Can't figure out how to get rid of this

[sasha]

Hi Guys,

The problem that I have probably was already discussed. But the trouble is that I can't identify what I have and hence can't find the proper solution. Here is the link to the tank's information and pictures: http://www.math.ubc.ca/~barannyk/Aquarium/FishTank.html

And I'll try to explain in details what is happening: Quite recently, around one month ago, the front of the send started to cover with some slimy/brown/film-like substance. I did not touch it for about three weeks, then I thought that it is a cyanobacteria of somekind, went to LFS and bought a chemi-clean. Well, I did a treatment as directed, two stages, but nothing happened, the thing did not quit growing, instead it continues to grow. What is interesting is that it grows only in a certain area right front part of the tank. It continue to grow if I remove it physically or stir it with a stick. So I don't know what to do to get rid of it, it looks ugly ;-)

Another question that I would like to ask you guys is about my anemone. The problem is that I can't identify it and my clowns don't want to go inside of it. What would be your suggestion?

Thanks a lot in advance

Alex

[Willow]

if your tank is new it sounds like diatoms. a normal part of tank cycling, try using the board search there are a lot of threads on it.

[Matt]

Wow, those are some huge photos. Not much doubt in my mind that's cyanobacteria. (all due respect to Willow...)

Much has been written. WetWebMedia.com is as good a place as any to begin. Short course: skim wet, feed less, change water, increase water flow. The tank is pretty new, so you may be getting a lot of nutrients into the water from the LR. I'm also a bit suspicious that your phosphate test is faulty, as 0.0 in tapwater seems a tad unlikely.

I'm no anemone expert (but I can culture aiptasia without trying). Looks a little like a codylactis - which is an Atlantic. Others will chime in, I'm sure. If it is, there's not much chance your clowns will accept it, and if they do, no guarantee the anemone won't eat them. Before I got my anemone (bubble tip), I did a bit of reading, and discovered that: a) not all clowns will host an anemone in captivity, sometimes preferring a powerhead or mushroom or soft coral; and b) various species of clowns have distinct preferences about anemones. ReefCentral has a good faq: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=282136

Matthew

[marie]

Yep they sure are big photos . looks like cyanobacteria to me too. Your tank is still going through cycling and will for the next few months. As stated, skimming lots of wet skimmate, increase water flow and when you feed mysis or other frozen foods, rinse well so the juices aren't added to your tank. Also siphon out as much of the cyano as you can when doing water changes and have the patience to let your tank have time to mature. Good luck and keep asking questions

[sasha]

Hi Guys,

Thanks a lot for your answers.

[sumpfinfishe]

Sasha,
As already mentioned above, it looks like cyno. Your tank is still maturing and it's growing in that area of your sand bed because that's were there is the least amount of flow and or the most available light reflected from the sand.

With a young system like yours there are a few cycles to go through, not just the water has to cycle but the sand bed needs to seed and cycle itself and so will your live rock. This is the hardest time for reefer's and fish keepers alike due to the fact that sometimes these cycles can last forever if properly fueled. If you follow the advice of others, read a few books, many more threads and keep your tank maintenance on schedule then you should pull through this and other cycles without a too much worry.

Also during this stage you need to use extra care in many ways like: not overfeeding, keeping filters clean, water changes on time, etc... otherwise if you don't then your simply fueling the cycle and more undesirable events will happen.

You should also research everything before you place it in your tank, this is just common sense. Buying an anemone for your clowns was a nice thought, however your tank is still very young and anemones can be very sensitive to change so take care. It looks like a brown long tentacle which is hardier than some others. I had one for about 2 years until it outgrew my tank which both my pink skunk clowns loved. As mentioned tho clowns are very selective by nature when it comes to choosing a host so even if you have the right anemone that your clowns usually host to by nature doesn't mean this action will take place in your tank. After I traded in that anemone my clowns were fine by taking up host in a large frogspawn coral as a surrogate host.

One final comment if I may blab on and on, is regarding that grape macro algae that you have. IMO it's not the best thing to place in your tank, it would be better in a sump or refugium as the cyno cycle that your having will help fuel it's growth which if left unattended you might end up with a tank full of it. Instead of using plants and algae to help remove nutrients from you tank at this time, I would suggest increased water changes-that is if your using properly treated RO/D water and not just treated tap water.

Good luck and sorry if I seem rather blunt, but you can save yourself a whole lot of worries in this hobby by being aware of what can happen before it actually does

[sasha]

Hi Rich,

Thanks for suggestions. I was wandering if send bed require time to seed and cycle itself then by siphoning it I remove valuable organisms that do this job. On the other hand, If I don't remove organic, as you mentioned, it will fuel cyano. Looks a bit confusing, even though correct in both directions. How often do one need to siphon send and do one need to do this under LR (can't imagine how though ;-)).

[sumpfinfishe]

Hey Sasha,

I see your confusion, what you need to do is siphon off any cyno that may be forming on top of the sandbed. You do not need to siphon sand out as well, although even with a steady touch you will probably pull out a small amount. What I suggest is using say a 1/4 inside diameter hose or even a large size piece of airline tubing and gently sweeping over the area.This smaller hose will be less suction and a finer opening to remove only cyno instead of using a large diameter hose that might suck out half your sandbed in one pass. You might even want to try using one of those eye droppers that come in test kits-just make sure it's a clean one! Any sand that you accidental pull out could be washed with RO water and placed back into the tank. Stirring up a little sand when you siphon off that cyno should not cause any major release of organics back into the tank, now if you stirred up all your sand that would cause problems. You only need to siphon when the cyno accumulates to keep it under control.
The cyno will fuel your bubble algae to grow at this stage that's why I suggested adding it to a sump or refugium because you don't want the bubble algae to establish a foothold in your tank whether it's in there for nutrient removal and or cosmetic reasons, you can add a slower growing type of plant after you cyle with cyno has passed and your tank has matured more.

As for cleaning under LR, most reefers don't pull out there LR every 6 months to clean up. Most reefers do however move, upgrade tanks, or re-aqua scape from time to time which helps control the buildup. This is one of the main reasons why some reefers switch to bare bottom. I believe like others tho that sandbeds are beneficial to most reeftanks, however over time if they are not partially cleaned or if there's not enough natural processing going on then they will eventually become unstable and cause a serious problem.

Happy sifting