Do I have a problem?

[sludge]

Hello gals and guys,
I recently added some fish to my tank...
2 Convict Blennies
2 Ocellaris Clowns (one appears to be sick with a mouth fungus or bacteria, it also has along stringy substance from its butt, moved to a net breeder)
1 Wrasse (dead)
1 Sand sifting star (dead)

I have been adding half a cap full of Purple Up to my 35 Gal tank almost every day and am wondering if the purple algae growing on my substrate is bad. It's not the same colour as the coraline algae forming on my rocks, its more of a hairy as well. I sucked alot of it up with my syphoning tube but there is a bit here and there which looks like will be difficult to remove. Unfortunately I do not have a camera with me to take a picture at this time. Is this making my fish sick?

 

[Bifferwine]

How long has your tank been set up?

 

[bjohanson1234]

If the tank is only a week old like your info says, you are moving way to fast.

A new tank has to cycle before you can add any fish or inverts. Ammonia and nitrites are highly toxic to animals. Also, the stringy purple stuff on the substrate is most likely cyano. It usually indicates a new tank or a tank without enough flow.

What are your levels at?

How much live rock do you have?

What equipment are you running.

What size tank is it?

 

[Smitty]

Yeah, what they said... :)

 

[Nemo10]

the "Purple" stuff on the substrate is prob Cyeno bacteria. +1 for Bj he is right. Usually you have to wait 4 weeks til you add fish due to the nitrate cycle. Patience is the BIGGEST thing to have in a marine hobby... All good things IN TIME :)... i wouldnt worry abou they cyeno take out what you can but make sure you are running the proper lights and possibly cut back on light ours. Also having an effect protein skimmer will help control the cyeno outbreak.. Also i use Purple up and i love it added beautiful color to my LR.

 

[sludge]

I've had the 35 Gal tank up and running since January. I added inverts at the end of February. First fish went in sometime late May. For some reason this site doesn't update "Experience in Saltwater & Reef Aquarium Hobby". I have 40lbs of live rock, none of which is Fijii to my knowledge. My Nitrate, Nitrite, Amonia and Ph levels are good, haven't tested any other parameters tho. Flow should be decent as I have an extra circulation pump which gets the water moving pretty good.

One thing I've noticed is my protein skimmer runs like crap, Rarely do i see the bubbles flow up and over into the catch tray. I have a RedSea 34 Gallon Nano Tank, so not sure how to fix my skimming problem without making my system downright unsightly.

 

[Bifferwine]

Well I am not surprised that the sand sifting star died. They usually starve to death because they run out of food very quickly, and your tank is too small and too young to support that animal.

That leaves the dead wrasse and the sick clown. Sometimes fish will die for no apparent reason. I can't see anything obvious that's going on to explain the wrasse's death. Your water parameters sound good and the algae is not hurting them.

 

[Nemo10]

+1 Biffer... My 2 sand sifters died due to the immaturaty of my tank :( i know cyeno can cause diseases if you dont control it. Maybe that is the cause for the sick fish..

 

[sludge]

LOL...uh oh

Thanks for the replies.

I'm hoping the Goby i just picked up today survives.... if the star fish starved I'm in trouble.

The reason for the sand sifter is I want them to do ALL the cleaning of my substrate. I'm lazy (at least I'm being honest) and therefore ideally would rather something else do the cleaning for me.

 

[sludge]

Is there a safe way to control the cyanobacteria? Read a couple threads and seems to be no sure way of dealing with it and not harming the inhabitants.

 

[Bifferwine]

Buy nassarius snails for your substrate. They are so much better than sand sifting stars and won't starve.

You can control the cyanobacteria by getting it at it's cause -- water quality and lack of flow. If you are using tap water, stop. Use only RODI water. If you are feeding flakes or pellets, stop. Use only frozen foods. If you are overfeeding, cut back. If you are overstocked (which you're not), get rid of some fish. Move the powerheads so they are hitting the area where you see cyano.

 

[Nemo10]

how old is your tank?

 

[sludge]

Buy nassarius snails for your substrate. They are so much better than sand sifting stars and won't starve.

You can control the cyanobacteria by getting it at it's cause -- water quality and lack of flow. If you are using tap water, stop. Use only RODI water. If you are feeding flakes or pellets, stop. Use only frozen foods. If you are overfeeding, cut back. If you are overstocked (which you're not), get rid of some fish. Move the powerheads so they are hitting the area where you see cyano.

I already have 9 nassarius snails. 4 small red leg hermits, 2 turbo snails (thinking i should get rid of one) 4 small blue leg hermits, 1 big ass blue knuckle hermit, another med. hermit, 5 astrea snails. 2 emerald crabs which are gonna be dead the moment i get my hands on them as they nip at my clowns.

I've been buying premixed Salinated RO water from my fish store, but have started mixing my own with RO i purchase myself at a local water depot. Will stop with the flakes, I've been mixing flakes and frozen shrimp brine and I don't think im over feeding as they only eat once a day. Unfortunately the cyano is dispersed all over my tank now to my knowledge in small amounts. I'm thinking I'm not overstocked as most of these guys in my tank are my cleanup crew, and I have 5 fish total.... the 2 convict blennies are large so lets say 7.

Thanks for the advice Sarah, will give it a try.

The tank itself was bought used, the previous owner had just the sand and water in it, I'm hoping that wasn't the problem. I think the Cyanobacteria started emerging when I had hair algae. i bought 5 turbosnails to remedy the hair algae, ended up keeping 2 of them to prevent another outbreak. My convict blennies have been doing well for over 2 weeks so maybe it was just a case of bad luck with the fish.

 

[Bifferwine]

Cyano is also just a normal phase that every new tank will go through. Sometimes it sucks, but you just have to bear it, and wait for it to go away on its own in a new tank. :(

 

[Jmck]

Honestly, flow is probably the reason, Add another powerhead if you have some, and if not, you need some. Its how mine disappeared. I still have some in my sump but thats all. You shouldnt really feed your fish daily, i feed once every 3 days. but that might be a bit long for you as well.

How long are your lights on?

If your protein skimmer doesnt have bubbles at the top in the collection cup, you may need to adjust the settings in the flow. that will move the bubbles to a comfortable spot. Atm, mine sits half way up the collection cup and this leaves a black dry skim on the inner walls and the top of the skimmer cup without any wet skim.

maybe that will help somehow :)

 

[the reef kid]

+1 Jmck, try getting another powerhead, just a little one, and aim it straight at the spots of cyano, and it won't take all that long to go away. Although it is a natural thing, and won't do you any harm, it could be lack of waterchanges. Do you do one every week? Also, have you tested the specific gravity?

 

[sludge]

My lights are on about 9 hrs/day.

Salinity is ranges from .025-.026.

Water changes are done once a week with ~5 gal per change.

After syphoning most of it out, there is a bit remaining. I directed one of my jets towards the bottom, now I know there is tons of flow. looks like there is some cyanobacteria on my rocks, and burried under the sand, my goby seems to have stirred it up.... not sure if this is a bad thing or not. I will take some pictures shortly.

 

[wontonflip]

+1 everyone. Even if you're lazy to do the maintenance of the sand, the suggestions made here about increased flow, less feeding, etc, are good ideas. If you don't have a fuge w/ chaeto, you might want to see if you can fit one in. They encourage algae growing in the fuge instead of the main tank.

Trust me -- we've all gotten lazy with tank maintenance, and do just minimal maintenance, then do one big one when we feel like it. I, myself, am bad about weekly maintenance (then again, I have a 125g -- more room for neglect). I feed the fish, check for any floods, check the skimmer, but that's it. Don't feel bad about being lazy.