Cant seem to keep my sand clean!.... Helppp

TheSaltySpitoon

TheSaltySpitoon

Member
How do i keep my sand clean!!! every 4 days it seems to be full of brownish and purple coraline!!!! i have like 2 inches of sand!

I have a 125 Gallon Mixed reef tank. With Rodi water... ASM g2 skimming insump (25gallon sump)! I have a t5 light with 3 settings on a timer to mimic dawn, miday and Night. With a power head on one side returning the water from my sump and another power head thats does 1400 GPH. In my tank i have 65 pounds of Live Rock with 1 tomato clown,2 emerald crabs,6peppermint shrimp,1 starfish, longspine sea urchin,and a dustercluster with two leather fingers that im about to get rid of!.... now what the hell i do 15 gallon water changes every 2-3 weeks and i been doing water changes alot latly in the last couple weeks since my sand keeps getting dirty! i cant seem to keep it clean! i dont get it!! what am i doing wrong ... all my levels are 0... its not slime algea which is good buts it like light brownish and im sick of it!!!! HELP:smck:
 
reefer4200

reefer4200

Member
Re: Cant seem to keeo my sand clean!.... Helppp

mine as bad too...are you by a window with sunlight maybe? Summer and sunlight helps make algea bloom. Sounds like diatom bloom maybe.. how old is tank and what are params? pics? I bought me a diamond goby and he keeps it nice and white, but laves MOUNDS everwhere...annoying...pick your battle. ha
 
TheSaltySpitoon

TheSaltySpitoon

Member
Re: Cant seem to keeo my sand clean!.... Helppp

reefer4200 said:
mine as bad too...are you by a window with sunlight maybe? Summer and sunlight helps make algea bloom. Sounds like diatom bloom maybe.. how old is tank and what are params? pics? I bought me a diamond goby and he keeps it nice and white, but laves MOUNDS everwhere...annoying...pick your battle. ha
Click to expand...

nothing its in my basement where there are no windows!!!!!! also its a light very light teal color also covering my sand along with brownish

my tank is about 5 months-6 months old... brand new!
 
DeepBlue

DeepBlue

Member
Re: Cant seem to keeo my sand clean!.... Helppp

Well, that does not sound like coraline. With your tank being brand new, it is going through it's cycle. This sounds like diatoms to me. This will in time clear up with water changes of 20% every two weeks and with good flow throughout the tank. When you do your water changes, you will need to siphon out the diatomic bloom by just taking the siphon close to the surface of your sand and it will lift up like a carpet. Some sand will go with this, but it is small. Also, very lightly, stir up the top 1/4" of sand (no deeper so as to not disturb the lower zones). Use a turkey baster and blow off any diatom blooms off your rocks. Keeping up with water changes will also help get rid of the green slime algae as well in time. You just have to be patient and stay on top of it or it will get out of control.
 
TheSaltySpitoon

TheSaltySpitoon

Member
Re: Cant seem to keeo my sand clean!.... Helppp

yea i been doing that cleaning off the sand i skim the top of it and it comes right off...when i do water changes.... also green slime algea is growing to... on my back wall...is that good or bad?... and like i coraline is trying to grow but i think it out numberd by the green. there are spots of it all over the back but i dont think it can defeat the big green monster....
 
DeepBlue

DeepBlue

Member
Re: Cant seem to keeo my sand clean!.... Helppp

For now, the best thing to do is to scrape the green algae off the glass, and yes, some of the coraline will come off as well, but it is better to get rid of the bad algae.

But, like I said about the diatoms, just keeping consistant with water changes and siphoning it off on a regular basis will go a long way. Based on the size of your tank and live stock, you should be doing at least a 25 gallon water change every two weeks. But, until you get the diatoms under control, you should look at doing a water change once a week. JMO
 
DeepBlue

DeepBlue

Member
Re: Cant seem to keeo my sand clean!.... Helppp

Also, in doing this, you will notice more and more coraline growth and then it is harder for the nasty green to grow.
 
Jeremy0322

Jeremy0322

Active Member
Re: Cant seem to keeo my sand clean!.... Helppp

See, i have a question about this then. I have a similar problem, not really bad at all but it does get somewhat annoying. About the diamond goby though, i bought one a few days ago and it hasnt even touched the bottom of the tank yet, is just sits there next to the overflow and chills unless its feeding time, then it swims around, grabs some food, and then goes back to sitting there. Is this normal, and if not is there a way to coax him to the bottom?
 
reefer4200

reefer4200

Member
Re: Cant seem to keeo my sand clean!.... Helppp

Jeremy0322 said:
See, i have a question about this then. I have a similar problem, not really bad at all but it does get somewhat annoying. About the diamond goby though, i bought one a few days ago and it hasnt even touched the bottom of the tank yet, is just sits there next to the overflow and chills unless its feeding time, then it swims around, grabs some food, and then goes back to sitting there. Is this normal, and if not is there a way to coax him to the bottom?
Click to expand...

Im sure its because he was fed really good at theLFS, i was lucky and my diamond came in and was chugging sand literally. However, from my experience once they arent sitting in a smaller tank eating a crap load of food from the owners showing people and regular feedings etc...he should start to chugg sand....just dont starve him!!
 
TheSaltySpitoon

TheSaltySpitoon

Member
k i just spent 2 hours cleaning my tank... i reaarranged my LR and fanned out the sand behind it while i did that scrubbed ALL the green off along with 10g water change skimming the top of the sand cleaning it well.... should be goooood
 
Jeremy0322

Jeremy0322

Active Member
Yea, as soon as i posted i noticed him in the sand bed eating away. Too bad it was in the Tangs turf and was short lived, but at least i know he knows where the bottom and how to do it all...haha.
 
DeepBlue

DeepBlue

Member
That sounds good Salty, keep at it and before you know it, no more brown/purple sand! It takes a while (weeks), but it will pay off.
 
TheSaltySpitoon

TheSaltySpitoon

Member
deep i woke up today and alittle brownish on my sand also green slime on all four walls... so i used my magnet cleaner to clean the walls off and ill do another 5g water change to clean up my sand also i did notice coraline on my big pump that does about 1400ghp i tried to rub it off but it wouldnt come off so i know it coraline and not cyano! thank god but yea how quickly wil that coraline spread?

Also thanks for staying with me on this very appreciated
 
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