What in the world?

chocostar

chocostar

Member
Everyone has a stupid question to post their first time posting :)
I just setup my 39 gallon tank about 3 weeks ago. All of my other tanks cycled fine and had no issues. However this tank has a slight outbreak of brown algae... never seen it before, dont know whats causing it. Tested my water, and its fine... any suggestions?
As for lighting since I know thats what someone is going to ask. I run my lights 6 hours per day. Typical 50/50 bulbs.
OH, and if your wondering about ordering form SWF.com, dont :) They absolutely positively rock :) I have spent a ton of money with them.
Regards,
Ryan
 
flydan

flydan

Active Member
Hey!
Welcome to the board Ryan!
Sounds like a normal cycling thing to me. That brown algae is more than likely diatoms and should clear up in a couple weeks. They are usually the first sign that it's time to add your clean-up crew. Yeah, you get to spend more $$$ with SWF!
I don't know how much experience you have, but running a 50/50 NO for 6 hours isn't a whole lot of light. Are you just doing this during the cycle?
Dan'l
 
partonks

partonks

Member
Just to piggy-back on this question. My LFS told me not to run lights during cycling, but I've seen different ideas here. Are there any thoughts. I have 4 96W bulbs, two are blue actinics. All are VHO. They are all on separate plugs, so I can turn on any of them I want.
thanks,
Kevin
 
chocostar

chocostar

Member
Thank good thats normal, i guess its because this is the first time I have cycled a tank with a full stack of liverock and 2 fish (clowns).
I didnt know about the no-no on 50/50's for a cycling tank... could you give me some insight on what would be good lighting for its cycling?
-Ryan
[ October 03, 2001: Message edited by: ChocoStar ]
 
-shawn-

-shawn-

Member
The brown algae outbreak you see occcurs in pretty much every tank after cycling. Its no big deal. Just add a clean up crew and things will take care of them self. For cycling you don't really need any lights, but it all opinion. However if you run lights during cycling for a long time you increase chance of unwanted algae growth. And ChocoStar it take that since you made this post in the reef section, you plan on doing a reef tank. If so, from what it sounds like, the typical 50/50 bulb you mentioned isn't going to be enough light.
 
goldfish

goldfish

Member
Ryan,
Where in Cincinnati are you? I know of a good lfs with a very knowledgable guy if you need a store to shop at! :)
 
goldfish

goldfish

Member
I'm in Blue Ash too...that's funny!
Where do you do most of your shopping for fish stuff? The guy I use is off of Ronald Reagan and Colerain..kind of a shlep but he is extremely knowledgable about saltwater fish and what they need.
Where in Blue Ash do you live?
 
-shawn-

-shawn-

Member
Originally posted by ChocoStar:
<STRONG>Im in BlueAsh.
Thanks for the info on the lights, any suggestion on what I should get?
-Ryan</STRONG>
The type of lighting to get all depends on what you plan on keeping and your budget. A general rule for lighting on most corals is anywhere from 3-5 watts per gallon, the more the better. I currently use PC's (power compact) because their retro kits are easy to fit into the hood of my small tank. The main types used on reeftanks are PC, Metal Halides (MH), and VHO's. DO some research and find what will work best for you.
 
chocostar

chocostar

Member
Wow goldfish thats awesome :) I go to the guy over off of East Kember (I think) he knows All about fish and saltater tanks :)
*hint* hes by BW3's
feel free to email me some time to exchange info on stores and such.
-Ryan
 
goldfish

goldfish

Member
Chocostar--where in Blue Ash do you live? I am right off of Reed Hartman Highway.
If you give me your email address I would be more than happy to give you the name of the place and guy I work with. I do know where the place is that you go--it's All About Fish up on Montgomery Road. They are very good there and know their stuff!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top