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philhender 
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Joined: January 28 2010
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 Topic: Cycling- Brown Algae?!?
Posted: February 04 2010 at 8:23pm |
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So looking for some quick advice here, I'm cycling my tank now. Excited at first to see it, but want to make sure that it is okay... started second guessing myself. I have brownish algae growing on the surface of the sand, and only the sand. Normal?
Amonia - 1.0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - ?? (need to get test solution for)
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Kiltboy
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Posted: February 04 2010 at 8:33pm |
 philhender wrote:
I have brownish algae growing on the surface of the sand, and only the sand. Normal?
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Yup, Completely normal it is called a diatom bloom it will settle soon depending on the amount of live rock, sand ect.
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Chance Evans
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Luckedout
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Posted: February 04 2010 at 9:12pm |
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Normal and extremely annoying. Do you have a cleaner crew? My lawnmower blenny was the biggest help getting rid of my bloom.
You'll go brown then green then pinkish if everything is cycling correctly.
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-Ben
90g Mixed reef
www.body-balancechiropractic.com
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sanddune600
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Posted: February 04 2010 at 9:26pm |
if you are going to be adding cheato no would be a good time  congrats on the progress
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Andy Jorgensen
My number is four three 5 7 six four 8 0 three four
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philhender
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Posted: February 04 2010 at 11:56pm |
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Good to know I'm on the right track, thanks for the input. No real cleaner crew just yet, only a couple of crabs... don't want to add too much just in case. It's kinda funny to see all the trails that the crabs have made... and today they were swapping shells (?!) Cheto now huh? I'll have to check around see if anyone close has some before I hit LFS.
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Luckedout
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Posted: February 05 2010 at 12:36am |
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I'd throw a bunch of snails in there. Cheap so who cares if you lose a few. Putting some life in the tank helps speed up the cycle. Grab some chromies and some Xenia or something as well
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-Ben
90g Mixed reef
www.body-balancechiropractic.com
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bfessler
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Posted: February 05 2010 at 8:39am |
Definitely put in a bunch of snails. 1.5 to 2 per gallon. Also a couple starter fish. As you gradually add more life to the tank your bacteria will multiply to handle the increased bio-load and you need to get these populations up to support the good stuff when your ready to add better fish and coral. At first you may see several mini cycles of ammonia and nitrite as you add fish. This is normal and shouldn't last long as your tanks filtration capacity increases. Just don't add too much livestock at the same time.
IMO the best time to start adding corals is when you see pods crawling on your glass when the lights come on. It means your sand and rock are live enough to maintain filtration and supply the food that many corals love. You can add some soft corals before this happens but I find the LPS does much better after the pods arrive. If you're going for SPS corals wait till you start seeing coralline algae.
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Burt
An equal opportunity reefer,
I support all hobbyists and organizations involved in Marine Aquarium Keeping.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: February 05 2010 at 9:56am |
I agree with the solutions offered above. The best way to practically avoid the nitrogen cycle altogether is to have live stuff in the tank to eat up the N compounds, including snails to eat the algae before it becomes a nuisance. That's the point of the instructions given in "Secrets of an Affordable Reef Aquarium" on how to have a reef tank with coral and fish within a week. The macroalgae goes in right at the start and if the lights are left on 24/7 for a few days the diatom algae bloom usually only lasts a day if at all. Here is the link if you need it: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244
Cheato and Caulerpa are available, ususally for free just by asking here on this MB. In your request in the buy-sell-trade section, let us know in what city or area you live. You may find someone just around the block from you with free macroalgae and a few cups of their LS. 
Edited by Mark Peterson - February 06 2010 at 7:06am
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Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks:www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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