Algae in cycling tank

[tgaliher]

So I am new and just got this tank up 8 days ago. Bought live rock from LFS, used fritz turbo start 900, and Dr tims ammonia.. my ammonia drops relatively quick now, my nitrites never register, and my nitrates haven't gone past 5, they are now currently 0 and keep depleting. I have this algae growing now and believe it to be bryopsis from others information, am I screwed on cycling the tank if I use flux rx? Is this gonna kill my beneficial? I am possibly told it could be dinos along with it.. a lot to take in with only 8 days in!

 

[Budman93]

Yikes.

Flux works really well with bryopsis but you got screwed with that live rock. I’d probably just restart if it were me.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

Buy a big clean up crew. Let them go to work. Algae and dinos are part of natures process. I'm more of a natural gardener type fellow. Lots of people will show up and tell you to medicate and dose all sorts of thing.

But in nature, when the algae shows up so do the CUC members. Natural will take longer but it won't impact beneficial.bacteria or introduce unnatural compounds/meds to your tank. If you have the patience to let nature do it's thing, it's the way to go.

 

[PharmrJohn]

Start by turning your lights off (if you have not already done so. At the very least it'll stop photosynthesis. And I'd leave them off for at least a month. Things will even out.

 

[tgaliher]

I've turned off the lights, now will fluconazole kill nitrifying bacteria if I were to dose with that?

 

[PharmrJohn]

LOL, a question that's right up my alley outside of reefing (take a guess with my screen name!). Fluconazoles is an antifungal. It's mechanism of action inhibits 14-alpha demethylase, an enzyme key in production of the cell wall in fungi. Basically, it causes the cell to leak. It does not have any affect on bacteria. So you're clear. But I would not use it at this point. I know you've got a not so good issue, but as stated by @Townes_Van_Camp a solid CUC will take care of the issue. And it's something you'll need anyway. Now, that being said, ammonia is not good for a CUC. You indicated that ammonia is on the way out so there shouldn't be an issue. Just stop dosing ammonia if you haven't already.

A HUGE part of this hobby is patience. There is always the temptation to bring out the big guns and nuke the issue. And it's not always appropriate. With the lights off and a CUC in place, you're inhibiting the algae's ability to propagate AND getting rid of it by turning it into food for naturally occurring lifeforms. Your tank will be OK. Just go with the flow and keep on keepin' on.

 

[tgaliher]

LOL, a question that's right up my alley outside of reefing (take a guess with my screen name!). Fluconazoles is an antifungal. It's mechanism of action inhibits 14-alpha demethylase, an enzyme key in production of the cell wall in fungi. Basically, it causes the cell to leak. It does not have any affect on bacteria. So you're clear. But I would not use it at this point. I know you've got a not so good issue, but as stated by @Townes_Van_Camp a solid CUC will take care of the issue. And it's something you'll need anyway. Now, that being said, ammonia is not good for a CUC. You indicated that ammonia is on the way out so there shouldn't be an issue. Just stop dosing ammonia if you haven't already.

A HUGE part of this hobby is patience. There is always the temptation to bring out the big guns and nuke the issue. And it's not always appropriate. With the lights off and a CUC in place, you're inhibiting the algae's ability to propagate AND getting rid of it by turning it into food for naturally occurring lifeforms. Your tank will be OK. Just go with the flow and keep on keepin' on.

Thanks for the info. Which CUC will eat this stuff? I've tried googling and everything I see says nothing eats it x.x

 

[PharmrJohn]

Now THAT I'll have to look into. LOL, I've been out of the game x12 years so there are gaps in my memory. I have been taking topics and either reaquainting myself to them or just flat out learning.from scratch (don't worry, I don't post something unless I am sure of it). Been doing this x5 months now. That is one of the amazing things about this particular forum. So much information at your fingertips and members who are willing to help out, even if the question has been broached a million times over. So while I remember the names of a standard CUC, I can't remember which does what. Now, I just happened to have started studying this topic as of yesterday. And I dropped a line to Reef Cleaners to see what my CUC is going to look like. They got back to me this morning. I'll be setting up my 155 in about 6 to 8 months as soon as the living room is painted and the flooring js redone (I'm so excited!!!!). I'll PM (DM?) you the question and answer. It may take a bit, as I have to put together info. But fear not, there is a good, easy answer.

 

[tgaliher]

Now THAT I'll have to look into. LOL, I've been out of the game x12 years so there are gaps in my memory. I have been taking topics and either reaquainting myself to them or just flat out learning.from scratch (don't worry, I don't post something unless I am sure of it). Been doing this x5 months now. That is one of the amazing things about this particular forum. So much information at your fingertips and members who are willing to help out, even if the question has been broached a million times over. So while I remember the names of a standard CUC, I can't remember which does what. Now, I just happened to have started studying this topic as of yesterday. And I dropped a line to Reef Cleaners to see what my CUC is going to look like. They got back to me this morning. I'll be setting up my 155 in about 6 to 8 months as soon as the living room is painted and the flooring js redone (I'm so excited!!!!). I'll PM (DM?) you the question and answer. It may take a bit, as I have to put together info. But fear not, there is a good, easy answer.

Oh that's exciting getting back into it. Maybe @Townes_Van_Camp will have names of some CUC that will eat it

 

[Dan_P]

So I am new and just got this tank up 8 days ago. Bought live rock from LFS, used fritz turbo start 900, and Dr tims ammonia.. my ammonia drops relatively quick now, my nitrites never register, and my nitrates haven't gone past 5, they are now currently 0 and keep depleting. I have this algae growing now and believe it to be bryopsis from others information, am I screwed on cycling the tank if I use flux rx? Is this gonna kill my beneficial? I am possibly told it could be dinos along with it.. a lot to take in with only 8 days in!

It might not be easy ridding the aquarium of this much algae. If you feel that you have the call, go for it.

There is likely many species of algae on these rocks and there is no one-size-fits-all chemical solution. You could be dealing with this for months.

 

[tgaliher]

It might not be easy ridding the aquarium of this much algae. If you feel that you have the call, go for it.

There is likely many species of algae on these rocks and there is no one-size-fits-all chemical solution. You could be dealing with this for months.

I thought about trashing the rock and sand but how would I go about disinfecting all of the equipment / tank from any algae? Can I just add something to the water to nuke it all while it's running, then empty and rinse everything down and add new ?

 

[Dan_P]

I thought about trashing the rock and sand but how would I go about disinfecting all of the equipment / tank from any algae? Can I just add something to the water to nuke it all while it's running, then empty and rinse everything down and add new ?

Relatively straightforward to disinfect the equipment and start over. I would even treat the sand and rock and reuse them. You have to decide if the effort is worth it. I hate waste and don’t mind cleaning, so I try salvaging everything . I think others will have some useful counter arguments.

 

[Rjukan]

So I am new and just got this tank up 8 days ago. Bought live rock from LFS, used fritz turbo start 900, and Dr tims ammonia.. my ammonia drops relatively quick now, my nitrites never register, and my nitrates haven't gone past 5, they are now currently 0 and keep depleting. I have this algae growing now and believe it to be bryopsis from others information, am I screwed on cycling the tank if I use flux rx? Is this gonna kill my beneficial? I am possibly told it could be dinos along with it.. a lot to take in with only 8 days in!

Have you tried scrubbing it with a toothbrush? That's nice rock, there is no reason to toss it all right away without trying to use it. Pick up a Turbo snail and a few astrea which might actually eat it after it's been scrubbed short with the toothbrush.

 

[tgaliher]

Have you tried scrubbing it with a toothbrush? That's nice rock, there is no reason to toss it all right away without trying to use it. Pick up a Turbo snail and a few astrea which might actually eat it after it's been scrubbed short with the toothbrush.

No I have not, I'm only on day 9 now I believe of cycling? Definitely was not ready for this jumping in, so I wouldn't mind resetting if I had to to eradicate all of this junk and buying another bottle of bacteria. Just don't know the proper procedure for it to make sure I get all this junk completely gone. From what I've read it's hard to actually eradicate once it's there so I'm not sure if I should bother with it if I can't actually eradicate it. Lol trying to process a lot right now and figure out what to do as most appropriate to make sure this isn't an issue in the future as well

 

[Rjukan]

No I have not, I'm only on day 9 now I believe of cycling? Definitely was not ready for this jumping in, so I wouldn't mind resetting if I had to to eradicate all of this junk and buying another bottle of bacteria. Just don't know the proper procedure for it to make sure I get all this junk completely gone. From what I've read it's hard to actually eradicate once it's there so I'm not sure if I should bother with it if I can't actually eradicate it. Lol trying to process a lot right now and figure out what to do as most appropriate to make sure this isn't an issue in the future as well

Well, as with most things there are more than 1 way to address this.

My opinion is since the tank is so new, you just don't do much except for manual removal. Your rock has probably been in a system at the LFS with zero light, and now some stuff is exploding since it has a chance to. Toothbrush it in the tank, and hit it with a turkey baster every day to keep the detrius from settling on it. And I bet you will see improvements in less than a week.

 

[tgaliher]

Well, as with most things there are more than 1 way to address this.

My opinion is since the tank is so new, you just don't do much except for manual removal. Your rock has probably been in a system at the LFS with zero light, and now some stuff is exploding since it has a chance to. Toothbrush it in the tank, and hit it with a turkey baster every day to keep the detrius from settling on it. And I bet you will see improvements in less than a week.

You would be correct it was in a darker corner with water movement from their system, it was a mix of dry rock thay had been sitting in there for 30 days and rock from an old established 800 gallon aquarium that got broke down. So I'm assuming I toothbrush and catch all the stuff I get off and try to get it out. I've had my lights for corals on from the start, I figured I would go ahead and speed up sn ugly phase, I just wasn't expecting this ugly? XD