I just started my first saltwater tank and I'm about 5 weeks into the new tank. I have 2 live rocks in the tank and a clownfish and a firetail. I am starting to notice algae buildup on the glass and the substrate on the bottom. It's brown algae by the way. and I don't have live sand but it's the crushed coral stuff aragonite. I'm not sure if it's bad or a problem, but how can I control or remove it.
Algae Problem?
- Thread starter Fockdaddy
- Start date
315hottuna61
" Take a Kid Fishing "
Since you have livestock in the tank i'm assuming it has cycled.Check your parameters but a good bet is you probably need a partial water change. I'm sure one of the really knowlegable ( water keepers) will give you some good advice.
R3verb
Time to add some coral!
This is usually Cyano bacteria. The best way to control it that I have found is get some tiger sand conches (one should do the trick in your tank) and then a black out for like 3 days.
R3verb
Time to add some coral!
Turn off your lights in your tank. Some people go as far as wrapping their tank so it gets 0 light but I just turned my lights off for a few days and saw it go away. Also, does your tank get any direct sunlight?
little_fish
Moderator
I would work on totally removing the crushed coral and replacing it with sand. The crushed coral leads to endless nitrate problems and will prevent you from keeping any sand shifting fish.
Also what do you have for flow in the tank?
Also what do you have for flow in the tank?
little_fish
Moderator
Suck out a section of the crushed coral with each water change, which is a much smaller problem than dealing with endless cyano and algae issues.
marcah
Reef enthusiast
+1 hannah better to deal with a smaller issue now then after you get the tank full and want to change things down the road when you have major problems..
fastrd400
It wasn't me!
yes, 3 days would be fine. You could go a week as long as you do not have any coral that are super light demanding such as SPS.
Should I replace it with the live sand that I can get from the pet store? And when I siphon out a portion of the sand each water change, would I wait until I have completely removed all of the aragonite before putting in the replacement sand? And would this effect the tank's cycling or the fish I have in the tank now? Also once I begun putting in the new live sand, would the fish be effected by the sand going everywhere and should I take my 2 live rocks out while I'm replacing the sand?
little_fish
Moderator
Ok, hold on a sec, i think we might have bigger issues brewing.
You havent cycled your tank but you already have fish? This is a big no-no. I would get those fish out ASAP and lets cycle your tank in a more humane fashion.
Also you dont need live sand, just save yourself the money and get plain, dry agronite (sp?) sand. And the fish will be fine when you add the new stuff back in. I would suggest giving it a rise before you add it to cut down on the cloudiness.
You havent cycled your tank but you already have fish? This is a big no-no. I would get those fish out ASAP and lets cycle your tank in a more humane fashion.
Also you dont need live sand, just save yourself the money and get plain, dry agronite (sp?) sand. And the fish will be fine when you add the new stuff back in. I would suggest giving it a rise before you add it to cut down on the cloudiness.
I'm pretty sure my fish are fine and healthy lol considering they don't seem stressed at all and have been alive and are eating just great for 3 weeks now. I meant would the tank recycle if I put different sand in there. And I thought that's what I have in my tank right now.. Dry aragonite.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
If it's been 3 weeks with fish, your tank has already cycled. If you use dry sand, you don't have to worry about it re-cycling, although stirring up the crushed coral can cause that, which is why it's been recommended that you do it a little bit at a time in order to minimize changes in your water parameters.
