Sand

[Monica25]

Someone help me. I want my sand white! I have diatom again kind a lke when my tank first cycled and my water is good. I checked it and it's good. I have two nassarius one sand conch 1 cerrith and 2 nerites. What else can I add as a cleanup crew? Please give me a list and I will get them. Also have hairy stuff growing on the rock. Please tell me what to do and I am keeping up with water changes.

[rrasco]

Sounds like you have a decent CUC already going. What size tank was this again? Keep in mind this is a natural process and goes around and around in cycles. Sometimes the best thing you can do is nothing. And also remember that only bad things happen quickly, which means, patience is key. If I remember correctly, you were using RODI, correct?

[350gt]

what color is the hairy stuff on the rock?

[Monica25]

Yes I get the water at Texas tropical which is good water and the hairy stuff on the rock is brown. It's a 14 gallon biocube. How about a peppermint shrimp?

[Zack]

How long is your photoperiod and also is your tank being lit by the stock hood? If so, how old are the bulbs? On my old T-5 fixture if I ever got lazy changing the bulbs out I would get a nasty hair algae outbreak.

[Monica25]

I have the lights on from 3:30-10:30 then just moonlight after. The tank was newly setup on the 8th of Januarary, so they are only about are just going on three months soon.yes it's the stock hood.

[Zack]

Hmmm, I would honestly say the best thing to do would be to test the TDS of the RO water from the store and if everything looks good, then just wait it out. When I first got my tank setup I had a horrible diatom outbreak. I kept up with my water changes and let my CUC do the job and about two and a half weeks later everything was fine. Another maast user had a signature once saying, "Only bad things happen fast" and in this hobby that's pretty much the name of the game. Things like squeaky clean sand beds and rocks take time and patience!

[alton]

I call it the first year blues, nothing goes right algae blooms, diatoms, and the reason why most get out of the hobby. Then after a year (except on my 300 1 1/2) everything settles down, algae subsides sand looks great nitrates drop because of everything your tank is now seeded with. Softies like GSP, mushrooms, and Xenia do alot to help clean the water from phosphates and polution. Just be careful because they can take over. Adding a refugium will help also, I thought someone made a kit for bio cubes that slid into the back filter section for a refugium? Also I would put the moonlights on a timer, most are too bright, you only need two foot candles to match the natural moonlight, and most are around ten. I like scarlet reef and hawaiin crabs, take a tooth brush to the rocks and maybe stir the top of your sand around. How many and what types of fish do you have?

[Monica25]

I only have one fish. Red firefish. If I do that to the rock will I mess things up? Will the crabs kill my snails?

[kkiel02]

My money would go on the water from the store having high tds. Unless you are overfeeding your one fish? Diatoms need phosphate and silicate to grow. So to rid your tank of these you can either run phosban or do water changes to slowly lower the levels which each WC. The problem with the second is if your water is the problem WC will actually make it worse as you will be adding phosphates and silicates. Hope that helps and remember thats only my way of doing it, just like any other problem in the hobby, Im sure other people have gotten rid of diatoms differently.

PS- You might want to send John at reefcleaners a message and tell him your problems. He can recommend a good snail combo and he is super helpful!

[Monica25]

Thanks, if I do a five gallon water change will this be bad? Can I scrub my rock in the dirty water I take out? Thanks so much I will ask John about that!

[350gt]

I forgot what you were using for filtration....

[Monica25]

Just the normal stock.

[Zack]

I wouldn't do a 5 gallon water change in a 14 gallon tank. Our tanks don't like quick changes and that much of a change could do more harm than good. Have you tried chemi-pure elite? 2 or 3 months ago I was trying to get my tank back on track and the biggest hurdle I had was hair algae. I purchased the chemi-pure elite and along with my clean up crew that I had in the tank it really took care of the algae.

[Monica25]

No I haven't tried it but I heard it was good. I'm gonna look to get some. Thanks. Yeah my water is perfect I checked it today so I know I don't need a water change. I just want to took look clean again:.(

[justahobby]

Another thing to check is if your tank is near a window and sunlight is fueling the growth. Also, make sure you clean the back chambers regularly (weekly and thoroughly). The biocube is a great tank with a couple tweeks and good husbandry. Good luck!

[alton]

Of my four tanks the only one I have cyano issues with is the one that has only snails and no crabs? Now that I do not have any SPS in there I may try the Chemipure Elite. I also have a MP10 on it so I know the movement of water is not an issue and my TDS is 0 from my R/O system. Maybe we should start a new thread on snails and cyano or who eats snail poop?