green alge all over my cc
- Thread starter sloth54
- Start date
jim672
Member
Where are you getting your water that you use for top-offs and water changes? Have you tested your tank water for phosphates and silicates? If you're using tap water (or even some bottled water) you probably have elevated levels of phosphate/silicate which is probably causing your algea problem.
What kind of lighting are you running and how old are the bulbs? Old bulbs could also contribute to algea growth.
Last.....how many fish do you have and how much are you feeding them? Uneaten food and fish waste can deposit in cc substraits and as it decays, it can leach phosphates back into your water column. Do you "vacuum" your cc regularly?
Jim
What kind of lighting are you running and how old are the bulbs? Old bulbs could also contribute to algea growth.
Last.....how many fish do you have and how much are you feeding them? Uneaten food and fish waste can deposit in cc substraits and as it decays, it can leach phosphates back into your water column. Do you "vacuum" your cc regularly?
Jim
sloth54
Member
jim, i do use tap water, so that is probably the problem. My cleanup crew is non existant because one of my fish had ich, so i had to get rid of them to treat teh tank. Is there an additive i can buy to balance out my tap water>?
I use the lights that came with the tank when i bought it from petsmart. How often should i be vacumming my crushed coral?
I use the lights that came with the tank when i bought it from petsmart. How often should i be vacumming my crushed coral?
thefishfreak03
Member
well you should also use ro/di unit whcih im buying very soon.
jb1
Member
you might want to setup a qt tank for the fish while you do the swap
southdown is the sand you want but if you can not find it you can use fine playsand for your sand bed.. some people say that the reg sand causes algae more and say it does not. i have the reg. playsand with no bad algae outbreaks
southdown is the sand you want but if you can not find it you can use fine playsand for your sand bed.. some people say that the reg sand causes algae more and say it does not. i have the reg. playsand with no bad algae outbreaks
jim672
Member
jb1 has you on the right track. I switched my tank from cc to live sand a couple years ago. I just used one of the substrait "vacuums" to pick up all the cc. I did clean it real well first to get rid of as much detritus as I could so my water wouldn't be a total mess. While I had cc, I used to vacuum it about once a month. It's time-consuming but you should have seen all the gunk that I got out of there.
First things first, though. What did you add to your tank in your attempt to kill the ick? If you used anything with copper in it, it could be deadly to your livestock. Also, have any of your left-over fish exhibited any symptoms of ick lately?
Normal output (NO) flourescent bulbs are usually good for about 6 months before they need to be replaced. If the bulbs you have are over your tank are 40 watt they are NO bulbs.
If you decide to switch to a sand base, I'd use some live sand and supplement that with Southdown. A live sand bed will grow bacteria that converts ammonia to nitrate and nitrate to nitrite.....which gets exports out of the water column, generally, through water movement at the top of the tank.
Jim
First things first, though. What did you add to your tank in your attempt to kill the ick? If you used anything with copper in it, it could be deadly to your livestock. Also, have any of your left-over fish exhibited any symptoms of ick lately?
Normal output (NO) flourescent bulbs are usually good for about 6 months before they need to be replaced. If the bulbs you have are over your tank are 40 watt they are NO bulbs.
If you decide to switch to a sand base, I'd use some live sand and supplement that with Southdown. A live sand bed will grow bacteria that converts ammonia to nitrate and nitrate to nitrite.....which gets exports out of the water column, generally, through water movement at the top of the tank.
Jim
sloth54
Member
ok, i think i am going to try the switch, for a 55 gal, about how many lbs of sand do i need? 50? I hope everything goes ok, i wont be able to set up a quarantine tank unfortunately.
i used rid-ich, i dont think it had any copper in it. Also my fish are no longer showing any signs of it.
i used rid-ich, i dont think it had any copper in it. Also my fish are no longer showing any signs of it.