Natterjak
Aquarium Advice Regular
We had our 70-gallon tank up and running for a few months before an infestation of cirolanid isopod hitchhikers forced us to leave the tank fallow for 6 months or so. In that time, all we've had are a handful of snails and hermit crabs. We didn't do water changes, just kept it topped off, which unfortunately led to a bad outbreak of algae and cyano in the sand and tank.
We have about 70 pounds of live rock and 60 pounds of live sand. Right now we're running a wet dry with a HOB overflow - my first question is whether or not I should remove all the bio balls and if I could then use it as a sump - do we have enough biological filtration in the tank?
Second question is, do I need to re-cycle the tank? Or would the bioload from the snails and crabs have been enough to sustain the bacteria?
Third, is there a good way to get rid of the algae/cyano in the sand?
Lastly, I had to change overflow boxes due to poor design of the old one. The old one came with a sponge filter/filter floss. The new one doesn't have this - do I need mechanical filtration somewhere?
Thanks!
We have about 70 pounds of live rock and 60 pounds of live sand. Right now we're running a wet dry with a HOB overflow - my first question is whether or not I should remove all the bio balls and if I could then use it as a sump - do we have enough biological filtration in the tank?
Second question is, do I need to re-cycle the tank? Or would the bioload from the snails and crabs have been enough to sustain the bacteria?
Third, is there a good way to get rid of the algae/cyano in the sand?
Lastly, I had to change overflow boxes due to poor design of the old one. The old one came with a sponge filter/filter floss. The new one doesn't have this - do I need mechanical filtration somewhere?
Thanks!