Algea on sandbed.... :(

For the past two weeks I have been battling algea on my sand bed. It seems to be in the areas that get the most light. I added more flow to the sandbed area and the helped bust also pushed my sand all over the place. Two days after I moved my powerhead back it returned. I would think 2 koralia 1400s would be plenty of flow for a 65g. Any suggestions?

Here is a pic...

 

That's cyano. Typically this is caused by insufficient skimming and/or poor flow. There are some products that will get rid of it, but that is more of a bandaid fix that addresses the symptom of an underlying problem and not the problem itself.

 

looks more like cyanobacteria than algae.

Is your tank new? Have you just added something?

posting parameters would also help . . .

 

the pic is too small to say if it's slimy. so hard to confirm if it is cyano.

if it's algae, get some snails. i barely see any algae for long in my tank since they just keep on cleaning it up.

if it's cyano, siphon them out, and do regular water changes.

 

well phosphate might be high if its cyano whats ur prams test results

 

My parameters are:

Nitrite: 0.0
Nitrate: 5.5
Ammonia 0.5
pH: 8.0
SG: 1.21
Temp: 78.7*

I repositioned a powerhead to add more flow across the sandbed. I am also going to cut back the feeding...I had been alternating frozen brine and mysis a cube a day. Does that sound to much

I also was told that I should be thawing and straining the frozen cubes. I had been just thawing them and apparently the preservatives they are frozen in contain nitrates.

I also changed my carbon and picked up some chemipure elite.

I will update this thread on how it goes.

 

Yes, it helps to strain frozen food and rinse in RO/DI water. That will reduce the nitrates and phosphates you're putting into your tank. You should only be feeding what your fish can eat in 2 - 3 minutes.

Also, make sure you're using a reef-grade carbon. Cheap carbon for FW tanks will leach phosphates in saltwater.

 

Hmmm...I did not know that. I assumed all activated carbon was equal. Do you have a brand you would recommend?

 

A lot of people make that mistake.

My personal choice is Kent Marine Reef Carbon.

 

After two days I already noticed a difference. After two days it is almost completely gone.

I also set my skimmer to skim a little wetter.