Can someone help me ID this "algae"? It is on some of the rocks and bit of the sandbed. Looks like diatoms to me, but im a total newbie at this. Also what should I do about them? Wait and see if they go away on their own? Add a CUC? Limit lighting or add water movement? Tank has had water and sandbed for 3 weeks and the live rock was put in a little over a week ago. Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are all 0. My LFS tested the phosphate level for me and its 0.1ppm (test kits of phosphate, calcium, alkalinity, and mag are on my immediate shopping list).
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h158/pf1130/algae1.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h158/pf1130/algae2.jpg

looks like diatoms to me ... the sign of a cycle ending. they should go away on their own within a couple of weeks.

I am thinking with just water and sand not much was happening biologically. Have you ever seen any ammonia or nitrite?

Before adding the LR i was seeing 0.50ppm of ammonia, after the LR my ammonia level is 0. But I've never seen nitrates or nitrites. Should I add a source of ammonia?

Is your rock supposed to be fully cured?

Yes, the rock is supposed to be fully cured. I bought it at my LFS, who says he has had it in his tank for over 2months. The rock has plenty of coraline growth on it as well as sponges, feather dusters and 4 or 5 mushroom corals. In other words I believe him that the rock is fully cured, and ive never seen any ammonia from dieoff. Im imagining this means the rock should have plenty of bacteria already present, but also that I wont see a cycle (no dieoff). I was thinking of adding a source of ammonia in hopes of seeing a cycle but am afraid of killing the growth already on there.

If that is the case then I think the ammonia that was present was processed by the rock when you put it in there. I would drop a pinch of food in the tank every couple of days so the bacteria continue to have something to eat. Keep up with your testing and as long as ammonia and nitrite test zero I'd probably consider it cycled 3 weeks after the ammonia first went to zero.

Sounds good, Thanks

It's diatoms alright. Part of the normal cycling. It may get worse before it gets better but, it will get better.

Dick

I would make one suggestion to try to move the rocks off the overflow wall...you want to have as much water flow going in and around the rocks as possible to avoid any detritus traps.

Thanks for the responses. What should I do about water circulation in the tank? All i have now is the flow through the sump which is turning the tank over 6x an hr. Im thinking of placing a powerhead behind the rocks to help keep detritus from settling behind the rock work. The tank is 18" wide so there is a good amount of space between the rock and the back of the tank in most places. I just want to keep detritus from settling behind the rockwork where it would be hard to see. I have no idea how much flow to add or where. Can someone add suggestions or tips. For instance how big of a powerhead and where, at least to start.

i would recommend 2 hydor korallia #3's to start with. i would add a couple of micro pumps behind the rocks. or maybe just a couple of the nano pumps from Fraggle Reef, Premium Corals and More (http://www.fragglereef.com) cuz you really cant lose for 5 bucks !!

What size tank is this?

its a 65 i think.

Tank is 65G (36"x18"x24"). Water circulation is one subject where im totally lost. Not sure exactly what conditions to create, how many pumps, where, how big etc etc.

you want to turn over the tank about 20x and hour MINIMUM, but you want to do it without the flow disturbing the sand bed or beating on corals. so placement is usually best when you tinker with it until you get things right where you want them.

you want to create a chaotic flow pattern in the tank, kinda like 2 waves crashing against each other. the more random the better.

Thanks for all the help on the millions of questions I always ask.

thats why we are here !!

In my 54 I have 2 Koralia 2's in addition to my return. I also have a small powerhead behind my rockwork that runs on a timer for 30 minutes a day. Not only does it keep detritus from building up it adds nutrients for my filter feeders.

Just as you guys said, the diatoms got WAAAY worse and now is starting to get better. I'm also starting to see some green algae. Can I add some cleanup crew at this stage? Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels have been 0 for a few weeks.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h158/pf1130/65%20Gallon/algae4.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h158/pf1130/65%20Gallon/algae3.jpg

Yes - now would be a good time to get some snails & Co. in the tank!

How's the flow in your tank? The brown algae (not sure from the pictures if it's cyano or just brown algae) could also be reduced by increased flow to those rocks. What can also help is to periodically take a turkey baster and blast the rocks clean. It helps to get those extra nutrients waterbound so that the skimmer can get them out of the system.

Can someone suggest what CUC would be good for the type of algae I have.

ummm....I'm not sure that a sea cucumber would necessarily be the right clean up crew family member. Why not start out with some snails first? Also, the tuxedo sea urchin is great at clearing off the rocks of algae, as well as abalones. Both of these, however, need to be supplemented with algae if there's not enough in your tank for them to feed on.

Cukes are great for going through the sand bed; however, they will do nothing on your rocks...and I see quite a bit of algae growing rather on your rocks. If you'd like to have a sand sifter, gobies are good for this as well. Cukes can be a dangerous thing to have in your tank if they get stressed. They can release their entrails and muck up a tank. They also can starve in a tank, if there's no enough to feed on. How big is your tank?

I meant Clean Up Crew not cucumbers hehe. Any types of snails in particular that are good for the type of algae I have? I'd also like to get a conch in the future.

ah ha! shows how off I am! :D

Turbo, Trochus, and Astraea are great for the rocks. Nassaurius and Cerith snails are great for the sand bed. Mine always come creepy crawling out when I feed or during the night.

Many people promote the use of hermit crabs (I have 6 myself), but they are known to nip at clams and some corals, so I guess it depends on what you want to have in the long run. I love my abalone. He's cool to watch and is an amazing algae eater. If you could get a small one, it might be a good option.

Watch the turbo snails though. They are a temperate water species and usually do not live long at the temps we keep our reefs at. I also like my hermits. They are good detrivores and FUN to watch. :)

Well I'm happy to report that the diatoms are almost completely gone. I picked up three turbo snails and three blue leg hermits. The snails have done a great job on the algae when they arent busy laying on their backs. I'm starting to see a "new" type of green algae that looks like some macroalgae.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h158/pf1130/closeupalgae.jpg

Any idea what it is and more importantly what eats it? I'm thinking of picking up some more CUC, what I have is working but new algae is sprouting up elsewhere faster than they can mow it down. What do you think of electric blue hermits? I've also seen quite a few of these little starfish out at night, they are all missing limbs. Are they reef safe? Can they sever themselves to reproduce or are they being preyed upon?
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h158/pf1130/starfish.jpg

Hi Ricky - the algae is looking suspiciously like Hair Algae, which is a nuisance algae and you definitely don't want to propagate that in your tank! So, make sure you're doing regular water changes to help keep your nitrate and phosphate levels reduced. Make sure your skimmer is producing nice scum. Cut back your lights to a minimum as well - this will help out. Are you feeding anything at the moment?

The little starfish is an Asterina starfish, which is a nice little detrivore/herbivore to have in your tank. They can multiply prolifically, but usually don't pose a problem. They often have uneven leg length, and even different number of legs! Don't worry about them, unless they start taking over your tank.

Nitrate levels are 0, phosphate levels were tested by LFS a few weeks ago to be 0.1ppm. I'm using RO water but recently changed my RO membrane which had gone bad. I want to attack it now before it proliferates, I'll reduce my photoperiod. I'm alternating between feeding enrichened frozen brine shrimp and ocean nutrition formula one pellets (I feed small amounts once a day). I'm thinking of adding some cerith snails (still looking for them locally) and some more hermits. A LFS has electric blue hermits which are pretty cool looking. I searched and found very little, but they are supposed to be reef safe. I also need to find some Chaeto for my sump.

uigh...I had just written a long post and accidently hit the wrong button and lost it all! okay...start all over...

Reducing the photoperiod will help, but I would also recommend getting some tweezers and pulling as much of it out as possible. I know it sounds like a lot of work, but it's worth the extra effort, because most of the critters in the tank won't really go for eating hair algae.

If I were you, I would invest in a few kits of your own. It's much better if you can choose when you would like to measure your parameters. The kits aren't that expensive and will last for quite a long time. It's definitely worth it!

The chaeto in the sump will help to export the extra nutrients...just make sure you harvest it every once in awhile.

So...why are you feeding? How many fish do you actually have? Could it be that you're just fueling the nutrient levels? If you don't have any fish to eat up all the food, then you should be very careful what you feed, as most of it will just decompose and spark the whole process again....

I have two clowns in there that I'm feeding. New test kits are on my shopping list.

Also phosphate of 0.1 is reactively high. Are you rinsing the brine? The "soup" they are frozen in can contain phosphate.

The phosphate was at 0.1 after I filled the tank and had nothing in it. At the time, unknownest to me, I was having trouble with my RO water, I have since fixed the problem. Phosphate level is currently at 0. I'm assuming the algae I have in their now absorbed all the phosphates.

That is good. Algae is a good nutrient sink so I imagine it has taken up the PO4. I would siphon and manually extract as much as possible. This will avoid having the algae release the nutrients back into the system!