Algae in live sand

[MarkW19]

I've got a lot of hair algae (brown/green) on and growing out of my live sand.

I've just bought a plastic sieve to attempt to sieve the sand through it and catch the algae to get it out of the tank.

With a lot of the bacteria in my tank being in the sand, what precautions should I take while disrupting the sand?

What would be the best way to sieve it to preserve the bacteria in it?

Please help!

 

[Fishboy-from-NY]

I would just get more current going in the tank and more algae critters or sand shifting creatures in order to eat this up and prevent regrowth.

 

[MarkW19]

It's all mostly dead - it just needs to be taken out and then it shouldn't grow back.

I've got plenty of crabs etc. but they only eat the live stuff!

 

[phases99]

You could try to gently blast it with a turkey baster and let your mechanical filter catch it.

 

[darb2]

do you have any nassirus snails to help turn the sand over?

 

[MarkW19]

Don't have any snails - the bulk of it needs to be got out before I put any snails etc. in.

If I use a turkey blaster the tank would be filthy and my filter doesn't have much suction on it

I need to sieve the sand - is it ok to do that, if I try to disrupt only the top layer? Or will I mess up all the bacteria etc. in the sand?

 

[Sparky]

If it peels off like carpet you can take you net and sift the good sand through it and discard the bad stuff. I have done that on occasion and it worked fairly good. Wasn't perfect, but it got the job done.

Mike

 

[MarkW19]

So, as long as it comes off (ie. if its not growing right from the bottom of the sand through to the top), it's ok to take the top layer of sand off and sift through it, putting the sand back on top and keeping the algae etc. in the sieve?

This won't affect the bacteria?

 

[MarkW19]

Will I get an ammonia spike if any trapped detritus gets out of the sand etc. when I'm messing it up?? Will the bacteria be killed?

 

[phases99]

Normally you only stir the top 1/2" or so of the DSB for cleaning purposes. I would split the tank into 2 to 4 sections and do each one a week apart to prevent a crash. Make sure you test daily just in case.