itskris Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 I have some green algae forming in mats on top of my sand. I don't have anything sand sifting right now... I can clean my tank and syphon the sand and the stuff will come back in a day or two. I run Rowa phosphate removal in a reactor. My question is... How bad would it be if I just went in daily and mixed up the sand to try and bury the algae so it can die off without light. The stuff does float up when it can be blown off of the sand but it comes up in small pieces that I have trouble getting out. I haven't had much luck removing large chunks of it. It is getting worse daily and where it was concentrated in one spot it has now spread. It will cover up the stuff I have in the sand bed and not let things open up. Best solution? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclipse522 Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 I would not try to bury it, it could create hydrogen sulfide pockets. If you release a sulfide pocket, it could kill your fish. Keep pulling the algea. There is are other ways to help fight unwanted algae. Turn off the lights for 3 or more days. Reduce the amount of food you are feeding you fish/ coral. Make sure you do not have a die animal. Do weekly water changes. Get some green macroalgae. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rworegon Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 (edited) Test for nitrates as well as phosphates. Shorten your light cycle some. Start a refugium and grow algae in there instead of your display. Edited April 21, 2015 by rworegon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack-the-reefer Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 I tried the stirring up method. All it did was spread the algae around. My best solution was to suck it out while I was doing water changes. Increase water changes and figure out what's fueling it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasquatch Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 ditch the sand!I have less problems without it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 I've tried all the suggestions above even no sand the later is to unrealistic for me. It turned out to be flow related and sand sifting stars, conchs, Diamond body, sleeper gobies - non of that helped. I've recently added a TMC 114 watt UV that has nuked everything in the water column (which works for me) algae is a thing of the past, as is any free floating parasite-the good the bad the "whatever" is radiated and my tanks looking better than ever can't even tell there is water in it LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 (edited) Maybe missed the point in all that blab, but stirring up the sand as you described won't eliminate it, at least it didn't for me. Increase flow to that area and see if that helps- I added the UV to help in killing free floating pests like ich (whichever state they are in when they are free floating) I don't have a Fuge so a UV is good for my tank/needs Edited April 21, 2015 by reefnjunkie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smann Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 I've tried all the suggestions above even no sand the later is to unrealistic for me. It turned out to be flow related and sand sifting stars, conchs, Diamond body, sleeper gobies - non of that helped. I've recently added a TMC 114 watt UV that has nuked everything in the water column (which works for me) algae is a thing of the past, as is any free floating parasite-the good the bad the "whatever" is radiated and my tanks looking better than ever can't even tell there is water in it LOL Where did you get the UV, didn't come up on a search Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev311 Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 (edited) I have a tmc unit as well, It works very well Edited April 23, 2015 by kev311 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Where did you get the UV, didn't come up on a search That's why the PM-sorry about that Steve-it's a 110 watt unit not 114. The was a 114 watt unit I was looking at but after reading all I did on UV I realized that unit was inferior, or at least in my opinion it was based on the logic behind them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedAcan Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 What you have sounds like "Cyanobacteria" which can be green or red. You can treat with red slime remover or antibiotics since it's a bacteria not an algae. Stirring will only spread it, but it is a good idea to suck up and remove as much as possible before treating. Here is a link to learn more http://kb.marinedepot.com/article.aspx?id=11162 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itskris Posted April 24, 2015 Author Share Posted April 24, 2015 Thank you RedAcan. I did some googling for pictures of green cyano and I would say that is exactly what it is. I'm going to treat this weekend after my water change. IF I went the route of keeping lights off for 3 days... How problematic can that be for coral? I have some highend zoas, favia, and a rainbow alveopora. I would hate for things to die knowing what I paid for them..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itskris Posted April 30, 2015 Author Share Posted April 30, 2015 If I have a rock with some cyano and/or algae and I pull the rock out for a few days to let it die... What are the chances of the cyano and/or algae growing back? Would drying the rock out kill it off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softy Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Chemiclean is some cool stuff to get rid of it 'now'. Works really well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 3 days with no light will kill it, but has shown some undesirable affects with acros and montis, often associated with a pH drop. Treating with antibiotics like the I clean can work, but if any of the bacteria survive the next round will be worse, so on and so forth. Cyano is a very efficient reproducer. It's able to round it's structure every 20 minutes. So leaving just a little bit will turn into a lot a bit quickly. IMO find the source of the problem and deal with that. Then if it were me and I didn't have all the sticks I have I'd do the 3 days with no light, and monitor the tanks pH as best you can. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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