Luvmyreef's 180g Diary

[luvmyreef]

Your welcome. Jokers are easy to come by and IMO do better under t5's than metal halides or leds. I have had them under all three and I had better coloration under t5's. And just to note: I siphoned everything including the sand, did atleast a 50g water change, and did the whole lights out thing for four days. It took 3 days of slowly acclimating everything back to actinics only and it came back. I am controlling it, but would rather kill it for good. But we will see. I am gonna try a couple different things.

 

[siptang]

wow I am so sorry that you had to go through all that... I think it would have drove me nuts... hang in there and please let me know how things turn out and thank you for identifying the Mystery coral in the picture.

 

[luvmyreef]

It's ok sip. I have eradicated two nuisance algaes and this is the last one. Just having trouble identifying it that's all. Only then will I be able to effectively treat it. The other two were nightmares lol. Glad they are gone.

 

[siptang]

whew~ I applaud you for your efforts!

 

[luvmyreef]

Thanks Buddy! It isn't over until this last one is gone. I am controlling it, but I just can't seem to eliminate it!

I am gonna experiment with a piece of rock with this algae on it. I will treat it with different things and see what works. I dont know what else to do with it at this point. So, we will see how it goes.

 

[luvmyreef]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bang Guy http:///t/378946/luvmyreefs-180g-diary/760#post_3494493
I doubt that is the case.
Hey Bang. Is there a reason why it couldnt be the dry sand? I just went to the store that I had purchased it from, and they didnt carry the exact bags I bought, but what they do have says its silicate based??? If the 20 or so pounds I bought in the beginning is silicate based, would it not cause me to have diatoms? I thought that people who used something like play sand have the same problems? Just asking. I am still debating the substrate change.

 

[bang guy]

It probably said Silica Based.
If it contains silcates (feldspar, etc) then yeah, that could absolutely cause a diatom bloom. Earlier you said it was marine sand, I may have misunderstood.

 

[luvmyreef]

No, I did say that. It came in 5lb bags and said marine sand on it IF I AM recalling it right. (it was like 2yrs ago) I remember it had a pic of a clownfish on the front of it. The kind they carry now says its or marine tanks too and that it is silica based. I haven't been able to feed my corals since this stuff started getting out of hand. I do large water changes, cut my light back, and it will still come back. That is when I read about checking your substrate for silicates. Made me think of that dry sand I had mixed in with the live. Something has to be feeding this stuff...Maybe it wouldnt hurt to change out the sand bed.....

 

[luvmyreef]

Ok. Here is a couple pics of the algae. One is of it on the rocks that I can mostly dust off. The other is what it does to the sand. It forms a layer that can be sucked off the sand. Someone chime in here please. Any idea what the heck it is? It's an orange golden color.

 

[reefr]

pic 1- diatoms kill this w/ excessive lighting time, bulbs not outdated, lots of flow
pic 2-algae? kill this w/out nutrients

 

[luvmyreef]

See, I am thinking that it is diatoms. But this tank is two years old and I have had this problem a long time. If it is diatoms then the source of its food has to be the substrate! I can think of nothing else that would be feeding it. I use RO/DI water. Besides my other 10g tank doesn't have this, and I use the same water. My bulbs are changed routinely. My parameters are in check. So.....I dunno unless its something different.

 

[luvmyreef]

Anybody else?

 

[novahobbies]

Looks like diatoms to me. Have you done anything to disturb your sand bed lately, maybe messed with it to cause a lower layer to be exposed?
Also, what is your TDS reading for your RODI? Old membranes can be letting contaminates through....and even NEW ones that aren't working well will read a TDS spike.

 

[luvmyreef]

Thanks for posting. TDS readings are good. I am replacing all filters on Wed. when they arrive anyway. This has been an ongoing problem in this tank. I haven't disturbed the sandbed. I am seriously thinking of replacing all the sand. One section at a time of course. I just can't think of any other reason for this!

 

[novahobbies]

ALso you should be aware that SOME dry Tufa base rock has been known to leach silicates. I have run into this problem myself with some of my rock, but not on the scale you are dealing with. Don't know if you used Tufa for your base rock aquascaping......just passing along the info.

 

[luvmyreef]

I used 2 pieces of base rock in the beginning that I thought were cool shaped, but it was labeled pacific base rock at the lfs. Good advice. Thanks for sharing!

 

[novahobbies]

Tufa is different from pacific base, so you're probably fine on that score.

 

[gemmy]

Do you have a test kit for silicates? Just a thought.

 

[luvmyreef]

No, I should get one though. I am running chemipure that is supposed to remove it. I will look into one tonight.

 

[luvmyreef]

Found two different test kits. One by seachem and one by salifert. I am ordering one of them tonight.