Is This Normal

[ntank20]

I was just wondering if what is happening in my tank is normal. I have had my tank running for over a month. For the first three weeks or so I had no light on my tank, and this past weekend I bought a light fixture and now one of my rocks is covered in this green algae that looks like grass growing or hair. Then there is also some brown rust looking stuff, some tiny little red hair looking things coming out on the rocks and on one rock algae that looks like the green but is a maroonish purple growing. Just wanted to make sure that all of this was a process in a new cycling tank. Thanks.

 

[sagxman]

The brown rust stuff is probably diatoms. Perfectly normal. The algae probably broke out from the new lights. How long have you been leaving them on. You want to slowly extend your lighting time and not keep them on too long. Mine stay on about 8 hours.
The growth may have been sparked from the lights, but there could be other circumstances cause the algae to grow as well. What type of water are you using? If you use tap water it may be high in phosphates which algae loves.

 

[ntank20]

I am using RO water, i was told that this was really good to use. I guess i don't need to leave my lights on as much. I usually turn them on when i leave for work about 7:30 am and don't turn them off until dark so i guess i need to turn them of when i get home from now on. That will be about 8 hours. Is there anything else i need to know? I really didn't know how long i was supposed to leave my lights on

i figured that i would turn them on when the sun comes up and turn them off when it goes down. I guess i was way off on that one.

Thanks for the info.

 

[saltn00b]

yeap, get your clean up crew in there, it will eat most of the algae and some wil eat diatoms.
also look into getting a timer, so you can enjoy your tank with the light on as well.
also keep an eye on the temp, when you get home, and when you wake up. because depending on the lights you can heat your water up very fast, and then your house my cool it down too much at night, if you dont have a heater

 

[ntank20]

Well the temp in my room stays about 80 to 81 at night and between 82 and 83 during the day. The lights don't seem to heat up the water. I have two damsels in there they have been in about 2 weeks now and they are much happier since i put the lights on the tank. The lights i have also have a fan on the system so that it cools the system off and the lights sit about 1/2 to 1 inch off the top of my tank. I do need to get a thermometer so that way i can tell what the temp of the water is. As of right now I do not know. It could be gettin hot, because i had two snails that came on my rock and now they have died since i put the lights on. I have also had some bristle worms die but i think it is due to there was a lot of them but not enough food supply for all of them. I hope everything is going to be ok. I will go today after work and get a thermometer so i can see what the temp is of my water. Thanks.

 

[saltn00b]

floating thermos are cheap and a necessity. snails die all the time unfortunately, so it could be any of a host of reasons. what else do you have for a clean up crew? what size tank?

 

[ntank20]

I have a 45 gallon tank with about 53lbs of liverock. I don't have a cleanup crew because my lfs told me that if there was any amonia in my tank that it would instantly kill them. I don't think or know if my tank is fully cycled yet. I haven't bought a test kit i have just been taking over to them to get it tested. All i have is a test for ph. Last time i was there they said my ph was a little low (it was 8.0 and they wanted me to get it up to 8.3) so they told me to buy a test so i could get it where it needed to be. They said that everything else looked great. Before my lights i had no algae and within 2 to 3 days one of my rocks was completely covered with it and every day i have noticed more and more diatoms (i think thats what ya'll said).

 

[saltn00b]

well a) i would never trust a LFS 100%. which leads to
B) get your own test kits, and get aquainted. its something you are gonna need from now on.
c) if they say everything else is good, then they are likely telling you you dont have ammonnia or trites or trates, or minimal at least. but thats why you want a kit to make sure.
d) if this is the case, you are good for the clean up crew, i would just get a pH buffer, and dose it accordingly a day after doing a water change and checking the pH.
e) the crew will eat this break out, and keep everything looking clean.

 

[ntank20]

You seem to know what you are talking about and thanks for all the help

. I have one more question. What do you recommend me to get for a clean up crew i mean everything you can think of and how many of each. Thanks

 

[ntank20]

I would just buy the reef package from this site but i don't have the $$ to do so. I would rather just buy a few of what the site sells. Would this be ok, maybe like a few hermits and a few snails, but i don't know what kind is better of each. Thanks.

 

[saltn00b]

you are going to want algae cleaners, sand sifters, garbage cleaners.
you can pick and choose: here are some mostly reef safe common choices:
(also look at different website's ideas of what a reef package should include...)
atlantic and mexican astrea (turbo) snails. clean the top sand, LR, glass. i would say around 50 (atlantic) and <5 mexican
emerald crabs - scavenge, forrage. 2-3
porcelain crabs - scaveng i think, filter feed. 2-3
sally light foot crab - great scavenger 1
arrow crab - super greedy hungry scavenger! 1
nassarius and cerith snails - sand sifting species, keeps the sandbed healthy (important for nitrate reduction) also may clean glass etc 15-30
sand sifting star - self explanatory - 1-2
brittle star / serpent star - arguably the hardest working scavenger in the tank. no food or dead thing goes un eaten. -2
sand sifting goby - such as diamond goby - great digger of holes! doesnt really need QTing -1
lawnmower blenny - voracious algae muncher 1
peppermint, skunk cleaner, blood fire, coral banded shrimps - very good scavenger, forager, will clean parasites off of fish and your own hand - i would say 2, try to get the same size to avoid any problems. often same species will mate.
those are the basics really, there are more species etc if you want to get more elaborate tho of course.

 

[saltn00b]

oh yea there are micro hermits and larger hermits as well, great scavengers, but they will kill your snails for the shells.

 

[canisee2]

Hey n tank i see you leave in cumming just like me lol but where do you go to get your fish and stuff?
Austin

 

[ntank20]

Well the only problem i see now is that i don't have a sand bed i have cc. I didn't go with sand because i have a very good friend that also has sw fish and she told me that sand can build sulfer bubbles and when the sand releases them then it will kill everything in the tank. I don't know if she was correct but i trusted her and bought cc. It isn't the big cc is is very small and fine cc and looks kinda like some of the peoples sand beds i've seen on here. is this bad. Somebody on here on a different thread told someone that you cant have snails w/cc because it will cut them all up. I don't want this to happen. Sorry to put you through all the trouble of telling what to get when most of it involves sand. I should have said it when i asked you what to get. sorry.

 

[ntank20]

I have been getting my fish from aquarium showcase in alfaretta, but i got my light over at the aviarium at gwinnett place mall. Aquarium showcase is on highway nine right there at windward parkway.

 

[canisee2]

Cool i go to aquaruiam showcase but the are exspensive and i just bought my 72 gallon bow front from aviaurum for 300 drilled with glass canopy

.
Austin

 

[ntank20]

WOW, only 300, that's really good.

I actually bought my tank from Noah's Ark, but i would never buy anything else from there. I don't like that place. Their tanks were just cheaper than everywhere else. I guess i should have checked at aviaruim but I know didn't know about that place at the time. Oh well.

 

[canisee2]

Yes noahs ark is disgusting since the orignal people had to sell there bigger place to a banker the place is just to small for animals to be in there just my 2 cents.

 

[saltn00b]

a lot of people on here will highly suggest you switch out your CC for LS. you are still in a good position to do that because you have minimal life in there. i am one of those people.
i believe the problem with CC is that all of the large gaps between the grain become traps for nitrate and or anearobic bacteria. because it is so heavy, of you arent stirring it up, and vaccuming etc you can even run the risk for the bacteria to grow to the point of increasing pressure and blow out the bottom of your tank... THAT would be a bad day.... the LS can also get small bubbles of anearobic bacteria, which release when kicked up, and quickly turn into nitrates. however the sand sifters keep the bed healthy and stirred, so the bubbles dont form, or are released in small quantities, and safer. maybe that is what she was thinking with the sulphur. also, if you go with super fine, sugar-grade grain size LS, it is better for nitrate fixing, and possibly harder for the bubbles to form, i think.

 

[ntank20]

I feel the same way. I used to work there and it was just plain nasty. The original people that owned it have now sold to another lady who is trying to clean up the place, but she thinks she knows about saltwater and she don't. She was telling me all this stuff that was wrong so i quit going up there. I find the people at aquarium showcase more helpful. I guess so since that is what they specialize in. They are somewhat more expensive on some things, but i would rather pay more for good stuff and get what i need then go somewhere thats going to tell me stuff that will later wind up killing my fish.