black mold?

[melsmom]

Ok here's whats going on. I have a 90 gallon tank and it has been set up for 2 months now. (had this down for about a year) When we put it back up we went from regular white sand to the sugar fine sand. Dont know why and I truley believe it was by accident. Aside from it blowing all over the tank,:frusty: when I had my diatome break out, everyone said leave it alone. Now, it is turning black. and I dont mean dark brown, dark green, I mean black. Some places took on the cyano appearance while others look, well...if you had mold on your wall that's what the sand looks like. I have 3 large power jets in there, my remora skimmer and an Ehiem filter. I am changing the media about every 3 days. I suctioned out the best I could and I also found some old coral peices that were dead, (the stoney coral, been that way it's just rubble) that had this stuff all over them, so I threw them away. Last night things looked great after cleaning. This morning there it is again...much much less, but still there. I'm curious, could it be the sand?? I have sand from Mexico beach that I would love to put in and it's ready to go, been cleaned etc but I dont know if by doing that I would have a disaster waiting to happen due to trapping in something in underneath it. ?? anyone?? I do understand that the tank is still probably cycling, but this isnt something that I am willing to just let sit in my tank. What is it? What causes it?
I do not use RO/DI water, I do "soak" my water for about a week, before adding. its running a power head in the containers. I also have a neighbor who has never used Ro/di water and hasnt ever had the issues I do. We are on the same water line.
I have 4 10000k T-5s and 2 actinic which I am also wondering about switching out to 10000k's. Do I need the actinics? I'm thinking I dont considering how many people run the halides.
Last year I didnt have these types of issues, and all my livestock thrived. Any help would be appreciated greatly. btw, I just cut off the sump, and am running strickly the tank with the outside equipment. (hope that made sense. skimmer, filter, etc) the sump cracked, and I do not intend to set it back up.
Thank you in advance for any help

Michael, thank you for the corals you gave me. They are doing very well, except the red mushrooms, I can only see 1. the others blew into the rock lol

 

[Chichas01]

Sounds like cyano to me. Letting your water sit for any length of time will probably not do anything for it. You pretty much need to bite the bullet and invest in RO/DI.

 

[melsmom]

an RO/DI unit wont work in my situation and here's why. I did bite the bullet, as you say and purchase one. It blew out my pipes, and considering I am on a septic, that definatley wont work. But thanks. also, isnt Cyano red? and then, why or how would you get that outbreak with a new tank setup so quickly?

 

[returnofsid]

Okay, a couple things to add here

1. Cyano can come in different colors. It's nicknamed "Red Slime Algae," but that's incorrect, as it's not always red and it's not an algae. It's a bacteria, that can appear red, green, purple, brown, and yes, even black.

2. I vaguely remember your issues with your RO/DI unit "blowing out your plumbing," but I'd have to suggest that it was installed incorrectly. RO/DI units do not increase water pressure, in any way, so it's not possible for it to damage any plumbing, if installed correctly. If you think about it, the water, in your pipes, is at it's highest pressure, when the faucets are all turned OFF. Adding an RO/DI unit to the system can't increase pressure, in any way. Have you tested your source water, out of the faucet, for phosphates, nitrates? I would imagine that your source water is partially to blame and the addition of an RO/DI unit WILL help solve the problem.

It sounds like you are dealing with a combination of a typical diatom bloom and possibly cyanobacteria. Increasing flow, to the effected areas, will help with the Cyano. Siphoning it off of the sand bed, without disturbing the sand bed much, will also help. When you siphon it off, it should kind of "peel" off of the sand bed, in chunks, kind of like peeling paint.

I'd also recommend cutting back on feeding and make sure you're feeding quality foods. All fish foods contain phosphates/nitrates, but quality foods contain less. You can also rinse the food, preferably, with RO/DI water, to wash off some of the phosphates/nitrates, before feeding it.

Glad to hear your new corals are doing well.

 

[melsmom]

yeah I understand about the flow, what you are saying but I dont know how I could possibly increase it without blowing everyone else into ablivion...? I will send you a pm pic in just a few minutes. I'm ready to sell the whole thing right now for 300 and call it good! Thanks for your help

 

[melsmom]

Ok well thanks for all the help!! I guess it just comes back down to the RO/DI...so, with RoS's explaining things, thank you, I will try another unit and pray for the best! Come on payday!!

 

[estanoche]

some schools of thought suggest that blowing the cyano around just moves it to a new location - by increasing flow you are suspending more nutrients in your water column and allowing your skimmer and sump/fuge to do the work. Are you running a skimmer?? Skim more wet, do water changes, and when you are siphoning out your water don't be afraid to siphon the cyano out along with your top layer of sand. Especially since you have more sand to add, once you get over this, who cares how much you throw away with your water changes!!

 

[melsmom]

thanks for the tip. I'm honestly not sure what is meant by "skim more wet" the gunk coming out is pretty watered down...I'm dumping the cup once a day and it's about 1/2 full. I did more investigation work...it's the all dreaded cyano. blech! I messed up by thinking that I had cleaned the sand well, from when I put it away. guess I didnt do as great a job as I thought. so, now I will be doing another water change tomorrow, with RO/DI and hoping that going from tap to ro/di water will improve things....?? I"d love to hear someone who has done that and what the results really were. ro/di units and I have had a hate/hate relationship. But I have some hope and if this doesnt work, I'm going back to cichlids!

 

[melsmom]

Ok. try again....yesterday we tore down the 90 gallon salt, and moved it into a 30 gallon bowfront. With it went, about 75-80 lbs of rock, 10 gallons of the original water, and about 20 lbs of sand. Come find out, the sand that I bought brand new and dry, is exactly where I was having the issues!! hmmm. I hung my Remora skimmer, and a Korilla (? is that right?) power head, 20 gallons of RO/DI water, a new light with 2 seperate switches to control actinics and the 10k's, which is new fun for me...and the livestock has truley never looked so happy!!! My husband is turning the 90 gallon, into a cichlid tank, that he can stress over lol..
Thank you everyone for the help and advise. I do appreciate it, as frustrating as this is I still need help and I really do welcome it. Please keep sending me ideas and help.
Thanks!

 

[the6goat6man6]

Don't give up, it will be worth it in the end. If you get the nutrients under control, good lighting, and good flow, you can whoop it.
Syphon it out, it is a good export and isn't too hard to suck up. A turkey baister works good to spot clean without removing too much water. Leaving the lights off for a couple of days helps also, but without a big water change it's not going to help alot. I have delt with it more than I would have liked, now the only place it shows up is in the Fuge
. Knock on wood, knock knock.
Then, when your smaller tank looks nicer than your husbands, you can rub his nose in it, LOL.

GOOD LUCK, don't give up!

If RO/DI is not an option, distilled is way better than TAP water, for any tank.

 

[akunochi]

If you have cyano then look immediately at flow either in quantity or characteristic. I'm glad things are working out for you now though.

 

[melsmom]

yeah oddly, the flow I highly doubt was the issue to be honest. Most fish sort of got tossed around...I had 4 large power heads going, plus other pumps. I honestly, think it was the sand I bought. I think that, only because that's where the issue was the most insistant. I am totally loving my 30 gallon. I may as Return of Sid to help me get a couple pics up today or tomorrow...
I really appreciate you guys! Thank You so much! xox

 

[returnofsid]

Glad things are settling down, and going well for you, finally! Now, keep up on maintenance, on the 30. Water changes, water changes, water changes, Yes, with RO/DI water as Top Off AND to make your SW with. I know you hate those pesky RO/DI units, but get a good one, get it plumbed in correctly or just hook it to your sink when needed, and you'll never regret it!

 

[melsmom]

I found a guy here in Suncrest that has a tank and will give me water!! ***eeeek*** I'm so happy! yes, I also have 15 gallon jugs that are at my ready so they were put into a tub with a pump to circulate. I have those surgical supplies, and since you are working on a "new" tank, and I am "off" this week...so far, get ahold of me, I will bring them over when I drop off my sons laundry!

 

[returnofsid]

I don't want your sons laundry lol.

 

[melsmom]

what?! Why? I didnt make it over, cause I had ERRANDS apparently! you know...go to sportsman and buy fishing bait type errands, then go here, there, and TRY to make it back before inland power came out (made it by 11 minutes) to seal my heating ducts! but the instruments arent going anywhere. Theyre yours

 

[returnofsid]

No biggie! Whenever you're in town and happen to think about it. If I'm home, well, I'll be home. If not, you are welcome to leave them on the front porch, if you'd like.

Thanks!