Possible Live Rock Algae Problem W/ New Tank

[aquariumrookie]

I'd like to thank everybody who posted about my Percula clown as it is now doing very well and constantly hides inside a Green Bulb Anemone!!! I now have another issue though.

I was told to leave my lights on for 3 days straight out of the week in order to advance algae growth on my live rock. I have somebody back home take care of my tank while I'm gone at school and I just got back today and was welcomed to a massive amount of brown "felt" on my rocks. Some rocks have green here and there, but the tops of the majority of the rocks are covered with a coat of brown short-hair-like felt or something comparable to it. I am going for the common green algae/purple algae tank as far as my rocks are concerned. Is there something that I am doing wrong, or have done wrong? Will this eventually turn to green then hopefully purple? Any help would be very appreciated!!!

 

[mie]

A pic and water peramiters would be helpfull.

 

[aquariumrookie]

Ok, I'll update with some pics tomorrow morning.

 

[aquariumrookie]

Here are some pics. I used up my water sample strips last week but will get some tomorrow. The last pics shows how some of the rock turns green and purple, but the top turns brown.

 

[crt81]

diatoms?

 

[aquariumrookie]

What are diatoms and how can I get rid of them? Also, my tank has only been running for about 3 weeks, could this be cycling issues?

 

[kev.1979]

i also had the brown algae growing on the top of my rock during my cycle.my tank is about 2 months old now and most of it has changed color or gone away.

 

[sepulatian]

Diatoms are perfectly natural. They are in most new tanks. Who told you to keep your lights on for three days straight? Keep your lights on as normal, about 8hrs a day. The diatoms will subside. Ditch the test strips and buy a liquid master test kit. Strips will give you a general idea, but are not accurate enough for SW.

 

[tangwhispr]

Originally Posted by AquariumRookie
What are diatoms and how can I get rid of them? Also, my tank has only been running for about 3 weeks, could this be cycling issues?
why on earth is there fish and an anemone in a tank that old????

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by TangWhispr
why on earth is there fish and an anemone in a tank that old????
I would hazard a guess that this person did not know that this was not okay. He is new and learning

.

 

[aquariumrookie]

I appreciate all of the the advice. And as you suspected sepulatian, this is my first saltwater

.The person who told me to put the lights on "seemed" to know what he was talking about as I talked to him for about half an hour. The other store I went to where they sold me all my fish and anemones double checked my water and I was told that because there was live rock in the tank, the cycling process would only take about a week and a half - two weeks. I thought this was short, but this guy told me he had been working there for 8 years. Anyways....should I be worried about my perculas and anemones and if so, are there any precautions that I should take? I guess I need to use these forums as my main source of advice from now on!

 

[vampofvegas]

Originally Posted by TangWhispr
why on earth is there fish and an anemone in a tank that old????

If you read his User name you would understand. He is learning and its great that he is even taking the chance to post on here knowing that some people will flame. So I congratulate him on even having the courage to post to get help, instead of trying to not look like a tool and have all his animals die.
Originally Posted by AquariumRookie
I appreciate all of the the advice. And as you suspected sepulatian, this is my first saltwater

.The person who told me to put the lights on "seemed" to know what he was talking about as I talked to him for about half an hour. The other store I went to where they sold me all my fish and anemones double checked my water and I was told that because there was live rock in the tank, the cycling process would only take about a week and a half - two weeks. I thought this was short, but this guy told me he had been working there for 8 years. Anyways....should I be worried about my perculas and anemones and if so, are there any precautions that I should take? I guess I need to use these forums as my main source of advice from now on!
Its normal, just make sure to do water changes if the parameters are too high. Usually people wait a year before putting an anenome in the tank (but who really listens anyways). But you should really buy a liquid test kit. Those strips are such crap.

 

[teresaq]

Keep a close Eye on your water. The purple algea will come, it just take time like everything else in this hobby. Good luck and ask any queations you may have.
Teresa
I must ask What kind of lights do you have?? very important for anemone.
have you added any cleanup crew
one last thing. -- your water should be filled all the way to the top of tank. I will help stop the splashing from you hob filter.

 

[vampofvegas]

Originally Posted by TeresaQ
Keep a close Eye on your water. The purple algea will come, it just take time like everything else in this hobby. Good luck and ask any queations you may have.
Teresa
I must ask What kind of lights do you have?? very important for anemone.
have you added any cleanup crew
Good question!
Please don't resort to the (place where people sell their crap on that starts with an E) company lightings by the way. They are not U.L tested and could burn down your house. Check this site for lighting too. Make sure to read that on here also about suggestions. So your LFS doesnt say "this is the best lighting" and tries to make a nice chunk of change out of you.

 

[dingo0722]

This seems to be normal new aquarium activity. The purple algae that you talk about is coraline algae. It is calcium based algae and not like plant algaes such as micro algae. Coraline will appear over the long run, but you might need to seed the tank with it. Was your rock real live rock, meaning was it picked out or a tank or did you buy it off the shelf. If it is the later, the rock is not live, and does not have any beneficial bacteria and other goodies such as coralline. Your tank will run a full cycle if this is the case, and if it does the anemone will die and the clown may or may not make it.
As mentioned above, lighting is as important to anemones as good water parameters. A pair of 10,000K 175 W MH lights would work fine.

 

[aquariumrookie]

Thanks again for the advice. My lighting isn't upgraded so that will be the first step on my list. As far as the rock goes, 40lbs of it came out of an established tank and I put about 3 small pieces of dead rock (maybe 6 lbs.) in just as base rock. I will also pick up a test set today at the fish store. My anemones seem to be doing great at this point, along with the perculas. I'll keep my water on target and cross my fingers.

 

[aquariumrookie]

So I picked up a water test at the fish store and they took a test with their equipment while i was there. They said everything was good except my Phosphates were a little high, so I purchased a "bag" that I can put in my filter that will eliminate some of those phosphates and also bought 3 snails which are said to eat algae. My other levels (calcium, nitrates, etc.) were all great.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by AquariumRookie
So I picked up a water test at the fish store and they took a test with their equipment while i was there. They said everything was good except my Phosphates were a little high, so I purchased a "bag" that I can put in my filter that will eliminate some of those phosphates and also bought 3 snails which are said to eat algae. My other levels (calcium, nitrates, etc.) were all great.
I am glad that your readings are good now. Phoszorb, or some fom of it, will help with the phosphates in the tank but you have to find the source of the phosphates. Do you use tap water? Test your source water for phosphates. I wouldn't buy any more algae eating inverts. They do not eat a lot of the diatoms and will starve if you have too many. You will have to clean the diatoms yourself by wiping them off of the glass and lightly vacuming the top of the sand.