Sand bed?

[gleach]

I went to my lfs today and was telling them that my sand bed has brown algae on it that just won't go away. I have been using ro/di water in my ato and pro salts that I buy from them. I do w/c once a week and when I do my w/c I am always sure to get all the diatoms and detritus that I can. But regardless the algae always comes back by the time I'm due for a new w/c once a week. I have tested for phosphates with a Hannah checker it reads 0. My nitrates are 5.0 or less. Ammonia 0 cal 420 kh 9. My tank is 60g sand bed depth is 1 to 3 inches it is not perfectly level. I have a ato and I only use ro/di. I have a hob refugium and a little bit of chaeto in my sump. I use a bubble magnus curve 5 protein skimmer. I'm running two AI Hydra lights for 8 hrs a day. A media reactor with chemi pure eleat and phosban. I have a wave maker. 20 gal sump with a small pwr head for sirculation. Temp between 75° and 78° for the most part.

Inhabitants
1 blue tang
1 yellow wrass
1 6 line wrass
1 pacaso clown
3 hermit crabs
3 turbo snails
7 small snail black and white stripes I can't remember the name.
1 bigger crab I can't remember the name I just know he likes green bubble algae.
4 nasera snails
1 skunk shrimp
1 peppermint shrimp.
1 leather coral
Some polyps
Some zoanthids
1 rose anemone
A small facia
1 mushroom

My lfs said that about every 8 months I should use a small diameter siphon and remove all the sand over a period of a few w/c's swirl it around in a bucket and dumping out the water and leaving the sand behind. Then put the sand back into the tank. He asked how deep the sand bed is (1in to 3in) and how many gallons the tank is (60g) before telling me that should be my solution.

What do you guy think I should do?



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[hackteck]

how long has this tank been setup for?

 

[gleach]

Jan 1st 2014

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[BigRedsReefs10]

A picture would help to I'd the algae but in general it's about exporting more nutrients than you import and keepin nitrate and phosphate levels in check. I wouldnt do the sand removal and washing. Not to pile on but that tang shouldn't be in your tank and anemones require much more mature systems to thrive

 

[gleach]

Yeah as far as the tang I found that out after I picked it up he is pretty small but nonetheless I agree. The anemone seems to be doing pretty good. So I have been doing way less on feeding I went from daily to every other day and cut down quantity. The only nutrients I import is food. How do you know when your system is fully matured?

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[BigRedsReefs10]

I don't think they can ever really fully mature but a general rule of thumb for nems is 9 months to a year after the cycle

 

[gleach]

It's hard to get a photo cause I just removed it about an he ago.

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[gleach]

Here is some on my lr.

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[hackteck]

that looks like hair algae to me but i cant really see it too well

 

[gleach]

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[bird33]

I believe I have the same thing, my tank is new and I ghost feed it to get the cycle going. So the LFS told me that was probably the problem and to do a water change . So I did , I got my skimmer up and running and it's gone away. I still have some on my rock but I believe that it's my fault cause I didn't brush it off when I did the change.

 

[bird33]

On second look, mine was more like a powder.