Live Sand

[mattrock]

ello all

this may sound strange my live sand i have to keep turning over...

this may not sound strange but its only on the front of the tank, the back has always been fine theres no red algue or anything that shouldent be there growing etc, but it gose like a light browny colour... is this to much light?? if it was to much light wouldent all the sand need turning over all the time??

cheers for your help matt

 

[CageUK]

Sounds like diatoms to me. A decent water change and some cuc should make short work of that!

 

[mattrock]

ello m8

stupid Q whats cuc??? iv still got them prob and cant get rid of it next week im putting new lights in and iv done 2 water changes, im also getting a red stain up the side of the tank which keeps coming back i had all my phosphate levels checkd and thay were high but like i say iv done 2 water changes and its still happening....iv also put a filter pad in my fillter thats supose to stop this and its not i was told of something eles but i cant remeber it

PLEASE HELP i dont want me fish or coral to die!!

this has really got me stuck

cheers matt

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Probably cyno or diatoms. Regular water changes to keep phosphate levels down, a skimmer and phosphate/nitrate removing media will all help. None of them will fix it instantly but it will go away. I would recommend a nitrate and phosphate test kit so you can keep an watch on what levels they are. Unless they are really high most fish will probably be ok. Also alage is fairly common in new set ups so if the tank hasnt been running long it will probably burn itself out eventually.

Just remove what you can by hand (small tube to syphon it out works best for me) and keep the water as clean as possible using the above methods and it will eventually go away.

CUC - Clean up crew. hermits and snails mostly. Turbo snails are good for rockwork and glass, hermits are good for eating left other food and there is another kind of snail that is good for turning over the sand bed (unfortunately I cant remember their name at the moment).