Blue Green Algae In Sandbed

[alienz1]

Hey all,

I got a 55 gallon, which I converted to a Live sand bed with pleneum. I followed the directions in Sand Bed Secrets to a T, but water quality continues to be poor at best. I recently converted my sump into a refugium as well, since I have had amazing results with 2 other tanks. This 55 gallon just never seems to want to do well.

Anyway, the sandbed is on average 4" deep and along the walls of the tank which it covers are covered with blue green algae and now some red spots. This just doesn't seem to bode well. Any critters I could add to the tank to help keep the sand really stirred to prevent this growth? I'm getting nagged at for it looking nasty :

Thanks,
Paul

 

[monkeyboy]

Are you running a protein skimmer? Sounds more like a water quality issue than a sand problem. FWIW, you should have picked up Sand Bed Secrets instead of Live Sand Secrets, i'm not much of a fan of plenum systems. Do a search on the board on plenums and see what you come up with.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with Monkeyboy - you don't mention how old this system is but algal blooms like you describe are common in infant tanks i.e. less than 6 months old. Otherwise it's a water quality issue - not enough nutrient export.

As far as plenums go, I still chuckle thinking about how Goeman's has managed to take a simple concept and screw it up enough to require a book AND a monthly magazine column that has lasted years. It just isn't that hard to do if you follow Jaubert's original concept. That said I don't have problems with them - I just think they are a waste of time since DSB's offer all the same benefits and support more interstitial fauna.