How Much Longer?

Judy@SYA · Jan 31, 2016

So, after a very long stretch of waiting for our finances to get back into order, I was finally able to get my Biocube 29 stocked with rock and wet right around Christmas. There's ~12 pounds of live sand, ~25 pounds of dry rock, and 8 pounds of live rock. Salt water and a stock of RO/DI water for top-offs purchased at my LFS.

One guy at my LFS has been particularly patient and helpful, helping me pick out just the right chunk of live rock and recommending the most efficient and affordable options for carrying home and storing all that water. Answers lots of questions. BUT...seems weirdly reluctant to sell me stuff. I guess that's a good thing. I trust that he's not going to push a bunch of needless stuff on me just to turn a profit. But even when I have money burning a hole in my pocket and am wanting to get stuff I KNOW I'll need for the future life of the tank, he says, "Just wait for now. This is a hobby requiring much patience." Well...yeah, I get that.

Another guy in the store had the same attitude, but with much less patience when I went in to ask about the progress of my tank and the first guy wasn't there. "It's not ready. Be patient. Go away." (Not those exact words, but pretty darned close.) : /

ANYhow...I can be patient when I know I have to be...I'd just like to know how much longer I have to be so and which steps to anticipate and prepare for next. Reading everything I can on cycling and starting up a new tank HELPS...but still leaves me wondering how the various, often conflicting, bits of information apply to my specific tank.

Some pictures of where it started and where things stand now:

A couple days after finally getting "wet" and letting the dust settle...right around Christmas:

I've done a little bit of ghost feeding, but that's it. No dead shrimp or any added chemicals.

About a week later, I've got a nice diatom bloom going. (Hope I remembered that word right)

Two weeks later, after the brown stuff grew even heavier and then started to fade away, I started seeing hairy stuff growing. Never did see the red cyano develop, but there are a few small patches of bright green stuff that I can't get to show up in pictures.

These last pictures were taken yesterday, two weeks after the previous. Things are getting impressively grassy in there, with a few very long strands that are hard to capture in pictures, but I tried. All the pics in this thread are taken with my phone, as my real camera is MIA.

Using a Red Sea Marine Care Test Kit...the water yesterday was
0 Nitrates
0 Nitrites
0 Ammonia

The last two water tests prior to that one showed small amounts of nitrate with 0 nitrites and ammonia. I never did see a big ammonia spike, but I did have a small, measurable amount about three weeks ago.

Water temps range from 80-81.5

What's next? Can I start adding any CUC critters? I understand I don't want a whole tankful of them at this stage...but as much as I've enjoyed watching the grass grow, I'm really looking forward to seeing other life forms.

For those who made it all the way through my rambling...thanks for bearing with me! And thank you all for all the advice and support you've given so far and will no doubt continue to give. I really love this forum!

zwulfke · Jan 31, 2016

I would start with feeding the tank like you have fish and buy a good cleanup crew a few crabs and a snail see how they do.

PatW · Jan 31, 2016

It looks like hair algae to me.

If you have algae, you can add some of the herbivorous clean up crew. I would go light on that. I don't want anything to starve.

Judy@SYA · Feb 1, 2016

I filled out a form on a CUC website for specific recommendations and this is what they suggested:

20 Dwarf Ceriths - small effective cleaners
9 Nassarius
10 Florida Ceriths
7 Assorted Hermits
8 Nerites
1 Emerald Crab

That seems like a lot for an otherwise completely empty tank, but I have to start somewhere. Is that a good amount of critters, or too many?

Salt Creep · Feb 1, 2016

That is too many. Those companies try to get you to buy a lot knowing there will be some that die and you will buy "replacement packs". Start off light. Just to give you an idea I have 6 snails and 3 hermits in my 40 breeder and it is doing great. That die off from the clean-up crew is going to lead to extra nutrients leading to more algae making you think you should get more and before you know it THEY are a big cause of the algae problem.

Here is a good video to watch

bairdimusprime · Feb 1, 2016

personally i dont buy the CUC packages online, i research research research and make an educated decision as to my needs in a cuc, i finally decided on a large volume of hermit crabs (blue legged/red legged) some nassarius snails and some cerith snails. for now you need some algae munchers.

Judy@SYA · Feb 1, 2016

That video was exactly what I was looking for! Thank you!

Judy@SYA · Feb 1, 2016

bairdimusprime said:
personally i dont buy the CUC packages online, i research research research and make an educated decision as to my needs in a cuc, i finally decided on a large volume of hermit crabs (blue legged/red legged) some nassarius snails and some cerith snails. for now you need some algae munchers.

That's why I'm here asking questions.

I'm still baby-new at this and sometimes a bit overwhelmed at ALL the different things that must be considered...so discussions like this help me narrow down and focus on what I should be researching.

Maritimer · Feb 1, 2016

I added nassarius snails and a couple of small hermits first. Didn't have any algae yet, and had been ghost-feeding, so figured there would be something in the sand for the nassarius snails to munch on. (It seems I was right - wasn't long before they started laying eggs on the front glass . . . :-/ )

As diatoms and algae showed up, add in some astraea, nerite, trochus and cerith. (Cerith come in a few different varieties, and are omnivores - they'll hit algae, but also stir up the sandbed a bit.) Maybe a few more hermits (don't be surprised to see them occasionally trying on a new shell - from one of the snails you just put in!) and an emerald crab. (Some folks love emeralds, some hate 'em. I have one, it's small.)

~Bruce

PatW · Feb 1, 2016

There is no hurry. You can add a few and see how they do. Then add a few more and so on. You can also try different kinds and see what you like.

brandon429 · Feb 1, 2016

Your tank is at the classic algal crossroads. the lights are on full bright running mode as they will be when its full of frags and the rocks are all coated in coralline, but its absent all the rock coverings, so algae can begin to set in indicating nothing of poor water.

some begin nutrient starving in response. some do nothing and wait, some act now and burn it clean of all algae to head off the risk, all this is the choice cross roads

to help you choose, google this:

bryopsis has taken over my tank

see if you want to let it get that bad before taking action. the live rock probably brought it in...what I see that appears to be bryopsis is a requisite hitchhiker. it should be noted that 100% of every problem algae tank on the internet met this crossroads, and opted out of early action for something natural or patient. and of those who opted out of action, some indeed made it fine. if your tank was mine, it would be algae free in 48 hours. id rip into the tank and force it out, but that's rare event lol most just leave it and take the chance.