New here have question about stuff growing on live rock

[flyguy91318]

Hello everyone new here to the site and new to salt water. Any ways I have a 55gal tank that has been set up for almost 2 weeks now. Got it filled salt to right level crushed coral on the bottom, dropped in 40lbs base and 20lbs of life rock. Lights have been on a timer for 8 hours a night.
I have been testing the water pretty much every couple of days
currently
PH 8.2
Ammonia 0.25
Nitrite 5.0
Nitrate about 20
I have been putting purple up in the tank
Now I have this greenish brown stuff spreading all over the rocks and on the crushed coral on the bottom. IS this good? BAd?

 

[spanko]

Stop the purple up. The brown dust on your rocks are diatoms, a part of the cycling process in a new tank. Keep testing. When the ammonia and nitrite go to zero do a 20% water change to lower the nitrates and go ahean and add a few snails. Maybe like 10 or so.

 

[flyguy91318]

Ok thanks for the reply.
Also there are little tube feather duster things on the rock as well they seem to be doing really well so I am taking I don't have to feed them anything?

 

[spanko]

They are filter feeders and will get food from you water column. I have found that they come and go with available food source.

 

[jayking232003]

What type of powerhead are u using? or for water movement?

 

[flyguy91318]

One is a penguin 1140 and the other one is a Penguin Power sponge filter that according to the box flows 170 GPH.
And now there is little green strings coming up from the rocks some type of algae

 

[jayking232003]

Yeah,,, Your just having a hard cycle it sounds like. Its weird, Some people seem to have small outbreaks and some seem to have big outbreaks. But I can tell u, the dirty'r the rock is your putting in, the dirty'r your tank is gonna get during the cycle. IMO. Along with many other senerios.
But regardless,, sounds just like a cycle.
Its been 2 weeks man. lol,, give it time.

 

[flyguy91318]

ok thanks for the advise everyone. like I said salt water is all very new to me and I want this to go right and nothing bad is going on in the mean time
I will just keep testing it and go from there