14g biocube semi-beginner

[scott&gina]

Hi everybody,
I think its great that their are so many helpful people!! I will take a pic. of my tank as soon as Ican possbily Friday. Being a Mom tof two boys and a full time employee can leave you little time. Anyway Scott is still deployed while be coming home Friday, Yeah!
Ok Question, everyday I come home from work the glass and the sand bed in my tank is brown. Not completely covered but I do use the little eraser thing I have on the aquarium to clean it off. hmmm... how do I get rid of this... I have so far a sea hare, 3 emerald crabs and about 6 hermits. Me and Scott are going to go to our LFS to buy some new corals and maybe a fish or two... Anyway, ughhhh annoying and doesn't look pretty. I know its semi-good for the tank but hmmm. why!
ANyway the tank has been going for a month in a half now. Still haven't notcied all my hitchhikers. I ha ve seen alot of baby feather dusters, a bright red thing that looks like a feather duster but its all Bright red??? Iwill have to take some pic.s We even have a fossil on one live rock. Its neat! Well can any one help??

 

[nano-newb1983]

My guess would be its a Diatom bloom. Happens at the end of a tanks cycle. Could be wrong tho, someone will chime in

 

[nissan577]

well before you buy any fish or corals test your water. just cause your water has been running for like a month or so doesnt mean its good. make sure your ph is around 8.3. ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates are at 0ppm. also that maybe detritus or diatom. i think you spell it like that. idk. hope that help lol.
cant wait for pics

 

[patrick8929]

hermits are not always a good thing... they dont always help with algae and can end up nocking corals over and eating snails. i would say replace the hermits with some snails and let them go to work

 

[scott&gina]

Hi, maybe your right. They seem to pick at all the purple on the rocks and eat them.....

 

[scott&gina]

Hi I did my water level check last night. The nitrite is at 0. The nitrate is at 20 but it says on the reading chart its okay . The Ph is 8.4. the Salinity is 1.023-1.024. Alkalinity says ideal. I have these reading test sticks that you dip in the water. Then lay them flat and in thirty seconds the colors will change. Then you line them up to the prefered colors on the chart and they will tell you what is okay, ideal, danger, and something else. Anyway everything reads either Okay or ideal. The alkalinity read 300 on the stick. Not sure if it was ppm or??? but it also said Ideal. I had a firefish goby but a week ago it disappeared. I freaked and thought Okay where the heck is it??? Well lo...l I found it last night in the back where you add the freshwater to keep everything flowing where the pumps are.. I can't believe it jumped back their. Well she is back in the tank Swimming like nothing ever happened. I fed her and she seems very good. Weird huh. We had a Damsel in it before. Just bought it to help the cycling of the live rock. The LFS suggested it. Anyway we took it back after we thought the cycling was done and got the firefish. Don't want aggressive Fish. P us doesn't it grow big? Anyway so Diatom? WHat the hell is that and how do you get rid of it??? Yesterday the tank looked alot clearer. Thanks to the sea Hare But still some of the brown stuff. Oh yah and fish is feces??? That is just cleaned up with water changes right? There is nothing that can Eat/Clean that gunk up? The hermits, and the sea hare seem to go #2 alot! haha gosh... it just makes me always have to clean the excess out so it doesn't look ugly.
So we are thinking of stocking the tank with
Watchman Goby
Pilot Shrimp
Six Line Wrasse
Sexy Shrimp
and some actually soft colors,mushroom polyps, and etc.. hardy one's
Thanks so much for your help. Pictures will up by this weekend =)

 

[socal57che]

You need to get rid of the test strips and your LFS. Don't cycle with a damsel. Buy a good test kit and a refractometer. Your water parameters will tell you what is happening in your tank so you will need a good test kit. Refractometers are far more accurate than a hydrometer for measuring salt content. Pods, worms and mini brittle stars will help keep detritus in check.
Google "marine aquarium detritovores" for more info.
Brown stuff is likely diatoms and will subside in a couple weeks. Normal for a new tank.
Sounds like you have small red feather duster worms. They are filter feeders and are considered beneficial.
To keep coral you need sufficient light, even for softies. What lighting do you have?
Definitely take time to read throught the sticky threads at the top of the "New Hobbyist" forum.

 

[socal57che]

Originally Posted by socal57che
http:///forum/post/2801309
If you have trouble finding a home for your seahare you can post him on our local reef club for sale or trade. He will not last long in your nano. Since you cannot do PMs yet, email me for the info at socal57chevy @ yahoo.com and I'll get you in touch with them.
BTW, do you use Scripps Water?

I actually posted this in a different thread, but figured you were more likely to see it here...

 

[scott&gina]

So we should get rid of our sea hare

I don't want it to die. I bought him for $25. So what kind of test kit do you suggest? We have these qick dip test strips. Ithink they work good for us but I dunno. We are goingto visit our LFS today. It is a very nice store. It has everything and tons of displays big and small. I mean their are like 20 people that work there so maybe the guy I talked to had his own idea what we should do. Some people have different opinions and ways of doing things ya know. All that brown algea has disappeared. Its been day 5 and still none so maybe that was the end of the cycle. We are starting to see more on the rocks but wish things would grow faster. When we can we are goingto buy the Halogen lights and a cooler so it doesn't get so hot. Anyway what would be good to put in our tank as far as soft corals and inverts?

 

[socal57che]

It is common for sea hares to starve to death in tanks much larger than yours. It will need to be supplemented with algae sheets when your hair algae is gone. BTW, ours cost $6.95, not $25, so you might take that into consideration.
I think you mean halide, not halogen, but I get it. Be careful choosing the light. You don't want to burn the corals either. Lots of good people in the nano forum to help you with that.
I have salifert kits. I'm happy with them. I've heard that API is good, but have not used them.
As far as inverts go, just research your purchases before you make them. What you buy today will determine what you can buy tomorrow. I would do shrooms, zoanthids and ricoredeas. You may want to stay away from stuff that grows fast and can become invasive like GSP.
and don't forget to read these threads...
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/301033/101-tips-to-beginning-and-maintaining-a-saltwater-aquarium
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/160830/beginners-12-step-program
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/264597/a-list-of-extremely-helpful-threads-for-all-hobbyists
Also, you may want to pick up a copy of "The Conscientiuos Marine Aquarist" by Robert Fenner. It will prove itself priceless.

 

[socal57che]

So, how's it going?...any updates?
scott&gina...you have PM

 

[rotarymagic]

Originally Posted by scott&gina
http:///forum/post/2797673
Hi, maybe your right. They seem to pick at all the purple on the rocks and eat them.....
that's emeralds for ya... I'd have one TOPS if that.
I've ditched my old hermit obsession for snail/conch only CUC
Get rid of the sea hare, it'll starve to death quickly in that size tank and nuke it.
6-8 astrea snails, 1 fighting conch, 5 nassarius snails (small variety), 5 cerith snails. Call it a day... that's all you need for your clean up crew.
Remember key to success is nutrient export mainly... run a bag of rowaphos or phosban in there to pull out phosphates, keep up with water changes, maybe run some macroalgae or look up a turf scrubber for pulling out nitrates and other nutrients too! It'll keep algae from blooming in the tank.