Purple Hair

Reefrookie79 · #1 04-01-2011, 02:22 AM

Could anyone pls tell what this stuff is? It's all over my sand. And is it bad or should I not worry about it?[IMG]file:///C:/Users/User/Desktop/IMG_0870.JPG[/IMG]

wingedfish · #2 04-01-2011, 02:27 AM

cyano, if the tank is new keep vacuuming it up till things stabilize, if the tank is aged, what's your parameters?

Reefrookie79 · #3 04-01-2011, 03:05 AM

I'll have to check what they are again. I can't remember what they are. Is it bad?

matinbc · #4 04-01-2011, 04:25 AM

Its bad... lol...

My tank is almost a year old now and I have just had another outbreak of it. I am not too worried about it, I just vaccuum it out with water changes. Its due to improper nutrient export. (Mind my spelling)

Clean your skimmer often.. like at least 2wice a week. cut back on the feeding a bit too...

Anyone???

RuGlu6 · #5 04-01-2011, 05:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wingedfish

cyano, if the tank is new keep vacuuming it up till things stabilize, if the tank is aged, what's your parameters?

+1

dacookster · #6 04-03-2011, 06:16 PM

My tank is 3 months old and I'm experiencing my first bad outbreak. Covers entire sand bed. No nitrates, and calcium and alkalinity all test out fine. I read on a sticky here that nitrates will be hidden as the cyano is eating them. Am I fine to just vacuum it and just wait it out, or should I do some drastic water changes???

makana · #7 04-05-2011, 02:45 AM

I know most people are against treating it but I battled cyano constantly until I treated it. My parameters always read zero so I really don't know what is wrong. I have no doubt that it is caused by improper nutrients, but I have not been able to figure out how to fix it. So I treated my tank and had no cyano for almost a year, it just came back and I treated it again a couple weeks back.

wingedfish · #8 04-05-2011, 03:07 AM

cyano is a form of algae (debatable), blue green if I'm not mistaken and it takes both nitrate and phosphate to grow as do all "plants" Because the tank is new, my advice FWIW, is to keep siphoning it off till the nitrifying bacteria can get established in the rock. Growing algae in a fuge is the best means to starve the cyano. vodka dosing with a good skimmer should also do the trick but it all takes time. I had an outbreak at around the three month mark and it took weeks of siphoning five gallons at a time every two days. I used a two foot piece of hard clear plastic pipe with four feet of vinyl pipe attached around 3/8" thick to pinpoint the siphon where you want and not get too much water. Siphoning off is exporting unwanted nutrients rather than killing it to fuel other outbreaks of different nasties.

lastlight · #9 04-05-2011, 03:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wingedfish

I used a two foot piece of hard clear plastic pipe with four feet of vinyl pipe attached around 3/8" thick to pinpoint the siphon where you want and not get too much water.

This is exactly what I did. That and pickup a sand sifting goby. Those issues are entirely gone now. I also started feeding my pellets a little more carefully to ensure no food hits the bottom although if a few do now the goby is all over it in a heartbeat. Good luck!

Madreefer · #10 04-05-2011, 03:24 AM

Your tank is not old enough for a sand sifting goby to survive. It will quickly strip your sand of food than most likely starve to death. New tanks usually go threw a few outbreaks before it gets established. Just do as others mentioned. Syphon it off, keep up on your water changes and cut back on your feeding.