Im going to get him/her soon. :)

What's the status of your tank now? Any change? Did you do the water changes.

Removing by hand is probably the best way to get rid of nuisance algae quickly, but other methods work, too.

The link Colin gave you is a good one, full of suggestions. Of course, if you want to keep an octo, those algae-eating fish are not a good idea!

Nancy
 
ant said:
*A reply might be nice** :roll:

Get yourself a snail, hermit crab...uh no wait, scratch the hermit crab... :mrgreen: ...and the snail might not be safe either! You can try though :wink:...and a brittle star. They all eat detrius and help keep nitrates down. Brittle stars in particular are omnivores and will eat the mess the octopus makes. Octos usually leave them alone too.

Go here and pick some things out, hopefully your local store has these in stock:

http://www.aquacon.com/saltwater-fish-index.html

Here's a quote from their site:

The Atlantic Astrea snail loves to graze on algae. A very active cleaner, it cleans both algae and diatoms. According to Julian Sprung's Reef Aquarium Manual , Volume One, Atlantic Turbo snails are the ideal snail to be placed in your aquarium as soon as ammonia and nitrite levels reach acceptable levels (less than 1 ppm). One of the best snails for controlling Diatom's (light brown/red algae), Green Algae Blooms and Dark Purple/Red Slime algae . Introduced as soon as possible to new aquarium, these snails effectively limit the development of all microalgae.

And about Bumble Bee snails:

Totally Reef Safe, they are about 3/8" and look like Bumble Bee's. A great scavenger, cleaning up both your sand bed, rocks, glass, and they take care of diatoms, hair algae, and red slime too!!

And on green brittle stars:

A good garbage cleaner for your tank. Brittle stars are one of the best detritus removers for the aquarium. (Detritus causes high nitrates). Keeping the detritus (garbage) down in your system, promotes cleaner water, lower nitrates, and healthier animals. Totally reef safe.They are also interesting to watch.
 
The diatoms keep coming back and sometimes is very dark black and almost in a mound. It has moved from just on the sand and rocks in small amounts to big amounts coming back rapidly and even on the glass a little. I suck it out with a small tube for an air pump and it works fine its just that it keeps coming back. I havent done the water changes but i will start doing them. Would a biowheel help with my problem? Would a brittle star hurt chocolate stars? Our LFS has near 4 every time i go there. Also, one of my starfish has....ummm....fallen apart. It scared me when i pulled him out. One of his arms was just dangleing there. I dont know why i didnt notice it before. Could this be the source the algea came from? I beleive they are green brittle stars at the LFS.
ant said:
*A reply might be nice*
 
ant said:
The diatoms keep coming back and sometimes is very dark black and almost in a mound. It has moved from just on the sand and rocks in small amounts to big amounts coming back rapidly and even on the glass a little. I suck it out with a small tube for an air pump and it works fine its just that it keeps coming back. I havent done the water changes but i will start doing them. Would a biowheel help with my problem? Would a brittle star hurt chocolate stars? Our LFS has near 4 every time i go there. Also, one of my starfish has....ummm....fallen apart. It scared me when i pulled him out. One of his arms was just dangleing there. I dont know why i didnt notice it before. Could this be the source the algea came from? I beleive they are green brittle stars at the LFS.
 
Hi Black96WS6,

I was reading your #1 above and had a few questions. I currently have a 37 gallon tank connected to a refugium thats about 15 gallons. I was looking to buy some chaetomorpha to help with the nitrates. I didn't know about the deep sand bed option. In your opinion, which is better? I currently have about 1.5" of sand in the refugium, but I could increase it to 6. Or, would the chaetomorpha be a better option? Thanks!
 
lockburn said:
Hi Black96WS6,

I was reading your #1 above and had a few questions. I currently have a 37 gallon tank connected to a refugium thats about 15 gallons. I was looking to buy some chaetomorpha to help with the nitrates. I didn't know about the deep sand bed option. In your opinion, which is better? I currently have about 1.5" of sand in the refugium, but I could increase it to 6. Or, would the chaetomorpha be a better option? Thanks!

Hi, you may have to experiment to find out which way works better. There's a great article on Deep Sand Beds (DSB for short) here:

DeepSandBeds

Here's a tidbit from the article:

One of the principal benefits to deep sand bed methodologies is the potential for natural nitrate reduction (NNR). The speed and extent to which a DSB can reduce nitrate in an aquarium amazes many aquarists… especially those that have struggled with nitrate control for any length of time through other means. The benefits to an established tank with the upgrade to a DSB are apparent in just a few weeks with potential for complete nitrate reduction (to “zero”)!
Here's a great pic of a refugium behind the main aquarium that has both!:

Refugium-Hang-on_IMG_5567-ChristinaGonzalez.JPG
 
I think that DSBs have got their place in aquariums but like suggested in the last post they should be external to an octo tank... an octo will disturb it all too much. Would be fine in a refugium.

Even the 'experts' on DSBs now also agree that they have a shelf life before they stop functioning properly...

In a 37 gal tank i'd suggest that water changes with RO water and a stringent feeding programme may be a better (easier) solution.

Also, be sure to get the corrrect grade of sand for the DSB.
 
Until you've kept an octo, you don't realize how much they disturb their tank environment - moving shells, rocks (even large ones) and equpment (changing the direction of the outflow). They are also fond of taking equipment apart, such as powerheads.

Bimacs like to stick their arms down in the sand and wiggle them to see what they can stir up (they're hoping for crabs!). Another favorite thing is to dig in the sand, right down to the glass bottom when making their den.

Nancy
 
Nancy said:
They are also fond of taking equipment apart, such as powerheads.



...I thought that you shouldnt have the power head in the tank... :hmm: Also another question, What should the flow rate for my sump to tank pump be? I was thinking 1000GPM. So i shouldnt get a biowheel Or should i? I was planning on getting a wet/dry filter (is this the same as a biowheel?) and another canister filter as the one im using now is only a micron filter. Ive noticed something about my powerhead line connected to the overflow box. If i take it off, the siphon stops. SO i bought the long air tubing to put the powerhead in the sump so the octo couldnt hurt it. Should i order some macro algea for my sump? (the last question)What in the world are amphipods? !
 
Hi Ant

Any powerheads used in the tank should be safe... ie they should have no way for the octopus to stick arms into the impeller. Most powerheads come with a grill to prevent this sort of thing or a sponge attachment.

1000GPM would blast a hole in your ceiling and carry the water a few hundred feet into the air :wink: if you mean GPH, then that will be fine, just make sure that the exit for the water into the sump from your tank can handle it. Is the hole big enough?

A wet dry filter is infinitly better than a biowheel as the biowheels can get clogged and stop trurning. Just make sure that there is a prefilter to prevent the bioballs getting clogged with dirt.

I dont quite get what you mean about the powerhead and sump overflow??? can you explain?

macro algae is a good idea

amphipods are small shrimp species which normally come into a tank with live rock...

http://www.google.co.uk/search?num=100&hl=en&q=aquarium+amphipods&spell=1

they are great for tanks as they help clean up after a messy octo and good food for a baby octo
 
OK. I have a small airline tube from my powerhead to my overflowbox top. It makes the siphon start back up i guess but when i take it off the top of the box, the siphon stops after a few minutes. I know that the powerhead
is sucking air from the overflow box and pushing it into the water b/c i see little air bubbles.






I now have 10 red leg hermit crabs in my tank to clean up the diatoms and i think i have a bit of cyeano algea too. I got a big bucket of salt again as i found out i was out today :frown:








-=Ant=-
 
Ant has your tank been cycling for a wile? my tank had a blum like that only it consumed the bottom of the tank but after my tank was empty for a wile it went away. Also try mixing the sand.
 

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