considering going bigger

nlehe12 · 09/28/2014, 01:02 PM

I have a 29 gallon biocube that I purchased from someone. I have had it for a year. I had my local fish store come out and look at it and tell me what if anything I needed to do to it so I wouldn't dump a bunch of money into it and have something go wrong with it. I had bristle worms out the ying yang. He told me I should replace most if not all of the sand, so I did. I now am having soooo much trouble keeping red slime out of my tank I think I have it all about gone and then it blooms again. So if any suggestions on that that would be a big help. I have recently put in an extra water flow and that doesn't seem to make any difference. I have a friend who has a 55 gallon tank who said I could have it, but I am wanting to know what all I would need to get that running, filters and lighting etc. I have read and it says the bigger the tank the easier to maintain. Please help I love doing my fish tanks but this is getting frustrating!!!

oakengineer · 09/28/2014, 01:05 PM

Bigger is in general easier up to a point because small chemical changes are diluted to a larger volume of water. If you're looking to upgrade, I think a lot of people would recommend one of the larger base sizes like 75 gal so its easier to arrange rockwork. A 55 is very narrow. Also, I wouldn't let a free tank skew your decision too much. The tank is a pretty small investment compared to everything else.

As far as your red slime problem, have you tested your nitrates and phosphates? You can get rid of the red slime with a blackout, but it will just come back if those two are high. Running a phosphate reactor, or getting a protein skimmer will help if that is the case.

shesacharmer · 09/28/2014, 01:10 PM

By replacing the sand you took out a good portion of bio filter and introduced silicates but red slime aka cyano is prevalent this time of year as well as in the spring. Use a turkey baster to manually remove as much as you can and then three days lights out should solve your problem. You don't need to cover your tank but don't let direct sunlight hit it. You might need to do this once a month for three months but you should be all set for awhile after that. I've heard that 55 gallon tanks have difficult dimensions for aquascaping but you can't beat the price.

nlehe12 · 10/05/2014, 09:24 PM

Ok tried the black out I even did it for four days plugged the lights back in and the next day it was all right back to the way it was red slime everywhere any suggestions

09/28/2014, 01:02 PM	#1
nlehe12 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 11	considering going bigger I have a 29 gallon biocube that I purchased from someone. I have had it for a year. I had my local fish store come out and look at it and tell me what if anything I needed to do to it so I wouldn't dump a bunch of money into it and have something go wrong with it. I had bristle worms out the ying yang. He told me I should replace most if not all of the sand, so I did. I now am having soooo much trouble keeping red slime out of my tank I think I have it all about gone and then it blooms again. So if any suggestions on that that would be a big help. I have recently put in an extra water flow and that doesn't seem to make any difference. I have a friend who has a 55 gallon tank who said I could have it, but I am wanting to know what all I would need to get that running, filters and lighting etc. I have read and it says the bigger the tank the easier to maintain. Please help I love doing my fish tanks but this is getting frustrating!!!

09/28/2014, 01:05 PM	#2
oakengineer Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 234	Bigger is in general easier up to a point because small chemical changes are diluted to a larger volume of water. If you're looking to upgrade, I think a lot of people would recommend one of the larger base sizes like 75 gal so its easier to arrange rockwork. A 55 is very narrow. Also, I wouldn't let a free tank skew your decision too much. The tank is a pretty small investment compared to everything else. As far as your red slime problem, have you tested your nitrates and phosphates? You can get rid of the red slime with a blackout, but it will just come back if those two are high. Running a phosphate reactor, or getting a protein skimmer will help if that is the case. Last edited by oakengineer; 09/28/2014 at 01:16 PM.

09/28/2014, 01:10 PM	#3
shesacharmer Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Central NH Posts: 1,241	By replacing the sand you took out a good portion of bio filter and introduced silicates but red slime aka cyano is prevalent this time of year as well as in the spring. Use a turkey baster to manually remove as much as you can and then three days lights out should solve your problem. You don't need to cover your tank but don't let direct sunlight hit it. You might need to do this once a month for three months but you should be all set for awhile after that. I've heard that 55 gallon tanks have difficult dimensions for aquascaping but you can't beat the price. __________________ 75 gal, LR w/refugium, 79 deg, PH 8.0, sg 1.025, amm 0/nit 0/nit 0, Calcium 420, dKH 8.3, mag 1300, Phos 0 Current Tank Info: A work in progress...

10/05/2014, 09:24 PM	#4
nlehe12 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 11	Ok tried the black out I even did it for four days plugged the lights back in and the next day it was all right back to the way it was red slime everywhere any suggestions