LR, Coral and Algae question

[madhatr1972]

This is kinda a 3 part question. But since i'm new to the marine section of fishtanks I thought I better ask before i have a major mishap. To start off here's my tank specs. 55g with a 90lbs of sugar sized aragamax sand and 12lbs of arag-alive (which i don't think is worth crap, but like i said, i'm not that experanced). got about 140lbs of carib sea reef rock, 1.5lbs of marshell is. liverock (not the greatest, but that's the best this pet store had, did find a source of tonga branch and fiji, but they never seem to keep the fiji in stock). Got the standard W/D filter (upgraded the overflow with a self priming one, i think CPR makes it). got the cpr backpak reef skimmer, U/V sterilizer, one aqua 300 something powerhead, and 2 802's (the 802's are for current and the 301 is for priming the overflow and is positioned behind the rocks) and I got a 260w JBJ pC lighting fixture (2 65w 03's and 2 10k). as for livestock, a few crabs (red and blue leg hermits, few snails (mix between tubro and turban) 2 clowns and a sand gobie) BTW the tank has been running for 3 months, the ammonia, NO2 and No3 read 0ppm. Ok think thats it, so on to the questions

Question 1 the LR: When i bought it, it looked like it had a lot of coralline algae on it. okay i had some die back as expected, but the question is the coralline algae doesn't look like it's spreading (both the purple and the pink) it isn't turning white, it just looks like a thin coating on the rock. I have all the additives like calcium, strontium, iodine, and trace elements.
Is this algae just dead and stained the rock, or is it so slow growing that it'll take forever to start showing? The Calcium is over 400ml ( i think thats the right scale, it's what ever the test kit reads maybe ppm, don't have it handy right now)
Question 2: Algae: okay I was using the above piece of LR to seed the system for algae to grow on the other rock i bought. At the start the pink started poping up here and there after the diatom bloom ended , then green started taking over till it covered every surface in the tank that is contacted by direct light. in the shaded areas it's still as white as when i put the rock in the tank. and the piece of LR isn't covered where it's purple and pink (part of that 140lbs is that painted reefrock, which the purple on it isn't covered either). Is this algae the first stage before the pruple grows or is it just a regular run of the mill stuff? BTW the last month i turned the 10k's off, fish seem to hide when thier on, so thought maybe i was running to much light. but the green still grows and the others still are as they was on day one.
Question 3: (about time huh?--lol) I ordered some corals, Button Polyp, Hairy Mushroom Coral, Bullseye Mushroom. and a Bubble Tip Anemone (ok the last one is a anemone, but it requires light so i added it in-- ) Is the lighting setup i'm running to high for these? And would they be ok with 2 03's and 2 50/50's? I figured since the light was to much for the clowns with the 10k's, I'd try and use 50/50's instead.

 

[2poor2reef]

I'm not sure I understood everything but here are a few thoughts. First off, you don't have too much light for those corals at all. Study up on the anemone. That's your toughest animal to keep. If it were me I would have waited until my tank was stable before I added any corals.

Second, turn you lights back on to a normal photoperiod of 12 or 13 hours. Your fish aren't scared of the light. Whatever they may be scared of that isn't it.

Third, what are your alkalinity and ph readings? These are important parameters of you water chemistry and can have an impact on corraline algae growth.

Corraline does take a while to start growing well. If it were dead it would turn white and/or flake off. If it isn't doing that then it isn't dead.

I don't understand what you mean by the "green" algae. I assume you don't mean green corraline algae (which there is) but rather some type of micro algae or maybe hair algae. Could you clarify that one?

 

[madhatr1972]

well the ph is stable at 8.2. Not sure what the alk is, test kit run out (what a time to find out ). as for the algae, under the 10k and 03's, the light green is bright and looks fluorescent (shines like metal kinda i guess you'd say). and a darker green. you can still see the grain in the rock. since i got alot of snails, they keep it mowed down. From what I can see, theres no hair algae in the tank.
The corals i figured would be okay. using some aged water from a Fish only system along with the bio media in the wetdry thats been up for 2 years.

 

[tinyreef]

like 2poor2reef, i agree that the alk and cal are definitely the keys for coralline algae growth. i'm a lazy butt so i use a two-part additive. kent marine, esv's b-ionic, or c-balance are all good. what's worked for me is the b-ionic but everyone's situation is different (source water, ambient temp, additive mix, livestock, equipment, and so on)

don't worry about the lights too much. even mh's can't match the tropical noon day sun. follow the suppliers directions for acclimating though! if you shock the corals & anenome they'll expel their symbiont algae and make them that much weaker and prone to keel over.

just a thought to close with, i've found introducing too much livestock at a time is usually detrimental. the specials the suppliers run are enticing (jeff's exotic fish $99 for 9 or 10 sometimes, great supplier though) but they can overload the ecosystem, even corals. remember they're all competing for the same protein food sources (sans photosynthesis) of plankton, microplank, and nanoplank. good luck!

 

[WayneL]

All I can say is Whooooooaaaaaa.

I think your going a little fast. You have some concerns about why your coraline algae isn't growing but you purchased a bunch of corals before you knew what their lighting requirements were.

I would first get an alk test and get your alkalinity in line. My guess is that it is low and that is why you aren't seeing the coraline growth that you wanted.

Second, put and leave the lights on a regular photoperiod. Your fish will get used to it and you definately will need it for all of those corals that you have ordered. That anemone you purchased can be tough to take care of and if it dies it can polute your tank. I would be very careful and quickly read up on the requirements that it will need.

Lastly, slow down. Only bad things happen fast in reef systems. The corals you are about to introduce are easy but under the best situations I would not have introduced them until the tank was at least 6 months old. With that said, hopefully if you get your alk up, get your cal up to around 450 and don't add anything more for a while, it should be OK.

 

[reefsRcool]

oh my. sounds like you are a touch over your head. SLOW DOWN. find a good mentor and get some books. resist the urge to put anything else into your tank unless you know exactly what is is and how i needs to be taken care of. there is alot of truely bad info out there so try to seek out good sources. if it were me i would definatly ditch the uv sterilizer and the wet dry filter. water changes on a regular basis until the tank is well established will keep most everything in check. money gets you alot of nice trinkets, but time will build your reef.