question about snails..??

well, i was wondering if you guys ever replaced your CUC?

the reason i ask is because i have a little bit of a cyano problem in my sand and some sort of mold? in my rocks and not sure how to fix it.. i actually peel it off the rocks and it feels soft and squishy and its red.

the first thing that came to mind was that maybe my CUC was dying off and i needed a new one? but do you guys have any other ideas?

 

I think you have to get to the bottom of the problem of the cyano of that's it, can you post some pics?

I do notice that snails don't have that long of a lifespan and I do replace them every 6 months or so. But cuc doesn't solve why your having a problem

What are your water params?

 

well ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 0
ph 8.3

i still dont have a test for the rest of the stuff like phosphates and alk.

i have not changed my CUC in about a year and 6 months. since ithought they could actually reproduce in the tank.

i do see a lot of bubbles in the rocks, can that be some sort of reaction going on?

 

I was under the impression that an adequate CUC is part of controlling cyano as they eat the detrius and little bits of uneaten food that the cyano feeds on.
Of course if overfeeding is the culprit then that's an easy fix.
Much of my CUC has died off and am about to order some more to help combat cyano in my tank 46. I've also fed less and wet skimmed and added more things that feed off dissolved organices to compete with the cyano.

 

i only feed once a day.
2 mysis cubes and 1 emerald cube and a bit of formula 2 flakes and formula 2 pellets.

 

Is a lot of food going uneaten?

Are you using ro/di?

 

no, all the food is gone in less than 3 minutes.

and no, im using filtered water but ive never had a problem with it. its been a year and a half since im using the same source of water and about a month that ive had this problem.

 

I would check you phosphates, or start using a phosphate remover. That's really all I can think of, and probably adding to cuc a bit.

Also remove as much of it that you can by hand.

 

Is the cyanobacteria growing in areas of lower flow?

Make sure you have a good deal of surface agitation going on as well.

How old are your bulbs?

And if you are not drainning off the water of the frozen cubes prior to introduction to the tank you may be adding phosphates as well.

 

well, i dont drain the water of the cubes, but they are small little cubes.. ( can they make a difference?)...

i just changed my bulbs a few days ago as i just got my new light fixture but the old light fixture was close to year and a half. so that could of been the problem right?

i do have a lot of surface agitation and the cyano is pretty much growing in the sand where i actually do have flow. the mold looking thing pretty much grows in all sorts of places but mostly where the flow is a bit lower.