What am I looking at here?

[Reidallaboutit]

Hey guys. New to reefing and just started setting up a new tank last week. Got some live rock from LFS and over the past few days this brownish orange growth has started. Almost looks like Cyano from pics I've been looking at around the web. Also have two white fuzzy star shaped growths. Could anyone help me identify what this is. Thanks!

 

[KJ]

Also have two white fuzzy star shaped growths.

Asterina starfish.

 

[Reidallaboutit]

A quick Google search tells me I should probably try to get rid of them but some people say many varieties are harmless algae eaters. Any good ways to identify which are bad guys? One video mentioned watching to see if theyre munching on the base of corals or not. Since the tank is not stocked with anything yet are there alternative methods?

Additionally, another forum mentioned the brown/orange stuff is probably diatom algae not cyano. Which seems to make sense since tank is cycling.

 

[reef lover]

Diatoms and asternias...