuff, the hair algae hasn't come back. I have clean white sand and then nasty brown substrate with hair algae growing on it.
Anyway, you need to be really slow to do this to stop from having a sandstorm. Maybe if you just grabbed the clumbs and pulled it out of the tank, that'd work too...just turn off the jets.
