I was just looking at the tank closely and noticed some rocks are growing what looks like small strands of bacteria... there's also a whitish film on the glass that almost looks like algae but is a little stringy. I just ran a round of tests and my parameters are rock solid there's really no "apparent and or obvious" cause that I can determine..... frustrating.
I've heard the term "second cycle" but honestly I have no idea what that means? I don't have any ammonia, nitrite or nitrate and p04 below .03 and pale sps. I haven't added anything to the tank in about a month.
Just another random thought regarding the issue I'm dealing with...
The UV is on for 12 hours a day and is keeping the water crystal clear: however, bacteria is still growing on the glass (slowly) and my corals still look rather pale. I noticed something interesting when I was cleaning the front glass off tonight... After I cleaned the glass I noticed this jelly like strands floating around... they were about and inch long and could just barely be seen... I'm guessing it came off the glass when I cleaned it. What I find interesting is that I have been seeing these weird strands for the past couple of months every now and then.
My water change regimen is blowing off rocks and then changing about 16 gallon of water a week. My Nitrates always test zero and my p04 is usually between .03-.05. I have not given cleaned my sand because the fish poop does not go up the vacuum and all I do is take out sand. Sooooooo....
Is it possible that the bacteria bloom is a result of fish poop on my substrate? I do feed rather heavily, 2 to 3 times a day. I feed PE mysis, Hikari Brine/Spirulina and cyclopeeze with Selcon every feeding. The one variable that has me puzzled is that my corals were doing SO well and had nice color until this bloom. How is it possible that I don't have any Nitrates with this heavy feeding? I also have zero algae growth as well.
I have a bacteria bloom, my corals are pale, i feed heavily, some lps corals are not fully out and I don't have any algae growth.
Any ideas anyone... This is becoming very frustrating and I'm really at a loss.
Post by jasonandsarah on Jan 1, 2015 20:58:09 GMT -5
What about trying to get your nitrates up a bit? I've read some people say that maintaining nitrates at zero gave them dino's, cyano and other problems as well and some people even dose Seachems flourish (nitrate) just so they have a constant supply in the tank, at a low level obviously. Things need a little nitrate and having none over a long period of time can mess with things. Just my 2 cents,not saying I'm right but it's an idea at least.
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75 gallon Sps dominant Reef, Vertex Omega 150 Protein skimmer,eshops overflow, 40 breeder diy sump, Jebao DC9000 return pump, Maxspect gyre xf-150, Jeabo wp-40 and 2 Radion gen3 pro's (Ran at 65%)
I am only using an api test kit for Nitrate, but since I don't see any algae I'm assuming it is correct in its reading of 0.
I started to vacuum my sand tonight and noticed hundreds of tube worm type animals just under the substrate.... there are literally hundreds of them in the tank, I assume they are beneficial since they are filter feeders so I stopped.
Is the bacteria competing with the algae for nutrients? If so, how? I've never heard of a tank with 0 algae... I mean I have none... not even film on the glass.
Well, I vacuumed my sump today and lightly vacuumed areas where detritus were evident on the sand bed. I am starting to get this brown type of what I think is algae on my sand bed and nowhere else. I cleaned my glass of the white film yesterday morning and it is still clean, maybe cleaning the sump is helping me to turn the corner on this thing.
I've been trying to figure out the source of the supposed nutrients for this bacteria bloom and the only logical explanation is the sand bed. It is about 2 inches deep in some areas and the glass is showing in other places. I haven't vacuumed it in a few months and I'm thinking that towards the bottom of the bed there's some nasty shot going on and it is slowly leaching into the water. I'm going to try vacuuming small sections of the sand bed thoroughly starting tomorrow. Any ideas for vacuuming a neglected sand bed without causing more problems?
just dont stir it up, 2" sandbed is the "danger zone" not deep enough for certain types of bacteria but deep enough to trap nasties
"you make a living by what you get,you make a life by what you give"(churchill)
----my fishies----
lightning maroon clown pair,onyx clown pair,blizzard clown/onyx clown pair,phantom clown/darwin clown pair
gold assessor,pink streak wrasse,blue mandarin,starry blenny
Well, I vacuumed my sump today and lightly vacuumed areas where detritus were evident on the sand bed. I am starting to get this brown type of what I think is algae on my sand bed and nowhere else. I cleaned my glass of the white film yesterday morning and it is still clean, maybe cleaning the sump is helping me to turn the corner on this thing.
I've been trying to figure out the source of the supposed nutrients for this bacteria bloom and the only logical explanation is the sand bed. It is about 2 inches deep in some areas and the glass is showing in other places. I haven't vacuumed it in a few months and I'm thinking that towards the bottom of the bed there's some nasty shot going on and it is slowly leaching into the water. I'm going to try vacuuming small sections of the sand bed thoroughly starting tomorrow. Any ideas for vacuuming a neglected sand bed without causing more problems?
I wouldn't vacuum it at all, that's just me though. You need some Cuc members to turn it over. Conch, nassarius snails, sand sifting stars and anything else that'll slowly turn your sand over.
Sent from my SM-N910R4 using proboards
75 gallon Sps dominant Reef, Vertex Omega 150 Protein skimmer,eshops overflow, 40 breeder diy sump, Jebao DC9000 return pump, Maxspect gyre xf-150, Jeabo wp-40 and 2 Radion gen3 pro's (Ran at 65%)
I do t want to vacuum the sand bed but I'm at a loss of what to do. Bacteria is caused by excessive nutrients, I have no measurable nitrate and very low P04. My sps are pale, symposium is only half open, the other half has been shit for a week, deresa clam is only 1/3 open, nem is not full and will close for Pparently no reason. I'm not getting any algae growth on the glass. There's a little brown algae growing in the substrate but the rocks are clean.
There must be something causing all of this? Before the bloom things were great, colors were good.
My hunch is the sand bed is leaching something into the tank... Maybe silver dioxide in tiny amounts or something similar.... There must be a logical explanation and this seems to be the only thing that makes sense.
Any way copper could have gotten in your tank? Are you using RODI water? Have you checked for stray voltage, I'm not sure if the alge is the cause of the coral issue, the brown alge sounds like maybe dinos or cyano possibly, can you post a pic of the brown alge?
Any way copper could have gotten in your tank? Are you using RODI water? Have you checked for stray voltage, I'm not sure if the alge is the cause of the coral issue, the brown alge sounds like maybe dinos or cyano possibly, can you post a pic of the brown alge?
No copper. I'm using RO/DI and am using 0 tds water. I have t checked for stray voltage. I have a grounding probe that I haven't installed yet. I should do that. Pics don't come out well with my phone and with the blue light. I'll try to get a picture posted though.
