ID plus help to get rid of it

eacosta · 04/28/2013, 11:36 AM

Can anyone please help me ID what this stringy stuff is and how to get rid of it? It is growing on top of my sand in a couple places and I can't seem to get rid of it. I have tried to vacuum it out (along with sand), and am now just removing it by hand. The picture is what grew back in 1 day after manual removal. I know I can't possibly remove all of it every time, but It grows back really fast.

My 29g tank is about 4 months old. I am using ro/di water at 0 tds. I do 4g weekly water changes. My livestock includes: 1 clown, CUC, 1 zoa frag, 1 star polyp frag, and a 5 headed Duncan frag. All my livestock is doing well, but this stuff is a real nuisance. I feed (1x a day) spectrum pellets and only frozen food 1 time per week. I don't over feed and rinse off the frozen food when used.

Any help would be appreciated!

SushiGirl · 04/28/2013, 02:23 PM

My guess would be cyanobacteria, common in new tanks. Keep removing it as best you can & make sure you have enough flow & steady, good water parameters & it will eventually go away. You're going to go through a few ugly algae stages in the first year of a new tank. Continued good husbandry & maintenance will ensure it's a new tank issue & not a bad habits issue.

Beandawg · 04/28/2013, 03:04 PM

You could use a product called chemiclean for the cyano, but it is more of a bandaid than a solution. Instead of chemiclean you could cut out your lights for a few days and cut out feeding to lower nutrient levels. Sometimes just lowering your feeding schedule is enough to knock it out. As SushiGirl suggested, make sure you have good flow.

04/28/2013, 02:23 PM	#2
SushiGirl Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Fort Worth, TX USA Posts: 8,267	My guess would be cyanobacteria, common in new tanks. Keep removing it as best you can & make sure you have enough flow & steady, good water parameters & it will eventually go away. You're going to go through a few ugly algae stages in the first year of a new tank. Continued good husbandry & maintenance will ensure it's a new tank issue & not a bad habits issue. __________________ Visit my Homepage or "My Albums" (via Profile) for hitchhiker pics. Current Tank Info: 55g softy/LPS tank & 20L reef tank

04/28/2013, 03:04 PM	#3
Beandawg I see whatchu did there. Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Central CT Posts: 666	You could use a product called chemiclean for the cyano, but it is more of a bandaid than a solution. Instead of chemiclean you could cut out your lights for a few days and cut out feeding to lower nutrient levels. Sometimes just lowering your feeding schedule is enough to knock it out. As SushiGirl suggested, make sure you have good flow.