Help!!

[puffercat]

Hi,
I had a question for any fish tank Guru out there. I’ve just recently set-up (10 days) an 80 gallon tank/LS 4 ins/LR 50 pds so far /WET/DRY/Protein Skimmer/Powercompact and has been running for a week. Just recently the last few days there’s a massive brown film stuff coming on top of the sand and some of the rocks…What is this??? Could this be the infamous red algae already?? Please help…

 

[misty]

Sounds like the usual diatom algae that new tanks get. Test your water levels and when all is perfect (ammonioa and nitrites at 0, zero to very low nitrates, check pH and salinity/specific gravity too)) then get some hermits and snails as a clean-up crew. They'll eat the algae for you and help clean your rock/sand/tank walls up a lot. Check out the packages on this site. I've heard really good things about them and plan to order one in a couple of weeks.

 

[playtime]

I think you are fine. Being that your tank is still new and cycleing, brown algea is normal and it is a good sign. How long are you leaving on your lights? You might try to cut back on the time. What are you using to cycle your tank, (damsels,raw shrimp clowns) I personally didn't use anything, just wondering what you use. Keep an eye on your levels and in a few weeks you can add a clean up crew to take care of what is left. You are doing alright, don't worry.
Playtime

 

[puffercat]

Hey thx for the response guys.........Yeah I've been leaving the lights on all night...about 10-12 hours....and i notice the boom!!...I am cycling my tank with 3 damels but one has bitten the dust….I left the dead carcass in the water for cycling is that a good thing??

 

[junkf15]

It depends-
If you leave the dead fish in your tank, it will cause a rise in your ammonia level, and if your tank is near the end of the first cycle, it may start a new mini-cycle all over again, delaying your ability to put sensitive things in your tank. If you have no intention of introducing sensitive animals, no problem, if you are waiting to intorduce inverts, you may have set yourself back a few days to a week.

 

[burnnspy]

I recommend that you get rid of the mechanical filter media in the WD filter while the getting is good.
If yoy have any questions why, do a search on Wet Dry filters.
BurnNSpy