Red Alge growing quick

rinker

New Member
Im new to marine tanks. Sort of jumped in first, then asked how deep? Anyway I'm learning quick. I started my 55 gal with 2 large pieces of live red rock from a well trusted LFS. Things are going great 2 weeks into it. (I know, I'm way 2 early), but I now have a clown fish, Banded pipe and a fire shrimp all happy for the last 7 days. All water
perameters are goods. My concern is that the red alge seems to be growing 2 quick, it matches the red rock. Is this a problem??????
 

mimzy

Active Member
well - congrats on ur first tank, first of all.
second... the key here is taking ur time. Your tank is far too young to have properly cycled, and introducing all that livestock at once dumped way too much waste into your system for your bacteria/filtration to handle...that's how you got the 'red algae' - Cyanobacteria.
if you can, I would take out those fish (return them for credit, or ask an LFS to hold them until ur tank has finished its nytrogen cycle) and wait for your tank to properly cycle before adding anything at all.
What kind of water did u use to fill your tank the first time?
Posting your actual levels (the numbers you get, not just 'good') would also be helpful.
Cyano is usually a naturally occuring phenomenon in an immature tank, but your particular problem is so out of hand b/c the nitrifying bacteria in your tank were overloaded with too much too soon.
Your current inhabitants may be doing alright now, but if levels get out of hand, ammonia could spike and everything will die off...sparking a brand new cycle. ...which, if it does occur, you should just allow the tank to sit through all the way this time.
One thing you'll quickly learn - this hobby is all about patience and timing.
It's great that you found SWF tho - there is a wealth of great info here to help!!
 

rinker

New Member
I used tap water which happens to be well water in my case. I need to write down the numbers for the water tests. The LFS said that I could handle 2 fish because of the amount of live rock i installed (OK I went for 2 fish and a shrimp). CAn 12lbs of live rock in a 55gal tank offset my jumping too fast with the fish? I still need more live rock, should I add a little more?
 

mimzy

Active Member
any ammonia at all is way too much ammonia. it's not even at its peak yet...it will get worse.
as for live rock, people have different preferences, but the standard amount is 1-2lbs per gallon.
Don't add anything else to your tank at this point, it will only prolong your cycle and make conditions worse for your fish. If they make it through the cycle it will be a near miracle, and they won't be any better for the wear, unfortunately. Until recently people were cycling their tanks with damselfish until enough research and experience illustrated the perils of doing so - the fish were basically being burned alive.
If you can remove the fish from your tank, I urge you to do so. It would THEN be a great idea to add as much live rock as you'd like- the die-of from the rocks would be plenty to get your nitrogen cycle going, and it would also speed up the process.
If you can't return the fish, then I would suggest just leaving your tank alone - don't change the water, don't add any chemicals. DO test the water, once every other day at the same time of day. This way, you'll be able to track the ammonia levels and you'll know for SURE wether or not it's spiked yet. Once it reaches its peak, you'll see it start to go down - once you have NO more ammonia, and NO more nitrites, and VERY LOW (preferable under 20) nitrate, you'll do one huge waterchange (50% if you can manage it), and then you're on your way. After ur cycle, and after your water change, you'll want to continute adding things SLOWLY - one fish at a time, with a few weeks between each addition in order not to overload your biofiltration with too much ammonia at once.
For future reference, it's best to use Distilled water, or water purified through Reverse Osmosis (purified drinking water available at drugstore, supermarkets, walmarts, etc). I know tapwater is absolutely perilous - FAR too much phosphate, copper deposits, and all sorts of other things those "tapwater purifying" chemicals just can't get to. I'm not familiar with well-water, but I have a feeling it's not much better.
I would also suggest buying the book "The Simple Guide to Marine Aquariums" - I found this VERY helpful when I started out, and I still reference it constantly.
 

mikeyjer

Active Member
Like what was mentioned above! IF you take all your fish back, you can add in all your live rocks at the sametime, but if you don't have the budget to add all the rocks, you can wait and add about 5 lbs of cured live rock at a time once your tank is cycled, I would add that amount about once every 2-4 weeks in your 55 gallon tank. :happyfish
 
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