Small Red Duster

[TKEON230]

Hello everybody. I had some major problems with my tank and I let it sit for almost 3 months with the lights off and no fish just so it could get rid of some major algae blooms. I did regular water changes, but didn't have any large living creatures in the tank at the time. I did, however, have a couple hermit crabs and snails. Today I turned the lights back on because all the algae had been gone for almost a month. I figured I could turn the lights on and see if they algae comes back.

Anywho, I noticed some weird looking white curls hiding in various spots in the tank. I had no idea what they were. Upon closer inspection I saw that there were actually small red feather duster looking things sticking out of the white curls. Does anybody know what they are? Are they good? Bad? Do I need to feed them if they are good?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Sadielynn]

They are just a small feather duster no neeed to feed ... You said you had issues with algea what is your water source ?
What salt are you using , what where/are your perameters?
What lighting ? PC MH How old are the bulbs ?
What is your filtration ? When was it last replaced ?
All new tanks seem to go through a bloom of one sort or another Mine still does every now and agian even after 3 years , most times mine are from over feeding or older bulbs ,or a sign that I need to change out or attend to my filter ...

 

[TKEON230]

They are just a small feather duster no neeed to feed ... You said you had issues with algea what is your water source ?

I used to use tap water when I started my 40 gallon FOWLR tank about 2 1/2 years ago. In this past year I switched over to RO/DI. This helped get rid of about 90% of my algae problems.

What salt are you using , what where/are your perameters?

I'm using the Instant Ocean mix for my salt. My parameters are fairly normal.
pH: 8.2
SG: 1.026
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Phosphate: 0
Temp: 77

What lighting ? PC MH How old are the bulbs ?

I'm using the Nova T-5 Extreme with Slimpaq 460nm Actinic and 10000°K T-5 HO lamps. That fixture and the bulbs are only about 6 months old.

What is your filtration ? When was it last replaced ?

I'm using a Penguin Bio-Wheel filter that is rated for 50 gallons. I also have the CPR Bak Pak protein skimmer. The media in the Bio-Wheel filter was replaced a couple days ago, but before that it was probably a couple months.

All new tanks seem to go through a bloom of one sort or another Mine still does every now and agian even after 3 years , most times mine are from over feeding or older bulbs ,or a sign that I need to change out or attend to my filter ...

I had some issues early on in my tank adventures. I did too much too quickly and it resulted in a ton of algae. I also discovered RO/DI water too late as well. I've gone through about 2 "tanks" worth of fish and I think I finally "get" it. I'm going very slow on this third try. More water changes, better water source, and go very slow. Hopefully it works...

 

[Sadielynn]

I used to use tap water when I started my 40 gallon FOWLR tank about 2 1/2 years ago. In this past year I switched over to RO/DI. This helped get rid of about 90% of my algae problems.
I'm using the Instant Ocean mix for my salt. My parameters are fairly normal.
pH: 8.2
SG: 1.026
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Phosphate: 0
Temp: 77
I'm using the Nova T-5 Extreme with Slimpaq 460nm Actinic and 10000°K T-5 HO lamps. That fixture and the bulbs are only about 6 months old.
I'm using a Penguin Bio-Wheel filter that is rated for 50 gallons. I also have the CPR Bak Pak protein skimmer. The media in the Bio-Wheel filter was replaced a couple days ago, but before that it was probably a couple months.


I had some issues early on in my tank adventures. I did too much too quickly and it resulted in a ton of algae. I also discovered RO/DI water too late as well. I've gone through about 2 "tanks" worth of fish and I think I finally "get" it. I'm going very slow on this third try. More water changes, better water source, and go very slow. Hopefully it works...

Good you changed your water source that should help a ton , but do invest in a TDS meter to make sure it is 0 .
also your bulbs are just about to the end of thier life that can cause algea blooms Also if you have not invest in a refracomteter . This is also a must have If you are running the biowheel this can cause a rise in Phosphates and nitrAtes .. You may wish to remove them and only use if you need a hospital /qt tank .
Carbon pads need rinsed weekly and tossed monthly , if you are using chemi pure/purigen rinse weekly I replace mine every 3 or so months to keep them fresh You may also wish to add to your clean up crew to get better results ...also if your tank is near a window you may wish to "blind ,or close" the window. Water changes I do 10%-20% weekly every now and again if I am sick or not able to do changes for what ever reason I go up to 25% every other week... When I had my surgery the day before I did a 50% change out then when others had to do it it was only 10% so that I did not over load them .
Also to help with the algea you may want to do a largish 40%-50% water change to lower the nutirents in your tank and then keep up with the 10%-20% water changes there after we have all moved to fast either because we become complacient or just "excited" with the progress , the thing is to learn which it seems you are