detritus?

[target001]

hi guys

just wondering what detritus actually looks like

i seem to have a lot of browny green almost algie looking stuff on my sand bed, when i clean it off a week later its back again.

pics would be a great help here

thnx in advance

[Camilsky]

hey chap ...!
Detritus is defined as organic matter produced by the decomposition of organisms. It may look like a layer of dust/differently shaped particles. My guess is You are having problems with DINO's. Overfeeding /microbiological imbalance + all forms mineral forms of silica = blooming DINO's... Please check different threads about DINOS...

[djnzlab1]

hi,
many people will use a small army of the hermits to keep the top layers of sand clean, I don't care for starfish they eat to many of the copods and poop out to easily and DOA.
Another idea is a sand stirrer like a goby,
Are you skimming and maybe your water flow is a little off.
My tanks have so much water flow you need to hide behind a rock or hang on for dear life yor you may get to ride the overflow flume to the sump...
Doug
THings that are bad for sand usally are due to waste in the water column not being exported.
Back off on feeding only feed small amounts.

[target001]

i have got 3 hermits in the tank then kinda steer clear of the stuff

as for water flow i have my skimmer in the main tank along with a power head, and 2 canister filters 1 that cycles the water 10 times and hour and the other prolly about half that .
there is no direct water flow accross the bottem front of tank because it just blows the sand around and it all seems to go straight over my corals like a magnet
i think water flow in that section may help but i also think if i do put water flow directly on that spot then this stuff is just gonna move some where else to live which is a risk i dont really wana take

after reading some of the other articles on here it would almost seem like i have a phos and maybe silica problem and dont have a test kit for either =\

my globes are t5ho 1 16k 1 actinics and are both about 4 months old

my skimmer is on all day but i turn it off at night <cos its so dam loud>
i normally fill the cup on top in abut a days skimming
i had a goby till it jumped out the tank it didnt do very much while it was in my tank

thnx

edit: my tank is fed once a day <fish> a very small amout of mysis <frozen>

[djnzlab1]

HI,
Many of the newer tanks will have dust from ground up sand particles , so the water flow may push it around till it get stuck somewhere.
maybe more rocks, or a big old sump, mine is full of mud from Figi, I try to not disturb it too much or the skimmer goes nuts and barfs all kinds of junk..
DOug

[target001]

it cant be mud in there because the substrate i have is completely different colour it looks like some kind of algie growin on there i think but i bought some stuff today to hopefully kill it off "allgone" its called is meant to reduce phosphates and silicates and slow algie growth right down

thnx for yer help

[omard]

If you have not checked lately, you probably have a layer of the stuff in the sump which is slowly building up.

You need to clean it out periodically so it does not go back in tank when you stir it up (adding water, etc)

To keep it from building up in both tank and sump is to put filter socks on your return lines.

My hermits/shrimp keep things pretty cleaned up in the tank.

[target001]

i dont have a sump ......... yet

only canisters

[target001]

i found the problem i think what i have looks like on the link below
and have hopefully sorted out the problem


My beautiful Aragonite turned in this

[omard]

Originally Posted by target001

i found the problem i think what i have looks like on the link below
and have hopefully sorted out the problem


My beautiful Aragonite turned in this

Now that is a problem that is easy to deal with!

...just wait.

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