What Shall I Do

[andrew1986]

set up my tank a few weeks ago and i have left it to cycle been taking tast every now and then my nitrite and nitrates have stated to rise but i am getting this greeny brown algae over my rock is this normal also my ammonia doesnt seem to be going down just staying the same colour also my zoas i think this is what they are called have stated to get this algae growing on them i think they may be dead not sure but it has been running now for about 3 week s and it still isnt ready i think this is a long time i have 7kg of lr and sump with about 2 kg of lr rubble with vio filter and protein skimmer and some thing called ammonia remover and carbon remover in the sump aswell and coral gravel in both sump and display tank 30g tank 10x turnover forgotten if you need anything else for an accurate answer

 

[SkiFletch]

Wierd. Hope this isn't a silly question, but the water is of the right temperature and salinity yes?

Does the water smell bad? If not, if you take a piece of rock out for a few seconds and give that a whiff, does that smell bad?

 

[andrew1986]

no nothing smalles bad in there and right salinity check my self with hydrometer and lfs checked with refreactometer just to be sure im not using crappy hydrometer temperatur fluxuates between 24 and 25 should i do a water change to get rid of some of the nitrate and nitrite and ammonia this could be causing the sand and rock to turn greeny brown

 

[rabbut]

The raised nitrogen levels (from ammonia, nitrite and nitrate) are likely the caurse of the algea. Personally, I'd just let it stew for a while longer. How long do you have your lights on for, and did you get any coral hitch-hiking in?

The more flow you have, typically, the quicker the cycle. 10X is the absolute minimum for most reef set-up's, so it may be an idea to add more water pumps, expecially of you are using Maxijet style pumps rather than Tunze style... This extra push will keep water quality up higher as well as moving the cycle along quicker

All the best
Rabbut

 

[andrew1986]

well i prob have more than 10x there is a pump of 1000 litres and a pump at 400 litres then my return which is prob running at half power which is a 4000 litre pump so quite a lot of movent i did however only recently add my 1000 litre an hour pump cos was waitng for it to arrive from ebay my light come on at 10 and go off at bout 8 should my actinic by running at diferent times to my white did get some purple coraline algae and some zoanthids i think they are called i post pic of them

that is quite an old pic tho bout 2 weeks and since then they have covered in that brown green stuff and have really shrunk some of them have started to go a little transparent and so these are prob dead

 

[seffieuk]

well i prob have more than 10x there is a pump of 1000 litres and a pump at 400 litres then my return which is prob running at half power which is a 4000 litre pump so quite a lot of movent i did however only recently add my 1000 litre an hour pump cos was waitng for it to arrive from ebay my light come on at 10 and go off at bout 8 should my actinic by running at diferent times to my white did get some purple coraline algae and some zoanthids i think they are called i post pic of them

that is quite an old pic tho bout 2 weeks and since then they have covered in that brown green stuff and have really shrunk some of them have started to go a little transparent and so these are prob dead

Sounds like you are talking about diatoms which are a natural part of the cycling process - as for the zoas. maybe you will need to chalk them up to experience - it was probably a little too early to put them in to your tank as it sounds like you are still in the cycling process. Do a large water change wait a couple of days and test your water again.

have you already put in a cuc crew - if not wait till you test your water again and if your stats are:

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate below 10 better if 0

then buy your cuc, they will make short work of the diatoms

Seffie x

 

[andrew1986]

i got the zoas on my live rock didnt know wasnt supposed to put them in what is "as for the zoas. maybe you will need to chalk them up to experience"

no cuc in except for a hermit crab a sundial snail and a hairy crac the last 2 are in my sump not seen my hernit for a few days tho will look for him in the morning
ill do a large water change aswell in the mornin how much do you recommend 50% or more

 

[SkiFletch]

Wait, you have zoanthids and a sundail snail? Please tell me you didn't add one before the other? Sundial snails eat zoanthids...

And yes, 50% at least, 100% if you can

 

[andrew1986]

yes i know about that sundial snail and it came on my rock as soon as i i dentidied it it went straight in my sump so no probs there was in main tank for only 1 day

will do the water change today gonna turn on my ro unit now and then start to mix it with salt and warm it up

 

[seffieuk]

i got the zoas on my live rock didnt know wasnt supposed to put them in what is "as for the zoas. maybe you will need to chalk them up to experience"

Means = if you lose them you will learn from the experience, sorry. Glad you are going to do a large water change, you never know you may still save them


Seffie x