I need some help with a problem tank..

[michelleh1403]

I have had my fishtank up and running for about 2 years now. I have recently moved rooms and need to get my fish tank to a new location.

Over the last two months I some what neglected my fish tank by not doing water changes when I should and cleaning it properly..which has resulted in a few problems. Im not sure if I should try to restart my tank entirely or try to fix the damage i have made.

I have a lot of fuzzy green hair like algae. It is growing on more then half of my rocks.
I have a lot of long legged worms..like spaghetti worms.
I have a few new "coral" looking plants going off my rocks. they look some what like anenomies. a long stem with a circle center and long wavy things coming off it.
I used to get this red slime algae but it doesn't seem to show up any more.
One thing that i noticed when my tank was probably 6 months old was that I have these pink worms with white bristle like feelers all along the sides of them. I don't know what they are and if they are harmful or not.

I want to know if i should start my tank over fresh and new or try to fix what I have. also I would like to know anything about the problems that I listed above. They all concern me and I would really like to fix my tank so that it runs smoothly again..I am also somewhat new to all the salt water language. so you might have to "dumb" some things down for me.

Anything you guys can help me with or teach me would be very much appreciated! Thanks!

 

[geridoc]

Quote:
Originally Posted by michelleh1403 http:///t/396757/i-need-some-help-with-a-problem-tank#post_3535001
I have had my fishtank up and running for about 2 years now. I have recently moved rooms and need to get my fish tank to a new location.

Over the last two months I some what neglected my fish tank by not doing water changes when I should and cleaning it properly..which has resulted in a few problems. Im not sure if I should try to restart my tank entirely or try to fix the damage i have made.

I have a lot of fuzzy green hair like algae. It is growing on more then half of my rocks. ?Too much nutrient in the water. Time for some serious water changes.
I have a lot of long legged worms..like spaghetti worms. See my comment above about nutrient.
I have a few new "coral" looking plants going off my rocks. they look some what like anenomies. a long stem with a circle center and long wavy things coming off it. Can you post a picture. See my comment above about nutrient.
I used to get this red slime algae but it doesn't seem to show up any more.
One thing that i noticed when my tank was probably 6 months old was that I have these pink worms with white bristle like feelers all along the sides of them. I don't know what they are and if they are harmful or not. These sound like bristle worms. They are an important part of your clean up crew, and are growing well because of ...well, see my comment above about nutrient.

I want to know if i should start my tank over fresh and new or try to fix what I have. also I would like to know anything about the problems that I listed above. They all concern me and I would really like to fix my tank so that it runs smoothly again..I am also somewhat new to all the salt water language. so you might have to "dumb" some things down for me. You surely have an excess of nutrient. Testing for things like phosphate won't help guide you, since the algae are growing at the maximum rate they can, and are using phosphate to do so. The best ways to reduce algae, and any other excessive-nutrient organisms is to reduce the nutrient level in the tank: These would be water changes, addition of macro algae to the sump or refugium, an algae scrubber, reduced feeding, and (temporarily) reduced lighting. Probably your best bet would be a combination of quick fixes (water changes) and longer term strategies to bring the tank back. Be patient, nothing good happens fast in marine tanks.

Anything you guys can help me with or teach me would be very much appreciated! Thanks!

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by michelleh1403 http:///t/396757/i-need-some-help-with-a-problem-tank#post_3535001
I have had my fishtank up and running for about 2 years now. I have recently moved rooms and need to get my fish tank to a new location.

Over the last two months I some what neglected my fish tank by not doing water changes when I should and cleaning it properly..which has resulted in a few problems. Im not sure if I should try to restart my tank entirely or try to fix the damage i have made.

I have a lot of fuzzy green hair like algae. It is growing on more then half of my rocks.
I have a lot of long legged worms..like spaghetti worms.
I have a few new "coral" looking plants going off my rocks. they look some what like anenomies. a long stem with a circle center and long wavy things coming off it.
I used to get this red slime algae but it doesn't seem to show up any more.
One thing that i noticed when my tank was probably 6 months old was that I have these pink worms with white bristle like feelers all along the sides of them. I don't know what they are and if they are harmful or not.

I want to know if i should start my tank over fresh and new or try to fix what I have. also I would like to know anything about the problems that I listed above. They all concern me and I would really like to fix my tank so that it runs smoothly again..I am also somewhat new to all the salt water language. so you might have to "dumb" some things down for me.

Anything you guys can help me with or teach me would be very much appreciated! Thanks!

Hi,


Wow, where to begin. The anemone looking things sound like aptasia, they are a real problem. DO NOT DISTURB them, they will release spores and spread like a wild fire. They sting coral and fish. Joes juice, or aptasia X will get rid of the big ones and any you can reach (follow the directions) ... peppermint shrimp will eat the little new growths.

Hair algae is caused by too much PO4 (phosphates) and NO3 (nitrates). a water test will give you a false negative reading because the algae is feeding off of it. The cure for that is to do water changes...daily or once a week water changes, and make sure your tank is not by a window getting direct sunlight. Old bulbs will also help propagate it.

The "red slime" is called Cyanobacteria... It's caused from low flow to overfeeding. It thrives on the extra nutrients in the water...the hair algae won the battle for the extra nutrients, and it disappeared.

The pink bristle worms are good guys, and part of the natural CUC (clean up crew)...BUT...do not touch them with your bare fingers, they sting.

If you are moving your tank to another room anyway...take your rock, AFTER YOU ZAPPED THE APTASIA WITH JJ or APTASIA X....one at a time, and put it in 3 to 4 separate buckets of SALTWATER...in the first bucket (you don't have to fill the buckets to the top) scrub the HA off of them with a scrub brush...then move the rock to another bucket and rinse, shake the rock real good and rub with your hands to make sure you get all the spores off from the hair algae, next bucket ... rinse...then move the rock to the last bucket and rinse again. Replace the now cleaned rock back into the tank or a holding tub. You have to rearrange the rock work, and it will be easier if you get all the rock cleaned up before you begin that chore.

If you soak your rock in freshwater it will kill everything off and you will have base rock, not live rock anymore....we pay so much for live rock, doing that would be a shame, but sometimes if the problem is really bad, and only as a last resort...a freshwater soak then air dry will get rid of aptasia.

 

[silverado61]

If you use Peppermint Shrimp, be forewarned, there are different types of Peppermint Shrimp and only one is reputed as an Aiptasia eater. It's name is: Lysmata Wurdemanni). It's not as translucent as Lysmata Californica (Catalina cleaner shrimp). The other types are a gamble as to whether or not they will eat Aiptasia.

 

[jay0705]

Just an idea that worked for me w the apatasia. I took the rock out that had them. Boiled water and hit only the spots that had the little bastards w it. Knock on wood haven't had any since. The water will kill what ev it contacts algae. And such so u have to be careful but it worked for me

 

[geridoc]

I had a bad aptasia problem, but eventually solved it. I injected the larger polyps with kalkwasser and added 3 peppermint shrimp (30 gallon system). I never see the peppermint shrimp, but over the course of 2-3 months all of the aptasia have vanished. Occasionally I do see a small polyp start, but it disappears in a day or two - thank you, peppermint shrimp!

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by GeriDoc http:///t/396757/i-need-some-help-with-a-problem-tank#post_3535024
I had a bad aptasia problem, but eventually solved it. I injected the larger polyps with kalkwasser and added 3 peppermint shrimp (30 gallon system). I never see the peppermint shrimp, but over the course of 2-3 months all of the aptasia have vanished. Occasionally I do see a small polyp start, but it disappears in a day or two - thank you, peppermint shrimp!

Hi,

That worked for me too...

Mechelleh, if you move the rock, it will cause a big problem if the aptasia problem (spread like wild fire) isn't addressed first, Also if you overfeed your tank, the peppermints shrimp will not bother the aptasia, they are part of the CUC (clean up crew) if you feed them, they won't clean up what they were purchased to eat. Feed only what your fish will eat in a few minutes, don't adjust the food to feed the shrimp.

Overfeeding is also feeding cyano and hair algae.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Quote:
Originally Posted by silverado61 http:///t/396757/i-need-some-help-with-a-problem-tank#post_3535020
If you use Peppermint Shrimp, be forewarned, there are different types of Peppermint Shrimp and only one is reputed as an Aiptasia eater. It's name is: Lysmata Wurdemanni). It's not as translucent as Lysmata Californica (Catalina cleaner shrimp). The other types are a gamble as to whether or not they will eat Aiptasia.

Hey man, id also add that peppermint shrimp also get confused with camelback shrimp.


Sounds like everyone is givingyo great advice. Mine is.... keep it up.