Reef Central Online Community

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community > General Interest Forums > New to the Hobby
Blogs FAQ Calendar

Notices

User Tag List

Reply
Thread Tools
Unread 10/06/2006, 09:52 PM   #1
TheSaladCo
Registered Member
 
TheSaladCo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Mesa Arizona
Posts: 28
Green is the Winner! ... what is it?

I added live rock to my tank too soon. I think it might have still been curing. This resulted in the ugliest algea ever ... slime.

It started as green or red splotches in multiple areas of the tank. Quickly, the two colors began merging and overlapping and fighting for territory. I attempted to destroy it by adjusting the lights and starving the fish. I admitted defeat after 3 weeks and used Chemi-Clean.

The slime is gone! (both red and green) ... but now the green fuzzy stuff is taking over. This is accompanied by the greenish jelly looking stuff beginning to form on the sand. Is this normal? or did the Chemi-Clean malfunction and create a "Green Mutant Jelly Slime Monster"?

Any suggestions?


TheSaladCo is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 10/06/2006, 10:08 PM   #2
serpentman
part time superhero
 
serpentman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Deep in the Heart of the Snowbelt (NE OHIO)
Posts: 5,698
sounds like a normal progression throught the algael bloom "cycles". First cyano, then hair algae


__________________
BS in Marine Bio ('96), First SW tank in 1992.
Current Tank(s)
300g SPS with 90g frag tank and 40 anemone tank - decommissioned
46g LPS/Softy Cube
300g FOWLR under construction - decommissioned
serpentman is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 10/06/2006, 10:25 PM   #3
drummereef
Team RC Member
 
drummereef's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: STL
Posts: 14,754
I would leave well enough alone and leave the tank to mature on its own. These algae blooms are fairly typical of new tanks. Keep all your water parameters in check including nitrates and phosphates and things will be ok. Try not to overfeed.

Are you using RO/DI water?


__________________
-Brett

180g Marineland Starfire In-Wall 278 gallon system
drummereef is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 10/06/2006, 10:30 PM   #4
TheSaladCo
Registered Member
 
TheSaladCo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Mesa Arizona
Posts: 28
Yes ... I am using R/O water.
How many cycles of algea are there?
Is it bad to use Chemi-Clean?

I didn't want to put chemicals in the tank but I was starting to get worried the algea would harm the corals. I guess I am rushing the tank, huh? I am just so anxious to have an awesome aquarium.


TheSaladCo is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 10/06/2006, 10:36 PM   #5
drummereef
Team RC Member
 
drummereef's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: STL
Posts: 14,754
RO or RO/DI? The DI makes a HUGE difference in water quality.

If the tanks is fairly new, you might go through a couple of algae blooms. It just depends. My tank went through a cyano outbreak like yours is going through and I also battled diatoms for a while.

Chemi-Clean isn't bad, it's just a cover-up to the real issue. Most likely nutrients are to blame. Try some carbon and maybe some Phosban/Rowaphos if the phosphates are bad, but otherwise I'd just let the tank mature and it should go away (with the help of your cleanup crew) on its own.


__________________
-Brett

180g Marineland Starfire In-Wall 278 gallon system
drummereef is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 10/06/2006, 10:52 PM   #6
familyreefer
Registered Member
 
familyreefer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Augusta Ga.
Posts: 206
slime

Increasing the frequency of your water changes might help as well during this time.


__________________
Interests: My kids, sailing, my Yellow Nape,Sun Conyer.African Grey, and cockatoo

Current Tank Info: 220gal reef
familyreefer is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 10/06/2006, 11:42 PM   #7
TheSaladCo
Registered Member
 
TheSaladCo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Mesa Arizona
Posts: 28
Yeah ... it's just such a tedious process.

I am purchasing R/O water (DI unknown) at the local store. My home RO system is small. However, I have been doing weekly water changes (10g = 33%).

When using the Chemi-Clean, I have been changing 5g of water each 48hrs.


TheSaladCo is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 10/06/2006, 11:46 PM   #8
drummereef
Team RC Member
 
drummereef's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: STL
Posts: 14,754
You might want to invest then in a DI stage for your RO water. Randy in the Chemistry Forum recommended to me never adding any water with at tds greater than 1ppm. I notice immediate algae growth when my tds gets over 2-3 tds. The RO water coming off my unit is 30 tds before it gets to the DI stage. Just a thought...


__________________
-Brett

180g Marineland Starfire In-Wall 278 gallon system
drummereef is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:52 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2025 Axivo Inc.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef CentralTM Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2022
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2025 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.