Trying to bring my tank back from the brink

[Anonymous]

Good idea Pod - I'll have my eye open for nice pieces when I visit the LFS this weekend. That would also be an easy way to dispose of some undesireables.

 

[Anonymous]

I had the same problem, and pulled the sand bed out. Put it all in 5 g buckets, stirred it and dumped the dirty water off the top. It was a smelly job that took a week, and killed anything living in it since I used freshwater, but the sand has been back in for 2 weeks. I did save about a lb to try to keep some critters. Also did a 100% water change before I put the rocks and sand back in. No algae to speak of, and my rock, corals, and glass were completely covered in hair algae and cyano before. The tank looks almost brand new again.

 

[Anonymous]

OK time for an update:

This weekend I cleaned out my sump/fuge and have a good double-fist-sized clump of nice green chaeto in there now. I also changed the bulb down there. Hopefully the chaeto will take hold and start eating nitrates so the nasty algae can't get any. *knocks on wood.*

Also fixed the rattle in my skimmer so I can run it 24/7 again.

Next weekend, more manual cleaning in the display and maybe add cleanup crew. Will install new hood fan and halides if they arrive by then.

 

[Anonymous]

I had the same problem, and pulled the sand bed out. Put it all in 5 g buckets, stirred it and dumped the dirty water off the top. It was a smelly job that took a week, and killed anything living in it since I used freshwater, but the sand has been back in for 2 weeks. I did save about a lb to try to keep some critters. Also did a 100% water change before I put the rocks and sand back in. No algae to speak of, and my rock, corals, and glass were completely covered in hair algae and cyano before. The tank looks almost brand new again.

Good to hear, I am sort of doing that too. My "sand bed" was the fabled miracle mud stuff, which they recommend be changed every couple years. A few months ago I changed about 2/3 of it for a more conventional sand substrate, yesterday I did the rest.

 

[Anonymous]

Good luck with it Brian, I'm bringing mine back from the (mostly) dead (smothered) too..

Friggin dictyota!

 

[Anonymous]

I will just say that MH did not help my softies AT. ALL. They were doing much better under compact fluorescents. :roll:

Good luck, Brian. I'm with ya, bud.

 

[Anonymous]

as am I. After my ex poisoned my tank, and I replaced all the live rock and sand(anybody want some dry live rock?) and I had a major algae bloom, I lost my motivation...this has lasted for about a year and a half-my interest has peaked again, and I have begun to win the battle....I still have money problems so the fight is a prolongwed one, but its coming along slowly...

 

[Anonymous]

Good to hear, JP!

 

[Tackett]

algae is to us; what that gator in your avatar is to zebra.

 

[Anonymous]

algae is to us; what that gator in your avatar is to zebra.

I will vouch for that!

 

[Anonymous]

Update- the algae has been growing much more slowly and the chaeto in my sump is a bigger blob than it was a couple weeks ago. Today a generous shipment of cleanup critters arrives, I will be busy tonight!

At this rate I should be able to post a progress photo without shame within a couple weeks. I guess I should have posted a "before" photo earlier for comparison, but I didn't want to gross everyone out and possibly violate the RDO user agreement.

 

[Anonymous]

thanks for the update and keep us posted.

You may have to harvest the chaeto from the refug to keep it growing fast. Especially if nitrates to drop to very low values. Then you can get a cyano bloom. So if the display algae stops growing and you get a cyano bloom, that actually can be a good sign. Just harvest some of the chaeto to get it growing again and the cyano should go away.

Awaiting pictures. and congrats.

BTW isn't this fun and rewarding? :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

BTW isn't this fun and rewarding?

!Si! It feels great to be enthusiastic about my tank again.

 

[Anonymous]

I like chaetomorpha as a sump macro also, but in a million years it won't out-compete your algae. Forget that approach, it's bunk.

Really get the current ripping through the whole tank, and skim the heck out of it, and feed minimally. You probably have enough detritus settled in your rocks to drive the algae for a while, thus the high current suggestion.

 

[Anonymous]

I like chaetomorpha as a sump macro also, but in a million years it won't out-compete your algae. Forget that approach, it's bunk.

Really get the current ripping through the whole tank, and skim the heck out of it, and feed minimally. You probably have enough detritus settled in your rocks to drive the algae for a while, thus the high current suggestion.

From what I can tell, increasing the current is what started turning things around more than anything. I am now over-pumped, I have the current going as fast as it can without the pump gaining on the overflow's ability to get water back into the sump.

 

[Anonymous]

you have sand or anything on the bottom?

 

[Anonymous]

you have sand or anything on the bottom?

Just a little sand for looks, plus assorted rubble (broken coral skeleton pieces, abandoned snail shells, etc).

 

[Anonymous]

Good luck. When I finally get the new tank finishd I will have to fight the hair algae that has overtaken my temp tank. Hopfully it will be on the way out by then.

 

[Anonymous]

Get it rippin so the sand can't stay down. You might need more circulation devices that don't run through the overflow, if that's the limiting factor.

 

[Mihai]

I like chaetomorpha as a sump macro also, but in a million years it won't out-compete your algae. Forget that approach, it's bunk.

Sorry Dan, but I disagree. In this respect chaeto is the same as a protein skimmer: a bad protein skimmer is much better than none at all: all the chaeto growth is growth prevented elsewhere (nuisange algae in particular)...

M.