Keeping it clean

[Waffleman]

well, after and almost disastrious problem with my nitrates i have my tank at what seems to be an "ideal" state according to the water tests i have done (nitrite, nitrate, PH, alkalinity)
However, I reaally seem to have a problem keeping all the algea, Its the hard green kind off the side of my tank, Im scrubbing it almost everyday. Another thing is my sandbed gets really gross alot, in a week its got junk all over the bottom and on some of the lower rocks.
Thanks for the tips!

[mapster]

How long has the tank been set up?

There are many possible explanations, here is but a few:

Your sandbed is either not yet mature enough to keep up with the nutrients being introduced into the tank (food and poop), or it may bee too old, become "filled" and is releasing nutrients back into the system

Overfeeding and/or lack of circulation and/or an overstocked tank could also be a possibility.

I would suggest testing for phosphates and investigating some of the possibilities mentioned above.

[SPC]

Its the hard green kind off the side of my tank, Im scrubbing it almost everyday.

You lost me on this one, Waffle, can you explain this a bit more?
Steve

[Waffleman]

Ive had the tank set up for about 6 monthes now so i know the sandbed cant be to gross. And currently ive only got a handfull of corals, mainly mushrooms and a kenya tree plus to occelaris clowns. But i will pick up a phosphate tester today and see how that works out

well its kind of crusty, i dont believe its the coraline algea, but ill scrub it al off and then the next day more of it will have already begun to form.

[Waffleman]

ok, did a phosphate test and indeed they are to high. So now other than water changes what can I do? and how can I get to the spots behind rocks where other junk may have settled?

[JennM]

Waffleman, I know that algae - my tech and I called it, "Caked on, Baked on" algae. It's green microalgae but it's stubborn to get off - Kent Proscraper to the rescue. It's the kind of stuff that does not come off with most algae magnets, it comes in patches and you really need some moxy to get it off... right?

Phosphates... you can use Phosguard or another brand of phosphate sponge, but also, figure out where they phosphates are coming from and stop them at the source.

RO/DI water, make sure to test for TDS and use a membrane that has high silicate removal. Watch your feeding and the types of food, some brands have more phosphate than others.

HTH

Jenn

[Waffleman]

"Caked on baked on" i love it, but thats definatly what it is. As far as stopping them at the source I use some bought at the store calamari, feed the clowns every other day and my green bubble anemone once a week. I will definatly check to see what kind of filter the RO machine has next time I change water.
I will also check out some of the phosgaurd stuff.
Thanks for the tips

[mapster]

Rowaphos is a good product. Place it in a bag in the sump and run it 24/7 to help the phosphate battle.

Be sure to soak you food in RO water and discard the water befor feeding. This will helpremove some of the phosphates.

You will need to up your circulation behind the rocks to remove any dead spots where detritus can settle. This can be tricky with a sand bed and will take some adjustments. You will want to siphon that stuff out and keep it from building up in the future.

One suggestion could be to remove the sand from behind the rocks. Throw a couple powerheads behind there to blow all the crap to the front of the tank where it can more easily be removed.

[ruhspolostar]

Hey all your firls BRW just dissapeared in the last couple of minutes