Why and How?

Why do I have so much of this algae and how do I get rid of it? I've got upwards towards 15 hermit crabs. I believe they started killing each other so not sure EXACTLY how many there are now. I vacuum the sand when I change the water and mix it around but it still keeps showing up.

 

How old is the tank? What type of lights do you have and how old are the bulbs? How long are the lights on? How size tank is it? How much flow do you have in the tank? How often do you feed? What are your parameters (exact params please)?

 

75 gal tank been up since 9/16. I'm not quite sure what the lights I have are. I made the newbie mistake of not buying the proper lighting the first time but my buddy owns a store and says what I have is fine for it just being a FOWLR. The white light is from March of this year and the blue lights I bought in Sept. I haven't been running the lights as often b/c I know that's supposed to help with this issue but between 5-8 hours a day on the white light. I feed once a day since I'm having issues with the fish and I have a return pump and an MJ 1200 on the right side of the tank. The guy at my LFS says I could probably use a MJ 900 or another 1200 to fix the slight dead spot that currently is under the MJ and return pump

I don't have exact param's but on Sunday when I did them pH was closer to 8.4 and everything else was at zero, I believe

 

I would say your issue is flow. To give you an idea, I am running 2 425GPH korallia nanos, 1 1400GPH Evo, 1 1050 GPH evo, and my return is circulation 635GPH through the sump on my 75G.

Even if you added the 900or the 1200, I still think there will not be enough flow to take care of the issue.

The type of "algae" you have is cyano bacteria. The three main causes of it are too much lighting or old bulbs, not enough flow, and high nitrates (excess nutrients in the tank).

I would add more flow to the tank and only feed every other day.

What is your light cycle?

 

Eh another mistake. My light cycle is different everyday, not enough research for sure. I didn't realize how important it was so I just kinda turn it on and off as I please. My roommate also does not help either, however, I'm currently lookin' for a timer to fix this issue

 

Hello my new friend and welcome to 3Reef !

First, lets start with what you have – that’s not Algae, but Cyano Bacteria. Main contributor to it is DOC (dissolved organic compounds) – a good skimmer is your fiend here. Nitrates and phosphates are generally also culprets – water chanes to reduce the nitrates and a good RO/DI unit and a phosphate sponge will go a long way.

Now, to your specific system, can you please post your full parameters – from there we will be able to help you more.

 

I don't have exact param's but on Sunday when I did them pH was closer to 8.4 and everything else was at zero, I believe.

I currently do not have a RO/DI unit. This has whole thing has turned into being a lot more complex than I thought. I'm not sure if I I'll even be able to get one. My living situation is sticky, my buddy bought a house and he's difficult to live with to say the least and is just a pain about the whole fish tank aspect of it.

As far as my skimmer goes I figured out what it is. See one of my buddies opened a SW store and kinda has just guided me through the initial set up but hasn't given me too much info. Anyway, my skimmer is Coralife Super Skimmer Needle Wheel. I'm hoping he gave me at least the 125 version of it but since the initial set up he hasn't been too helpful...

 

OK, I understand that “everything is zero” by asking you to post the full gambit we are then able to see what you test for and advise if you are omitting something.

I love the needle wheel, great skimmer in my opinion.

RO/DI is important – I suggest you test your make up water so you are aware of what you are adding to your tank. Many LFS sell RO/DI water. You can buy distilled water in the least until you get an RO/DI unit.

Talk to your buddy and get more information and keep posting here – we will help you.

 

It looks like red slime to me. Try chemiclean, that along with good water flow has done an excellent job for me.

 

Ack ! no. Sadly, there are no silver bullets when it comes to our hobby. Any product to “clear up” cyano bacteria or anything else is going to be a masking agent and will not get to the root cause. You can accomplish this task with a turkey baster and a siphon hose. The trick is to identify the cause and rectify the problem – because its just that, a problem.

Oh BB - you altered your post ! ChemiClean is by no means a white powder....yes, I concur that its a step in the right direction and an excellant phosphate remover. where you originally thinking of Purigen ? or does Chemiclean make a cyano product I am not aware of? I suspect this is it -- but then I will still say you need to get to the root cause. you said Chemiclean and I thought Chemipure ! lol -- funny. I will google ChemiClean so I have an understanding of exactly what it does