Substrate issue- help identify

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Charlie G

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Hi all,

About a week ago I started noticing this black mucous type of substance on my substrate. I had no significant changes to my tank (which is a 32 g Biocube around 3 yrs old now). I did remove as much as I can with a water change but seems to be returning.

As mentioned it’s a 32 g Biocube. Parameters are stable. As of March 24:

Salinity 1.026
Nitrate 7.8
Phos 0.10
Alk 7.5 ( was corrected)
Ca 430
Mg 1455

I’ll post picture below.

Any idea and suggestions welcomed.

Thank you.

IMG_6238.jpeg IMG_6236.jpeg IMG_6237.jpeg
 
The species doesn't factor in handling and remediation. If it was a spirulina vs a cyano vs an algae it doesn't change the fifty different ways people choose to approach that

But I can relay something that does factor from the perspective of nano keeping

Your sandbed is approaching getting full and any number of capitalizing organisms will make use of the extra food substrate

Species won't matter because left in place the waste will just feed another round from a different species capitalist.

If you want total control over your nano you need to not model it off nanos that live an average 3-5 years before eutrophication crash
Run it in the way that makes nano reefs live twenty years without crashing: learn how to rip clean it every few years

Which is: taking it apart, cleaning or replacing the sand outside the tank, all rocks cleaned while animals are held elsewhere

Then it's all reassembled cleanly with no additives at all. No prime, no bottle bac, no testing. Skip cycle means it goes back clean running instantly. Whatever that is will be gone


And it's food more importantly would be gone




______________________________________________
Want to know why there aren't ten nano reefs on the site that are twenty years old

Because they won't listen :)

the masses teach each other the low lifespan method which is storage heavy + favors eutrophic conditions after a mere few years-》 threads on repeat show.


Here's one thread of three hundred showing a rip clean. It's one move, for most fix needs in reefing.



In this case, it's a rip clean for the purpose of changing sand bed to a new one without cycling. All steps are the same.


Run that in your tank. Rinse your existing sand in the way we prepped his new sand.

In your case we'd follow those steps but instead of replacing your sand just do the tap rinse until it's clean. It'll take you two straight hours to clean it, which is why leaving that gray rot in the top substrate layer is hyper- aging your reef tank. Next comes heavy gha but not if you learn to rip clean. it will smell bad; it's bad rot for your reef to force endure. They don't like it.

Final highlights: at no time is a rip clean stressful. The pre rip clean condition is stressful. To be waste free and in bright clean new water (the post rip clean condition) with zero invasions and high feed input is good for all corals.

Do one before you age it further

But study a few before running. This is reef tank surgery you need to be prepared.


This resets the tanks age by removing all the waste. A rip clean is a jedi move.
 
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Flip them and rip them into compliance is the right way heh


But really look at his feeder tentacles on the brain

Those are healthy corals no doubt the food web is strong. The whole point of the effort is to produce in one single day a fully clean nano you can pack new food into: to feed those corals better than ever. Right now if you blast food you're at tipping point storage it won't last long.

But we're clearing that reefs lungs to take in all kinds of new input which drives coral growth faster, because you have a clean system that can handle it now plus all the coral hunger stays in place.

Because you have a nano and can effect this in 24 hours if you wanted to, large tankers under invasion can see having a larger tank isn't easier to manage for sure. This is the ultimate cheat

I predict it's a spirulina species. You could easily topically remove it but the tank will truly thrive if you clean that substrate to absolute brand new level
Its an oil change and filter change for a reef tank.
 
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Thank you. I’ve been reading through your thread and the attachments. I like the idea of cleaning out the sand completely but I unfortunately don’t have that amount of time to devote to it yet.

Interestingly, about 2 weeks ago I started adding frozen spirulina brine brine shrimp to my frozen mysis. I guess that would be the cause?

In the meantime, other than manually removing and stopping that type of feeding, is there anything else I could or should do?
 
You can siphon it up in a two gallon water change but that always leaves a waste trail behind too. It would at least remove the top layer
 

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