Anyone know what this is?

[RedBeardAquaticcs]

Someone said looks like algae but i just wanted to hear others opinions too. I couldn’t find any sources that showed an algae that looked like this. Doesnt have the feathering that digitate hydroids seem to have in pics. They grow every day even though i have low nutrients.
5 nitrate
0 ammonia
0 nitrite
0 phosphate.
Tank is a waterbox cube 20 about 2 months old.

 

[ScottB]

Welcome to R2R!

At two months, anything is possible, and none of it really matters. Just keep salinity and temps steady. You get to witness a whole range of temporarily dominant organisms take over your biome over the next several months. Got some green film algae yet? You will. Got some diatoms yet? You will. Got some brown film? Got some brown furry algae? Then some green hair algae? It just has to do its "uglies" thing. You have so much to look forward to; don't sweat it.

 

[RedBeardAquaticcs]

Welcome to R2R!

At two months, anything is possible, and none of it really matters. Just keep salinity and temps steady. You get to witness a whole range of temporarily dominant organisms take over your biome over the next several months. Got some green film algae yet? You will. Got some diatoms yet? You will. Got some brown film? Got some brown furry algae? Then some green hair algae? It just has to do its "uglies" thing. You have so much to look forward to; don't sweat it.

Yeah i went through diatoms and some green film. How long does it typically take to get through these phases

 

[Fishy212]

Welcome! And enjoy the uglies while you are fresh! It will all go away by itself, do not worry perfectly normal

 

[NowGlazeIT]

Welcome to the R2R crew!
Your rock is in a brake in period. It does look like algae soon to be.

 

[ScottB]

Yeah i went through diatoms and some green film. How long does it typically take to get through these phases

It can vary a lot. Dry rock versus live, bioload, variety of bacteria culture etc etc. After 6 months or so, animal losses slow down, and soft corals do fine along with some hardy LPS if you have some coralline algae going. But there are still noticeable changes taking place 12 or 18 months in IME.

In the meantime, keep your interventions as low impact as possible. WCs are fine, but avoid chemical interventions for a long time. The biome remains dynamic and volatile and you don't want to add volatility if you can avoid it.

 

[RedBeardAquaticcs]

It can vary a lot. Dry rock versus live, bioload, variety of bacteria culture etc etc. After 6 months or so, animal losses slow down, and soft corals do fine along with some hardy LPS if you have some coralline algae going. But there are still noticeable changes taking place 12 or 18 months in IME.

In the meantime, keep your interventions as low impact as possible. WCs are fine, but avoid chemical interventions for a long time. The biome remains dynamic and volatile and you don't want to add volatility if you can avoid it.

Yeah im not a fan of chemicals in general. I have been keeping freshwater planted tanks for a long time and this is my first salt.

 

[RedBeardAquaticcs]

Thank you everyone for your comments and the welcome!

 

[RedBeardAquaticcs]

It can vary a lot. Dry rock versus live, bioload, variety of bacteria culture etc etc. After 6 months or so, animal losses slow down, and soft corals do fine along with some hardy LPS if you have some coralline algae going. But there are still noticeable changes taking place 12 or 18 months in IME.

In the meantime, keep your interventions as low impact as possible. WCs are fine, but avoid chemical interventions for a long time. The biome remains dynamic and volatile and you don't want to add volatility if you can avoid it.

I was super excited when i saw coralline starting to grow on all of my rocks. Little spots appearing on them. I was scared at first thinking cyano but its hard and wont brush off

 

[ScottB]

Yeah im not a fan of chemicals in general. I have been keeping freshwater planted tanks for a long time and this is my first salt.

My guess is you will love it. A ton to learn; so many choices in so many dimensions.

I have seen images of Amano planted tanks that rival the finest reef tanks I've ever seen. Unbelievable imagination.

 

[vetteguy53081]

You may pull these off by hand, and reduce white lights a little. As others stated. . . Associated with new tank break-in.

 

[RedBeardAquaticcs]

My guess is you will love it. A ton to learn; so many choices in so many dimensions.

I have seen images of Amano planted tanks that rival the finest reef tanks I've ever seen. Unbelievable imagination.

Yeah so far i do. I researched for about a year before i bought anything then gathered supplies for around 6 months before starting