Algae....good, bad, or just ugly?

[irish cream]

Hey all! I have a fairly new tank (about 2 weeks up and running), with a few damsels, none lost, all doing well. i had some detritus accumulated at the bottom (overfeeding, i believe) so i syphoned it out, changed about 10% of water, and it's gone. however, now i have quite a bit of brownish colored algae on my crushed coral, plants, rocks, everything that gets light. i have one daylight bulb and one "Marine Glo" blue light for my live rock. is this algae good, bad, normal? i am new to the marine game, so i am unsure. been testing the water, like i said, no fish lost, and other levels seem normal for cycling. even got some coral growing on the live rock! (Ca happened to be at 450 ppm, by chance). any thoughts are appreciated! thanks!
regards,
marty

 

[stacyt]

The algae that you are seeing is a normal part of the cycle process. Normally refered to as the diatom bloom. It's ugly, but as time goes on it should start to disappear. Ounce your tank has completed the cycle you could add a cleaner crew to help control the algae growth. Also have you considered changing out the CC with a DSB? There are several advantages to having a DSB.

 

[clarkiiboi]

diatom bloom, it goes away and is part of a good cycle.

 

[irish cream]

CC to DSB? I am not familiar with the abbrevs. yet (no pun intended there!) what cleaners do you suggest, when to get them, etc. i am glad to hear it is part of a good cycle though! how long does a cycle usually last? like i said, i've had mine running two weeks, and in last 3 days, ammonia has slowly dropped. is this the peak/end/start? i am guessing past peak. thanks again for all the help!
marty

 

[stacyt]

CC is crushed coral and DSB is deep sand bed. CC is higher maintenance than DSB. CC needs to be vacuumes and cleaned. DSB also produces bacteria that is beneficial to the nitrogen cycle. Basically to create a DSB you buy LS and replace the CC with at least 4" of sand. I have a 37 gallon eclipse and it took about 120 lbs. of LS to create a DSB. Normally it takes about 6-8 weeks for a tank to cycle. The ammonia dropping is just the beginning. You still have to wait for nitrites and nitrates to peak and drop. A cleanup crew might be difficult with the porc puffer. He would most likely eat anything that you put in to clean. Also porcs get really large. They can grow to 10-12".

 

[irish cream]

stacy-
is it worth switching to LS at this point? you seem to have noticed i have a 37 gallon eclipse as well- you had good luck with yours? just wondering, thanks!

 

[stacyt]

I would go ahead and make the switch now. I did the same thing. I started with a 37 gallon with CC, and after about 4 months I made the switch. The only downside to the eclipse tanks is upgrading the lighting, and adding a skimmer. The lighting can be upgraded, but is still very limited. In order to add a skimmer I had to cut the hood. Right know I have added a prizm skimmer, and a 55 watt retrofit kit.

 

[killyah]

hello Irish Cream
as said b4 the brown stuff that u r seeing is normal in a new setup!(diatom) i would not remove any more water from a cycling tank!! by changing 10% your tank will take a bit longer to cycle. say about 2 more weeks then normal.JMO good luck with ur tank.

 

[irish cream]

thanks for all the advice folks! i will leave it be then to complete the cycle naturally, though i will continue testing regularly just to be sure i'm protecting my little fishies as much as possible. thanks again!
marty

 

[korgull]

hey irish cream, where do you get your stuff in orlando? im from st cloud am always lookin for new shops...not much down this way

 

[irish cream]

i got most of it at Petland on Semoran (SR 436). it's about 3 miles north of the airport and 528, on the West side of the road near walmart. they have some cool stuff for a smaller store. good live rock, too! they get new fish on thurs. and friday, so those are the best days. i also went to "The Aquarium" in Apopka last weekend. they are supposedly the largest fish store in the southeast, and they had some AMAZING stuff! They have this one Pacu (freshwater) that is 24 years old, must weigh probably 40 pounds. the people there were very knowledgable, and they had an amazing selection of marine life for sale. it's on Orange Blossom Trail in Apopka. check em out!
marty =)

 

[korgull]

cool, ive seen that advertised quite a bit but havent went there yet, i'll have to check it out. theres a nice store on university and goldenrod called ocean blue. one of the better ones i've seen around. fish are quite expensive i thought though.

 

[clarkiiboi]

I think something has been overlooked. Your tank is 2 weeks old and stll cycling (only in the amnonia stage) not sure if you should have that porc. puffer in there. Cycling may be too harsh for it. Not sure about the parrot fish either, dont know anything about them. The damsels are ok, they are hardy, the clown is 50/50 choice for cycling.
Someone else can pick this up and clarify, but I am really concerned with the puffer.

 

[clarkiiboi]

or is that just your wish list? Your first post said just damsels in the tank and then the next post had your tank and fish posted in your signature.