5 Month Old Reef

[noelskii]

just last week i started seeing a clear film looking thing at the top of the water and im just wondering what it is, how i got it, is it good or bad? oh yea and nasty kinda reddish/ brown algae is growing slowly but surely on the sand, is this normal?

its a 40 breeder, sumplesss, magnum 350 canister, 2 #2 HYDOR, Aqua C remora skimmer, about 80 (+/-) lbs of LR, 40lbs live sand, 250watt MH (5hrs a day), 96 watt actinics (10hrs a day), 5gallons water change a week (RO)....

 

[h20 freak]

I'm thinking its surface scum seeing as you don't have a sump, you don't have anything skimming the surface, that algae is most likely cyanobacteria, it's pretty normal and comes in a few colors but it indicates that your nitrates and/or phosphates can supply it food, test these parameters.

 

[noelskii]

maybe it was caused by the skimmer not working for a couple of days..will the algae go away? i think it was also caused by direct sunlight, i just recently covered the window...and none of that algae is growing on the rocks or glass so i guess thats good?

 

[h20 freak]

Well the skimmer not being used explains where the nutrients came from and the and the direct sunlight also helped it grow, If the skimmer does get rid of the nitrates and phosphates then the algae will stop growing and eventually recede but its easier just to scrape it or let something eat it.

 

[DonCisco]

the film is definitely protein scum, because your skimmer wasn't working. Do you have a canister filter for your system?

 

[noelskii]

there is a magnum 350 canister filter running carbon

 

[noelskii]

so how do i get rid of the protein scum?

 

[DonCisco]

you need a protein skimmer, that will clear out that film pretty fast. Stay away from the Sea Clone's. U have a remora C, which is a pretty decent one, maybe you need to adjust it so it can pull more stuff in? As for the canister filter, keep a good eye on that in most cases canister filters cannot handle the bioload in our reef tanks. That creates issues with cyanobacterial growth inside the filters. So check on it, and if you see a slimy film inside you know where you might have a problem.

 

[basiab]

Cyano on the sand may be due to little water movement in that area. Till you get your skimmer working properly you can help out by taking a cup and puting it into the water so that the top edge is at the water level and let water enter the cup slowly. This will in fact skim off the top. Turn of power heads so you can see how and where to skim. You can do this until the top looks clean and then replace with saltwater.

 

[noelskii]

skimmer is skimming but not as much as before...i adjusted my powerheads to put a lot of movement on the surface so its not as bad anymore. the cyano is still there but not as much since i covered my windows preventing the sunlight from hitting the tank.

 

[JLAudio]

Noelski, its just dawned on me besides the skimmer, make sure your overflow is flowing good, some times if your prefilter gets clogged with stuff or there are air bubbles caught in the u tube (this is assuming your tank is not pre drilled) the flow from the top of the tank reduces causing buid up of surface slime.

Or you could have your powerheads pushing some water away from flow and its stopping it from flowing into overflow causing it to buid up in nutrients.

Or maybe just skimmer as originally thought, but look into other thoughts aswell