Just Some Confirming HELP, PLEASE?

[Jon Fleck]

I could use some confirming HELP, please?

New tank in the throws of cycling.

40 gallon breeder with DIY 20 gallon sump.

ATI 6x39 T-5 running 6 hours per day at 70% maximum currently during cycle.

Using REDSEA Mature Reef program.

Per REDSEA Mature Reef program got my brown algae diatom bloom on day 10.

That has mostly cleared.

Not running carbon however, do have equipment to do so.

Also, have been using REDSEA Algae Management: Now dosing 3 mil per day.

Clear Up Crew added on Day 10 (Trochus and a few (4) Turbo) and they appear to be doing their job.

Water Parameters:

Silicates: 0.0 (Both out of RO/DI and In Tank)

Nitrates: 0.75 (Per REDSEA PRO)

Phosphates: .002 (Per REDSEA PRO)

Ammonia: 0.00

DHK: 10.1 (Per REDSEA PRO)

NOW, noticing what appears to be green film algae.

QUESTION: Is this normal for a new cycling tank and is there anything I can, should be doing or just accept as a part of the cycle time line?

Thanks in advance.

JFF

 

[KorD]

Welcome to R2R, and the ugly tank time. Let it be, let your cuc work, and have a drink.

It is very common to have the diatom and then go to green hair algae. Congrats.. your rocks are or will be crawling with critters soon.

If you have any questions, I will be willing to help. There are also many other great people on this site, but watch out for the haters and some that will give you bad advice. Always research and read a lot of the stickies.. lots of great info there!

 

[brandon429]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-worst-advice-ever.600175/


Talk about seeing both sides of the coin at once regarding maturing algae growths/what to do



currently in the hobby there are changes coming about where we don't allow tanks to get taken over. Its just an option, you can forego it if you like. currently your work would consist of a small water change and cleaning off the glass...likely to require more in time if you choose the gardener's route where you are manually controlling what shows up and what doesn't. At any point you can choose not to clean and let the system progress as it will, clearly there's no right way. wanted you to see that discussion, however.

 

[eggplantparrot]

may be a good idea to turn off your lights and leave them off for the cycling times, it's just feeding the algae. turn them back on when you actually get corals.

 

[Jon Fleck]

Welcome to R2R, and the ugly tank time. Let it be, let your cuc work, and have a drink.

It is very common to have the diatom and then go to green hair algae. Congrats.. your rocks are or will be crawling with critters soon.

If you have any questions, I will be willing to help. There are also many other great people on this site, but watch out for the haters and some that will give you bad advice. Always research and read a lot of the stickies.. lots of great info there!

*******************************************************************************************
Dear KorD
Ya know.....somebody could have an awesome little business in helping reef tank novices with consultative services.
So....we are now at like day 40 of the cycle.
ALK=10.3
Nitrates=1.0
Phosphates=.25
Ammonia=0.00
Calcium 390 (raising slowly each day with supplements)
SG=10.26
Temp=78.3
The green FILM ALGAE is not as prolific on the glass of the tank as it was previously and APPEARS not to be growing any more on the bare rock.
I was able to get some coralline live rock which when in at the start of the cycle to help seed the bare dry rock I used.
I have NO green HAIR algae, NIO apparent cyano and NO apparent dino.
CUC is alive and well but don't APPEAR to have a great taste for the green FILM ALGAE.
I am running my T5s (6x39 ATI) at 4 hours per day with a maximum of 4 hours at 75% right now hopefully to abate an algae outbreak.

If you can help with some questions that would be great:

#1. How long does it take for the coralline agae to start to populate the bare rock?
#2. Will the coralline algae overtake or grow over the green film algae?
#3. Interesting that I attempted to brush/scour the green film algae off a piece of bare rock and I had virtually no effect with a wire brush.
#4. Is there an average cycle time for tanks (2 months, 4 month, etc)?

As it may appear, PATIENCE is not a large virtue of mine.

I just want to ensure that I am doing everything possible for the tank to succeed.

Thanks in advance.

JFF

 

[brandon429]

we consider algae cycling and invasion cycling two different items, I have to recommend you hand clean the system and not let the early growths take over as a matter of human grazer control since the bacterial portion of making a filter is already done

Dim lighting helps coralline and buying seed packs for it is possible

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-microbiology-of-reef-tank-cycling.214618/

 

[eggplantparrot]

if you want FAST coralline growth then the burgundy red stuff is what you want. it feels kind of leathery at first but as it grows it will calcify more I find. it grows stupidly fast on rocks and pump heads but will not touch glass at all. look for dark red spots on well lit liverock, or bright orange on not so well lit rocks as it turns neon orange as it dies off/doesn't get enough light

 

[KorD]

*******************************************************************************************
Dear KorD
Ya know.....somebody could have an awesome little business in helping reef tank novices with consultative services.
So....we are now at like day 40 of the cycle.
ALK=10.3
Nitrates=1.0
Phosphates=.25
Ammonia=0.00
Calcium 390 (raising slowly each day with supplements)
SG=10.26
Temp=78.3
The green FILM ALGAE is not as prolific on the glass of the tank as it was previously and APPEARS not to be growing any more on the bare rock.
I was able to get some coralline live rock which when in at the start of the cycle to help seed the bare dry rock I used.
I have NO green HAIR algae, NIO apparent cyano and NO apparent dino.
CUC is alive and well but don't APPEAR to have a great taste for the green FILM ALGAE.
I am running my T5s (6x39 ATI) at 4 hours per day with a maximum of 4 hours at 75% right now hopefully to abate an algae outbreak.

If you can help with some questions that would be great:

#1. How long does it take for the coralline agae to start to populate the bare rock?
#2. Will the coralline algae overtake or grow over the green film algae?
#3. Interesting that I attempted to brush/scour the green film algae off a piece of bare rock and I had virtually no effect with a wire brush.
#4. Is there an average cycle time for tanks (2 months, 4 month, etc)?

As it may appear, PATIENCE is not a large virtue of mine.

I just want to ensure that I am doing everything possible for the tank to succeed.

Thanks in advance.

JFF

I try to help anyone I can. This hobby is an amazing thing I think everyone is here for. I hate seeing bad advice given. That's why I recommend to people do as much research as they can after getting advice.

In answer to your questions:
#1. It really depends on if you started with dry rock or live rock. Live rock is more cured then dry rock because it has been around the elements that can cause Coraline algae to grow. You can always add purple up to your tank to speed up the process. Just follow the directions on the bottle.

#2 Coraline algae is unpredictable on where and how it grows. There are a few different types of Coraline algea in the world. Most of what we see grows flat, while others can cup upwords making a shape like rose peddles.
I'm sure given enough time to properly grow, it could take over rocks, but then the GHA or other algae will grow onto of it because it is a surface to grab onto for the organism.

#3 I really do not know what to say to this

#4 everyone's tanks will cycle at different times. There is not set time in determining how long it will take. I have had many of tanks in the last 10 years and not one tank cycled like another. At one time I was upto 8 tanks( largest was a 30gal, smallest was a 1.5 gal)
A tank is only truly cycled when you can honestly sit back and not need to check your water parameters but twice a month. You see good growth on corals, while everything is healthy and thriving.
To speed up the cycling of a tank you can use live rock, bacteria in a bottle, live sand, and a good light (and light cycle) to help with the tanks livability.


I am not an expert, but I have done a lot of reading, made my fair share of mistakes, and overcame the "forget this hobby" when issues kept slapping me in the face.

If there is anything I have learnt, you have to give it time, the more you try to rush it, the more hurdles you will have to jump.

 

[Jon Fleck]

we consider algae cycling and invasion cycling two different items, I have to recommend you hand clean the system and not let the early growths take over as a matter of human grazer control since the bacterial portion of making a filter is already done

Dim lighting helps coralline and buying seed packs for it is possible

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-microbiology-of-reef-tank-cycling.214618/

Brandon -

Thank you for your input.

At the risk of sounding dense, are you suggesting that I remove the "bare" rock and clean with stiff brushes to remove the attached algae?

Just attempting to digest all of the information.

One other point, if my assumption is correct on your suggestion, I have attempted to "scrub" the algae off with a small wire brush with little success.

Again, THANK YOU.

jff

 

[KorD]

Brandon -

Thank you for your input.

At the risk of sounding dense, are you suggesting that I remove the "bare" rock and clean with stiff brushes to remove the attached algae?

Just attempting to digest all of the information.

One other point, if my assumption is correct on your suggestion, I have attempted to "scrub" the algae off with a small wire brush with little success.

Again, THANK YOU.

jff

I would not remove your rocks! I also suggest you leave the setting of the lights where they are at already. This is completely normal for growth like that on rocks. Your rocks are becoming alive, there his no reason to kill them again d ha e to start the process over.

 

[Goose91]

I see you are running your lights to what i might attribute with your bioload, a little onnthe high side.
From what ive gathered in my reasearch thus far is that algae blooms are mostly linked to too much sunlight, espically in a new tank that doesnt have a super diverse thriving life. So id suggest only runni g your lights for 4 hrs and possibly less power. I see lots of posts regarding folks running them at only 30%.
Hope this helps and im not feeding you bad info. ~ Goose

 

[Jon Fleck]

I would not remove your rocks! I also suggest you leave the setting of the lights where they are at already. This is completely normal for growth like that on rocks. Your rocks are becoming alive, there his no reason to kill them again d ha e to start the process over.

THANKS !!!!

I see you are running your lights to what i might attribute with your bioload, a little onnthe high side.
From what ive gathered in my reasearch thus far is that algae blooms are mostly linked to too much sunlight, espically in a new tank that doesnt have a super diverse thriving life. So id suggest only runni g your lights for 4 hrs and possibly less power. I see lots of posts regarding folks running them at only 30%.
Hope this helps and im not feeding you bad info. ~ Goose

Dear Goose -
The logic in your information appears to track.
I had already planned on lowering both the time and %.
Thank you so much !!!

 

[brandon429]

You will have to choose how you want to proceed with early invasions

its just handy to know that matter is separate from bacteria cycling, any form of cleaning you do doesn't hurt your bacteria but we have ways to be exacting when the kill is required, work threads are in that link showing peroxide as a handy cheat. Some choose to let the tank fully invade then naturally uninvade, you may choose either path. The whole tracking of that thread above shows zero invaded tanks, we believe in tidy housekeeping, what good are cycled tanks that make you wait even longer to enjoy them. Also, in the nuisance algae forum we have tanks needing help that are both young and old, being invaded is a choice not so much age of tank related. If you want it there, can do. If you want it gone, can do

 

[Goose91]

THANKS !!!!

Dear Goose -
The logic in your information appears to track.
I had already planned on lowering both the time and %.
Thank you so much !!!

No problem! Glad to help where i can atm, and hope you can nip that algae in the butt before you start growing sea monsters cheers ~ goose