Ok what is going on here...

ABopp · Apr 11, 2018

Can anyone explain to me what is happening here? Just a last ditch effort to get some answers. No livestock, no light. Running on canisters (sump in the near future) and I don’t have current param because I’m at work but I thought if anyone knew off the top of their head, that would be amazing. It’s been cycling for a couple months and it just seems to be getting more brown....except for these random pink blotches in the last pic...[emoji26]

reefertank · Apr 11, 2018

Are you using tap water?

cracker · Apr 11, 2018

It's just curing away. Eating on what excess nutrients that's in the rock. I'd think it's normal cycle stuff & good for the rock to clean itself out. Let's hear what others have to say.

reefertank · Apr 11, 2018

No livestock, not even a clean up crew

ABopp · Apr 11, 2018

Not tap water - this was an established aquarium that I brought the water with me...

No livestock of any kind...

ABopp · Apr 11, 2018

In the last water tests I have done since the week I brought it home and last test was last week, all the params were perfectly in range or except the nitrate (off the charts!)...could that be causing this? That's partly why I want to move to a sump but that is taking time to put together...just don't want to be making something worse in the mean time.

ABopp · Apr 11, 2018

I was under the impression it was still cycling and because my nitrates are so out of wack, I feel like it is not time yet to add any livestock until I get this figured out...just starting to doubt that it's still cycling and more like....crashing?

Also aware there is WAY too much rock in here which will be addressed when I switch to the sump and my friend can take the live rock off my hands...sort of just storing it right now..

Palyzoa · Apr 11, 2018

Usually signs of nitrate and no amonia or nitrite means you are cycled. The only way to get rid of the nitrate is to export it with water changes.

DancingShark · Apr 11, 2018

That's a ton of rocks. Lol.
Do you have circulation aside from the canister? You probably have food and dead stuff rotting away since you said this was a established tank. Stuff in the sand, rocks, and maybe canister.
I would aquascape now, rocks your not going to us in display set them aside and get some flow through it that tank if you have not.

ABopp · Apr 12, 2018

Palyzoa said:
Usually signs of nitrate and no amonia or nitrite means you are cycled. The only way to get rid of the nitrate is to export it with water changes.

Ok, I will give that a go this weekend and hope for some better numbers. Thanks!

DancingShark said:
That's a ton of rocks. Lol.
Do you have circulation aside from the canister? You probably have food and dead stuff rotting away since you said this was a established tank. Stuff in the sand, rocks, and maybe canister.
I would aquascape now, rocks your not going to us in display set them aside and get some flow through it that tank if you have not.

That's a good point - perhaps with the scaping and water changes some things will start to level out...

Is that algae on my rocks and is it bad? Will it go away or am I stuck with ugly rocks now?

reefertank · Apr 12, 2018

ABopp said:
Ok, I will give that a go this weekend and hope for some better numbers. Thanks!

That's a good point - perhaps with the scaping and water changes some things will start to level out...

Is that algae on my rocks and is it bad? Will it go away or am I stuck with ugly rocks now?

It will go away once your nutrients go down in the tank. Also once you get a good CUC they will take care of it.

Porpoise Hork · Apr 12, 2018

Looks like you're in stage 4/5 of the cycle. Diatom blooms, cyano outbreak, and possible hair algae is right on the horizon. With high nitrates such as you reported you will see the green film algae develop on the rock work. This is inevitable but will ultimately be replaced by coraline, provided the water parameters and lighting are correct. Once your tank has matured say in about 6 months to a year anaerobic bacteria will have colonized deep in the rock as well as the sand bed. These are the nitrifying strains that consume nitrates and convert to nitrogen gas and nitrogen sulfide. As a result many mature tanks require far less overall maintenance and water changes compared to new tanks. Repeated large water changes the addition of macro algae such as chaeto are the only ways to easily and effectively lower nitrates to a more manageable level.

The most important thing to remember is have patience. With time and staying on top of the water chemistry you will have a beautiful reef tank that you can enjoy for years.

ABopp · Apr 12, 2018

Porpoise Hork said:
Looks like you're in stage 4/5 of the cycle. Diatom blooms, cyano outbreak, and possible hair algae is right on the horizon. With high nitrates such as you reported you will see the green film algae develop on the rock work. This is inevitable but will ultimately be replaced by coraline, provided the water parameters and lighting are correct. Once your tank has matured say in about 6 months to a year anaerobic bacteria will have colonized deep in the rock as well as the sand bed. These are the nitrifying strains that consume nitrates and convert to nitrogen gas and nitrogen sulfide. As a result many mature tanks require far less overall maintenance and water changes compared to new tanks. Repeated large water changes the addition of macro algae such as chaeto are the only ways to easily and effectively lower nitrates to a more manageable level.

The most important thing to remember is have patience. With time and staying on top of the water chemistry you will have a beautiful reef tank that you can enjoy for years.

Wow, thank you so much for all the info. Very well explained! Basically just wait then eh? Even when these outbreaks, blooms and hair algae shows up, I just wait? I can do the water changes for sure, but I don't have a sump yet - is there any way to introduce the chaeto until I can move it to my sump?

reefertank · Apr 12, 2018

ABopp said:
Wow, thank you so much for all the info. Very well explained! Basically just wait then eh? Even when these outbreaks, blooms and hair algae shows up, I just wait? I can do the water changes for sure, but I don't have a sump yet - is there any way to introduce the chaeto until I can move it to my sump?

I would just wait until you have a sump, be patient and let it cycle. Then get 20 or so snails and crabs. Unfortunately like stated previously you will be dealing with this for a few months, but it is the natural part of cycling.