Is This Normal?????

[cb]

I recently(9 days ago) upgraded my tank from 20g to 40g.. I also added a deeper sand bed (31/2 in) before I upgraded I was having a problem with high nitrates they were off the chart but since I had 4 damsels a cc starfish and a few hermits and a anemone in the small tank I thought it might be bio load. I still have the same amount of fish in the larger tank have not added anything new am going to wait for a while and the nitrate level yesterday was at about 20 so will they go down in about another week or do i need to do another water change( added 20g new water when I set this tank up) the other problem that i am having is a brown algae bloom. It is on the glass and the sand and the rock am I going thru a cycle or is this something I need to address.

 

[leigh]

Hey...the brown algae is likely diatoms which I would say is normal for that big a change. Since you adjusted your sand bed you should expect somewhat of a cycle. Are you using RO water? If not changing to that will help with diatom problems. Are the anemone and starfish in the new tank? If so you may want to see if you can get someone to hold them for you as they are both very sensitive to water quality and and cycle you may have could really affect them. How much live rock do you have to help with biofiltration? And do you have anything for nutrient export--ie a refugium or anything like that? If not your 20 would make a very nice sump/fugium for your new 40 and would help greatly with nitrate control. Congrats on the upgrade!

 

[cb]

The starfish and the anemone are doing great they both look good and eat well. I have about 30lbs of live rock and plan on adding more a little at a time as I can.. I do not know the first thing about setting up a sump so I don't have one. How do you get rid of diatoms?

 

[leigh]

They will go away on their own (usually as quickly as they showed up) so long as you're using RO water. If you're using tap water you could be in for a long battle.

 

[cb]

I live in the country and use well water in all my tanks fw and sw is this causing the problem?

 

[leigh]

It could be...has it been a longstanding problem for you? ie did you have the problem in your 20? You can normally find RO water fairly cheap at a fish store or walmart/kroger/big chain store like that. That and there's always the buying an RO unit option... personally I just buy it at my fishstore--that way I don't have to keep track of cartridges or anything.

 

[cb]

In the 20g I had a little algae problem, a little on the sand and on the back glass,but not on the rocks like it is now and there seems to be more of it. Is there anything I can do to get rid of it?

 

[leigh]

Depends...what's your clean up crew like, any snails? 4 damsels in a 20 would be a bit tight in a 20 gal but should be dandy in a 40. What type of algaes are you having problems with? What is your lighting like? What are your water parameters like? And RO water will help...

 

[cb]

I have two red hermits and one turbo snail. I have about 6 or 8 nassarius snails. My lights are 80w NO lights 40w white and 40w blue I haven't tested anything in a couple days except nitrates and right now they are about 20. Since I just did a big water change in the last week (20g) should I do another one so soon?

 

[leigh]

How old are your bulbs--age can also contribute to algae growth. Don't do a water change just yet unless your ammonia and 'trite levels are high. It'll be best if you can let your tank do it's mini-cycle without a water change so that the bacteria can catch up quickly--but if it gets dangerous for the inhabitants obviously do a water change. Nothing helps with nitrate export better than a sumpfugium (imo)...I know it seems daunting but I set my old one up in an afternoon--it was a bit of work but boy was I proud when I was done and it really did work wonders for nitrates. If you want help with that we certainly can give you some advice.
-leigh

 

[cb]

I just did test for what I have (do not have a test for ammonia or calcium) PH 8.2-8.4 Salinty 1.021-1.022 Nitrates 20 Nitrites 0