Grey Waste!

[Kleko]

I'm getting piles of Gray waste pushing out between the rocks. It looks like the feces oop: after its decomposed. when its disturbed it breaks up and moves in to the water.
What is this? Is it bad for the tank? Should I remove it?
Thanks

 

[reeffreak]

more flow should keep the detruis from collecting on the sand bed in areas where flows not getting to , use a hose suck out what you can now and then add another PW to keep it from collecting up after . yes its bad this is what will casue your nitrates and phosphtes to rise if left along for a long time

 

[Kleko]

Does it damage corals and fish?

 

[reeffreak]

do you run a skimmer ? it wont kill them today or tomarrow or next week maybe not even a year from now  , but if I live in a place where I breathe in second hand smoke all day I wont die tomarrow but will eventually be affected by it health wise . what you see is left over food , fish poop , waste from corals , shrimp , crabs , snails  etc thats not being suspended  in the water colum and being removed by some way of export , instead its just settling between rocks and along the bottom .

 

[spyd]

Yes, it will kill your fish and coral or it will cause algae outbreaks in your tank with excessive nitrates and phosphates. More flow is needed to suspend the build up in the water table, then the skimmer can do the rest.

 

[reeffreak]

Yes, it will kill your fish and coral or it will cause algae outbreaks in your tank with excessive nitrates and phosphates. More flow is needed to suspend the build up in the water table, then the skimmer can do the rest.

+1

 

[Kleko]

Would a goby or another sand sifter help with this issue? I have a powerful power head that is causing current out front. should i get a mini one for in behind or would a goby help?

 

[reeffreak]

goby wont do much they sift the sand thats about it  , more flow is what you need ... what size tank do you have and what are you using for PW ?

 

[Kleko]

I have a 40g tank with a 15-20g sump. I have a pump and a power head. The power head is for 45-75g tanks. as for the pump im not sure how much it pushes put its quite a bit. Its just not getting in behind the rocks.

 

[reeffreak]

If you can direct your return so it runs to the areas that are not getting flow if you cannot then maybe purchase another powerhead and aim it where theres low flow . What type of PW are you using ? there good PW and theres bad PW

 

[spyd]

General rule of thumb for flow in your tank is 40x the gallons of water in your tank. So you are looking at getting 1600gph from your powerheads minimum. It all depends what you are keeping though. For SPS, etc. probably better having more than 50x for the flow. Something like 2 - Korlia 1050's or something along those lines would be good.... For return pumps the rule of thumb is 10x the gallons in your tank.

 

[Kleko]

im going to use another cheap power head to push the water around the rocks

 

[reeffreak]

Dont use cheap power heads , get something of good quality atleast

 

[Royal Aquariums]

Hydor Koralias are a great powerhead for anyone starting out in the hobby that needs the best bang for their buck. You can also upgrade to the Hydor Smart wave pump controller at anytime too.

http://www.royalaquariums.ca/c/117/hydor

 

[Darryl_V]

ya get that flow going but dont under estimate the power of a turkey baster on the rocks.  I do mine once per week.  It keeps algae from getting a foot hold on the rock.  That stuff is like fertilizer.

 

[unibob]

ya get that flow going but dont under estimate the power of a turkey baster on the rocks.  I do mine once per week.  It keeps algae from getting a foot hold on the rock.  That stuff is like fertilizer.

Yea the turkey baster I use can do around 1500gph. Haha

+1 for more flow.

I like the tunze powerheads, as they are easy to rotate on mount.