IM EXT 50 - photo dump!

[Schulks]

Couldn't you use a siphoned hose to get it out and do a water change?

 

[Arkayology]

Couldn't you use a siphoned hose to get it out and do a water change?

I don't have any 1' tubing to use. My water change sand vac is too wide to give the suction it needs to pull out the sand. I will probably stop by the hardware store and get some to vac out the rest soon :)

On the bright side, I have been taking samples of the remaining sand/detritus to look at under the microscope daily since I removed the sand bed. I have only seen one little toxic algae since the first day I remove the sand. Maybe it is helping?

 

[Arkayology]

Looking for opinions here:
Since I needed to remove the sand bed because of the toxic algae, my yellow coris wrasse has become a bit stressed. I know they are sand sleepers and need sand or a "sand box" to sleep in, but I worry that giving it a sand box will prolong my issues with the toxic algae. What would you do in this situation? I really like the fish and don't want to remove it, but I also don't want to stress it or make it injure itself while it is trying to find a place to sleep.

 

[Anna K]

Do you have a qt/hospital tank setup at all?

 

[Arkayology]

Do you have a qt/hospital tank setup at all?

Good question. I do have a 10g qt tank. I just don't know if I want to set it up for possibly months while I deal with the toxic algae. I may try a glass or plastic dish with sand and see if the wrasse will take to it. Perhaps I could rinse/sanitize the sand in the container weekly to ensure the algae is not living in it?

 

[Arkayology]

I'm not dropping the victory banner yet, but I have been looking for the toxic algae in the sand and on mulm from the rocks and I haven't seen any in over 6 days. PE is still not great, but the green slimer seems to be fluffing up a little. It may take a few weeks/months for things to recover, but I am seeing encouraging signs.

 

[Arkayology]

This tank uses little/no alk. The tank has been sitting at 8.5 dkh with no dosing for about three months. Meanwhile, there has been growth of coralline algae and the start of some branching from the SPS. I wonder if there is still something in the water that is irritating the corals, perhaps still some toxic algae that I can't find yet, and preventing more uptake? I will not worry about it unless this trend continues into June, at which point I may restart the system and add some TBS rock to get things going and make up for lost time.

 

[TheWB]

This tank uses little/no alk. The tank has been sitting at 8.5 dkh with no dosing for about three months. Meanwhile, there has been growth of coralline algae and the start of some branching from the SPS. I wonder if there is still something in the water that is irritating the corals, perhaps still some toxic algae that I can't find yet, and preventing more uptake? I will not worry about it unless this trend continues into June, at which point I may restart the system and add some TBS rock to get things going and make up for lost time.

How often are you doing water changes and what is your salt mix's stated target for Alk? Maybe your water changes are keeping up with whatever demand you have? I am not dosing anything and my Alk averages 8.67 on the Hanna Checker since 12/18. I don't have many LPS or SPS pieces at the moment and what I do have isn't really growing, and not much coralline algae either so uptake is low. My Alk has been pretty stable for a while with just water changes (70 gallon total volume, 9 gallon water change once a week, occasionally I'll skip one). Maybe yours has been too?

 

[Arkayology]

How often are you doing water changes and what is your salt mix's stated target for Alk? Maybe your water changes are keeping up with whatever demand you have? I am not dosing anything and my Alk averages 8.67 on the Hanna Checker since 12/18. I don't have many LPS or SPS pieces at the moment and what I do have isn't really growing, and not much coralline algae either so uptake is low. My Alk has been pretty stable for a while with just water changes (70 gallon total volume, 9 gallon water change once a week, occasionally I'll skip one). Maybe yours has been too?

I have done only one water change in the past three months. Most research I've done suggests that I shouldn't do a water change because of the possibility of lowering nutrients too much, which allows the toxic algae to take over. Both my Hannah and Salifert tests show 8.6 +/- .01.

No idea but there is growth that I am seeing on all SPS :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

 

[Arkayology]

Things continue to improve. I have been checking weekly for any signs of P. parvum since I removed 99% of the sand over five weeks ago and I am happy to say that it has not come back. There are lots of diatoms and other algae coming in to take its place. Coralline growth as increased too. My SPS are all showing signs of growth and two of them, including a green slimer and purple bonsai have some PE. Zoas are also beginning to make new heads and spread off frag plugs. I am feeling pretty hopeful that I am out of the weeds and can finally focus on getting more livestock.

I really would like to get a couple blue maxima clams, but there are very limited choices right now online - clam mania is the only place that seems to have any. I can't find anything locally. I will probably get some more SPS frags soon to start filling in empty spots. Pics to come! :)

 

[Arkayology]

New photos for June 2025. The tank is recovering and showing some positive signs since I took out the sand bed in April. No signs of P. parvum and no mystery deaths of snails, fish, or corals in months. I know that polyp extension might be a standard thing for a lot of you SPS keepers, but seeing some PE on this tank is really a joy after what it's been through.

I'm now dosing about 10ml of AFR a day plus some trace elements. Things are going well. I just need to get some more frags and a couple clams in here now!

Red Planet - Look! There is PE!

Monti setosa - one of my favorites. also has PE

Green slimer - showing some growth and PE!

Tyree Pink Lemonade I got from Dan Riggle. It's encrusting, but has yet to show any PE. Maybe soon.

ORA Pearlberry - This one is encrusting nicely and showing some PE

Oregon tort - a slow grower so far, as expected, but there is a little encrusting happening

Some zoas that I like - the head on the left side is new within the last week

Rastas looking good

Some orange zoas and King Midas frags that I don't know where to place yet

FTS 06/06/25

 

[Gumbies R Us]

New photos for June 2025. The tank is recovering and showing some positive signs since I took out the sand bed in April. No signs of P. parvum and no mystery deaths of snails, fish, or corals in months. I know that polyp extension might be a standard thing for a lot of you SPS keepers, but seeing some PE on this tank is really a joy after what it's been through.

I'm now dosing about 10ml of AFR a day plus some trace elements. Things are going well. I just need to get some more frags and a couple clams in here now!

Red Planet - Look! There is PE!

Monti setosa - one of my favorites. also has PE

Green slimer - showing some growth and PE!

Tyree Pink Lemonade I got from Dan Riggle. It's encrusting, but has yet to show any PE. Maybe soon.

ORA Pearlberry - This one is encrusting nicely and showing some PE

Oregon tort - a slow grower so far, as expected, but there is a little encrusting happening

Some zoas that I like - the head on the left side is new within the last week

Rastas looking good

Some orange zoas and King Midas frags that I don't know where to place yet

FTS 06/06/25

Glad to see your tank is going well after removing the sand bed! What made you decide to remove the sand bed?

 

[Arkayology]

Glad to see your tank is going well after removing the sand bed! What made you decide to remove the sand bed?

Thanks. I removed the sand bed because after some testing it seemed like the Prymnesium parvum algae that took over my tank seemed to live in the sand and made it difficult to fight. The P. parvum was likely the culprit for many strange issues I was having with my tank. Removing the sand seemed to do the trick to get it under control. I have yet to see any from samples I take from the little remaining sand, algae from the tank wall glass, or from the live rock. I think that I have dealt with the issue for the time being. I have washed the sand in tap water and will let it sit dry over the summer. I will probably rinse it in RO/DI and put some back into the tank in the fall is things continue to go well.

 

[TheWB]

Thanks. I removed the sand bed because after some testing it seemed like the Prymnesium parvum algae that took over my tank seemed to live in the sand and made it difficult to fight. The P. parvum was likely the culprit for many strange issues I was having with my tank. Removing the sand seemed to do the trick to get it under control. I have yet to see any from samples I take from the little remaining sand, algae from the tank wall glass, or from the live rock. I think that I have dealt with the issue for the time being. I have washed the sand in tap water and will let it sit dry over the summer. I will probably rinse it in RO/DI and put some back into the tank in the fall is things continue to go well.

Have you considered ordering some live sand from TBS instead of reusing the sand that has been removed?
I used TBS live sand but it wasn't until a month after I had started my cycle. I wish I had just ordered it from the beginning and that I had added more of it. I only got 9 pounds and mixed it in to what I already had. Should have gotten 50 pounds. I bet many of my algae issues would have been mitigated if I had done that.

 

[Arkayology]

Have you considered ordering some live sand from TBS instead of reusing the sand that has been removed?
I used TBS live sand but it wasn't until a month after I had started my cycle. I wish I had just ordered it from the beginning and that I had added more of it. I only got 9 pounds and mixed it in to what I already had. Should have gotten 50 pounds. I bet many of my algae issues would have been mitigated if I had done that.

I've thought about it, but the TBS sand is so chunky, right? I am not sure I want that many pieces of shells/etc. on the bottom of the tank.

 

[TheWB]

I've thought about it, but the TBS sand is so chunky, right? I am not sure I want that many pieces of shells/etc. on the bottom of the tank.

It is pretty chunky. Mine is mixed with other smaller grained sand so I don't have that chunky look. I just think it's the a great source for all the biodiversity we all seem to want. You could use it toward the back and have better looking sand in the front of the display or on top of it if the aesthetic is an issue.

 

[LiverockRocks Verified Sponsor]

I've thought about it, but the TBS sand is so chunky, right? I am not sure I want that many pieces of shells/etc. on the bottom of the tank.

Photo from last harvest. Rock on.

 

[Arkayology]

Photo from last harvest. Rock on.

Thanks for the response @LiverockRocks! I know you have a good product. I am just not sure if it is my aesthetic or not. I will have to consider it while I decide what I want to do about adding sand back to the tank.

 

[Arkayology]

I just returned from a 14 day vacation. Nothing bad happened to the tank in my absence besides some cyano and typical algae.

I purchased an MP10 on current sale to replace the Icecap 2k because I am not sure I am getting the flow pattern that I want our of the gyres. I think it might be too direct/linear. I also loved my MP10s in the past. If this MP10 goes well, I will get an MP40 to replace the Gyre 4k and another MP10 to add the to opposite side. You can see from this post-vacation photo how the right side of the tank gets a lot more flow than the left based on where the algae on the glass is located. This was a big deciding factor for me on why I wanted to change things up.

Gyre 4k (left) vs Gyre 2k (right)

Still no sign of the P. parvum in the tank, so I think that there is sufficient other life in the tank to outcompete it. It may or may not still be in the tank, but after multiple samples over the last couple months showing nothing, I am optimistic. I am thinking about adding some sand back into the tank.

 

[Arkayology]

MP10qd is installed. This thing is pretty loud for having a "quiet" in the name. It seems just as loud as my old mp10s that I had years ago. I expected this pump to be much quieter as it is easily the loudest thing on my tank right now. Is there really such a thing as a break in period for these pumps?