Why do I have so much algae?

[isreal6655]

My tank has only been cycling for 4 days now and I have algae covering everything all my rocks and sand. I also have foam at the tank of my tank. What does this mean?

 

[franciscosalazar]

Cut your photoperiod to 4 hours if you dont have coral, or leave them off until you do get coral...

 

[ninjabeaver]

nutrients in the water are feeding the growth of algae, new tank, no skimmer, having lights on?

 

[isreal6655]

Are you not suppose to have the lights on

 

[isreal6655]

And why is there foam at the top of my tank and bubbles all over everything

 

[franciscosalazar]

The algae is blooming with unlimited light supply and nutrients. Take a pic of the foam.

 

[isreal6655]

It's goes all along the top of my tank

 

[isreal6655]

And there's bubbles on my rock and sand

 

[franciscosalazar]

are you running a venturi style powerhead?

 

[isreal6655]

A what lol

 

[franciscosalazar]

take a full tank shot

 

[isreal6655]

There you go

 

[franciscosalazar]

Ok, cut your lights off until your algae goes away.
I'm guessing the foam is being produced by the splashing of your hang on back filter return and accumulating because you have no surface skimming taking place...

 

[isreal6655]

Ya I'm looking into that

 

[mps0813]

What kind of water are you using? Be sure to use RO/DI water, never from tap... a cycling tank will typically get some sort of unwanted algae growth in the beginning... And is that live rock in tank or just bulk rock? Some of the store bought rock (not live rock) will typically leach nutrients and crap in your tank... Good luck!

 

[WindeyD]

No need to have your lights on at this juncture

 

[isreal6655]

Well it was live rock when I first bought it but my first tank failed so I took everything apart and boiled the rocks and put it all back together this is my second try

 

[gemini9]

Boiled the rocks? Why did your first tank fail? I've never heard of boiling. Usually people soak their rocks in distilled white vinegar for a few days to clean off any die off and junk, and then rinse it really well with rodi. But I'm curious of why your first tank "failed".

 

[gemini9]

Oh, and if the "algae" you are referring to is the brown/gold/bronze looking stuff, that's perfectly normal. It's called diatoms and is usually the first part of your natural cycle. The diatoms will eventually go away on their own. But as others have said, cutting down on the lights will help eliminate some of the unwanted algae. Also, make sure your tank isn't getting any direct sunlight from a window. As for the bubbles, it's probably just from air pockets. Looking at your pics, to me, it just looks like diatoms and nothing of concern.

 

[gregoryleonard]

I did not see any power heads to provide flow (water circulation). Too little flow will cause the air bubbles to accumulate on your rocks.
Provide the readers with a description of your setup. Equipment, type of lights, photo period etc so we can better assist you. Is your tank drilled? Overflow? Sump? Skimmer? etc.