Hmph...

[knigec28]

ok, so i have been cycling my tank for some time now...maybe 3 weeks or so...(i really don't keep track) anyway i have brown algae stuff all over the bottom and all over the live rock. i figured since i have nothing to do anyway that i would go get a water check done at the LFS. they told me that all my readings were at 0....ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate...i am just thinking that it doesn't make much sense...i thought that the brown algae would die off before my cycle was completed...it seems too early for my cycle to be complete and etc etc...some parts of my brown algae are turning green though, which distresses me a little mainly for cosmetic reasons...<sigh> i would do the readings myself, but every test kit i've ever used has given me different readings from all the other test kits...none of them seem to hold an accurate reading even when tested at the same time...my water temp is at a stable 76 F...light is on for 10 hours and off for rest of day (it's on a timer) 260 watts....55gallon tank...like maybe 45ish lbs of live rock (getting another 15 lbs when i get paid next friday)...

sooo i guess i'm just looking for direction....does the brown algae stuff go away? i have read alot of stuff about it, but this reading thing seems to be throwing me off key with my knowledge...i'm thinking that the employee at the LFS has no clue wht they are doing although they claim to have the parameters "memorized". i think that they didn't put the test strips in the water for a long enough period of time...i dunno...help! lol

 

[AK77]

Hi,

If your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels are all at zero, then the tank has finished cycling. Now is the time to introduce your CUC. A good mix of different snails, hermit crabs and shrimps should be put into to begin eating the algae and waste left over from any organic life that died off during the curing process.

Its sounds like you may have cyanobacteria, so I'd suggest getting a good number of red legged hermit crabs, as these will eat it. Before you add anything, have a good look around the rocks for any hitchhikers like crabs and shrimps that may prey on your CUC or livestock.

AK

 

[knigec28]

it looks more like green hair algae than cyanobacteria, i will need to double check but from what i can recall that is my impression of what it is
Thank you

 

[AK77]

Hi, sorry.. brainfart lol

Brown algae = Diatoms.

Either way, you need to get your CUC's in there to start munching on it all. Then you can add ya fish!!

 

[SkiFletch]

Ah the wonders of a new tank with power compact lighting . Your plight is normal knigec28. At 3 weeks old, the brown algae is most likely diatoms and the green algae might be hair algae. I too would suggest adding some cleanup crew members at this time. Concentrate on a variety of snails and some redleg hermit crabs. Stay away from the cheaper blueleg or zebra hermits as these are very aggressive and will kill snails for sport. Definitely keep a variety of snails though as different ones will eat/do different things. Be careful with your acclimation preiod and take your time as snails are actually pretty sensitive to acclimation.

If you can get some pics taken, that'd be great so we can properly ID the algae. In the meantime you might want to consider adding some Rowaphos or Phosban to your filtration for phosphate removal. If your LFS doesnt have any (and they might not if they're clueless), head over to marinedepot.com.

And lastly, what color spectrum lights are you using?

 

[AK77]

Ceriths and Nassarius are great for substrate and glass cleaning. If your snails disappear, they are most likely under the coral sand, munching on detritus and missed food. My Trochus tend to prefer cleaning the rocks of algae. The astrea seem to prefer the glass too, although they are a pain in the @$$ for falling off onto their backs.

The red crabs are very good for substrate cleaning and have spent the majority of their time on the coral sand since being placed in the tank. I do have 3 electric blue leg hermits. These tend to prefer cleaning the rocks of algae. So far I haven't had any issues with them attacking live snails or the red hermits. They did eat 2 astrea which had died. The cleaner shrimps were there before the crabs were though.

The skunk cleaners have taken up residence in the right hand end of my tank forming a cleaning station. The fireshrimp at the left hand end of my tank set up another cleaning station and evicted the skunks lol. The skunks do a good job of general tank maintenance and will scavenge more widely than the fireshrimp. They also clean the fish of parasites, although they seem to be slightly timid in comparison to the fireshrimp in this roll.

Once your CUC has been in there for about a week, you should be ok to begin adding livestock. At this point a sand sifting starfish would also be a useful addition to the tank as it will burrow through the sandbed eating waste. If you do get one, I'd recommend giving them about 2-3 hours acclimatization with temperature and gradual mixing of water, as they aren't the best of travellers and can drop legs. You might get lucky and it grow another starfish from that dropped leg, although you are more likely to just get an ammonia spike lol. I ordered my blue linkia online and gave it 3 hours acclimitization. Its been in there about 4 days now and has moved around a fair bit. So far it seem pretty happy.

You could also add some Caulerpa Racemosa, Cheata, or whatever other type of marco algae your LFS has in stock to the aquarium. This will not only absorb nitrates and phosphates, but also provide a vitamin rich food source for such fish species as tangs. This will keep your water in pristine condition. It can also be very attractive if you are having a FOWLR tank as the seaweeds come in a variety of colours and shapes. It can also provide hiding places and shelter for a variety of marine life, once it becomes established. If at a later stage you decide to go with a reef/corals, you could move the macro algae to a refugium to maintain their filtration abilities.

Anothe bonus of the marco algaes is that they grow, and you can take cuttings which you could either sell or swap for other marine related items.

Just a thought.

AK

 

[knigec28]

great! thanks alot guys!

lol forgot to answer the questions
2x 65 watt 10,000k Daylight and 2x 65 watt true actinic 03 blue

unfortunately i do not have a digital camera or access to one because i'm poor lol but i believe strongly that it is indeed brown algae with some green hair algae growing in it's place (about 1/2 of the brown algae seems to have died/disappeared today)
what do you think about 1 fire shrimp 1 peppermint & 1 skunk shrimp? id like a coral banded shrimp (CBS) but i hear they dont get along with other shrimp, can anyone confirm? btw i have a 55 us gallon tank. would like to avoid the peppermint & get the CBS instead. 10 snails adequate? i'd rather have less if possible! thx!

 

[bitfishy]

I'm new to this, so bear that in mind! However my 59g tank began growing grren hair, bubble and a filamatous brown algae and although the CUC (5 sanils, 5 red legged hermits and a cowrie) munch away all day long they were just keeping it stable rather than getting it down to small levels. I followed someones post on this forum which recommended switching the lights off for 48hours. Well, they've been off for 24 hours so far and the difference is amazing! The sand and rocks are both pretty clear now and I reakon that by tomorrow it will sufficiently under control - enough for the cuc to eat - but not so that it obscures everything!! I'm very happy.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong