Just one more question

[rmd8110]

How quickly does the bubble algae spread? I know i can't get anything in there to eat it until all the diatoms die off but i'm scared the bubble algae will take over my tank. It's already on several rocks. I didn't expect these to show up so quickly. Once again, thanks for the help.

 

[templar]

I don't get why you can't put anything in the tank until the diatoms die off? Usually people will add a clean-up crew once the diatoms start to take control. Is your tank still in cycle? If so what stage of the cycle are you in?

 

[rmd8110]

Well, see that's where I'm a little confused also. I didn't realize the diatoms would start this soon. Do they usually start after the it finishes cycling? or during? I just added the last of my lr yesterday..100 lbs. I've had 75 lbs in it since i set it up, which was 2 mondays ago. My lfs said to wait for a little while to put any cleaners until after i have added all the rock. is this wrong?

 

[templar]

It usually happens at the end of a cycle but if you just added all that LR its still going to be cycling just because of the amount of LR. What type of LR did you add, cured or uncured? Shipped or from a LFS? Also what are your water readings that would help as well.

 

[templar]

Also do you have a sandbed? If you have a deep sand bed, plus all that rock you have I would say the cycle would last around 2 more weeks from the point you added the newest LR. For now you can consider manually cleaning the brown algae off of the glass with one of those magnet cleaners and if you want the bubble algae gone take the piece of rock with the bubbles on it out of the water and cut off the bubbles with a knife. If you pop them in the tank it will spread a whole lot faster.

 

[rmd8110]

Thanks for the info. My tank is 125 gallons. I have 160 lbs of sand....80 lbs of that is live. When i set up the tank at that time i started with 75 lbs of lr. That was on Tuesday, the 20th of November. Then i just added the 100 lbs yesterday. I sure am wishing now i had done the rock all at the same time. I have been cleaning the glass with a magnet. I need to get a test kit. My LFS said i didn't need one yet because i am using his pre-mixed water and because i'm using the live rock. however, i need to go ahead and test it to see where the cycle is at right now. any opinion on which is a good test kit to get??? Oh, and all of the rock i have used is cured. And it was not shipped. It was only out of the water for about an hour.

 

[templar]

Wow you bought 175lbs of cured rock from a LFS! That must have costed you a TON! Anywho I believe Salifert is the best test kits. Let us know the readings when you get them.

 

[crazy bout salt]

I also have a question i have currently 80 lbs of lr in my 55 and i want to add more will this start my cycle all over again? i have diatoms on my glass and all alrdy so i was wondering? the rock would be premium cured Fiji rock
Jay

 

[templar]

Is your tank in its cycle or is it cycled?
If you add cured rock slowly to a cycled tank it shouldn't recycle your tank. At the most there would a small short cycle.

 

[rmd8110]

where else was i supposed to buy cured rock from? i paid $5.00/lb for it. But it's really good stuff. I figure about 50 more lbs and i'll be finished with the rock. I don't know where i'm gonna put it tho! the tank looks full to me. I'll probably end up re-arranging it next week. I'm going to try and go find a test kit today. I'll let you know if i'm able to.

 

[q]

Crazy bout salt: Adding rock that isn't cured will do something to the tank. What it will do depends on how much die off you have. Buy the rock and cycle it in a seperate tank or cantainer with a power head and a heater. When the cycle is over then add it to the tank with no worries.

 

[flydan]

Hey,
It's too late to tell you this, but I will any way. You can, and I did, put down a good layer of base rock such as tufa or lace rock, and then stack your good lr on top of that. The stuff on the bottom will die off anyway, and the base rock that ends up being exposed will become lr eventually. That way you can build good caves and such out of the much cheaper rock. The tufa and lace rock I put in my tank last April has coraline growing on it now.
Anyway, since you used cured lr you might want to try a few turbo's and see how they do. As far as the bubble algae goes, get as much out as you can manually, without popping it, and then get some small emerald crabs when you're ready. (They are the only thing I know that eats it.) Also, bubble algae, like any other algae, needs nutrients and light to grow. I would cut back on the lighting photo-period and see if that helps.
Good luck!