Is this normal?

[DavidG]

Hello all,

This is my first post as I am new to this board and reefs in general. I have a 55 gal. tank which I just started up December 28 2002 and came home today and noticed something different.

My tank has 1" of aragonite on the bottom and 10 lbs of cured live rock and 3 Damsel fish (I know now I shouldnt have gotten them to cycle the tank). I have two 24" NO fluor tubes for lighting. One standard bulb which came with the tank and an actinic.

Today, I noticed the aragonite on the actinic side of the tank is turning brown at the surface. Is this a good sign or a bad sign?

Being new to this I didnt know if it was something to celebrate or worry about

Please put my mind at ease and great forums!

David

 

[liquid]

Welcome to reefs.org!

What you are seeing is perfectly normal. Most likely it's a diatom bloom, which normally happens at this time frame. When you first start out a tank it goes thru a series of algal blooms until it matures. Maturation takes a couple months minimum.

To combat this: use snails like astreas, trocus, nerites, ceriths, etc. Typical recommended amount is 1 snail per gallon. Also, are you using RO/DI water for your water source or are you just using tap water?

Shane

 

[mountainbiker619]

David,

check out this thread http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t ... rown+algea

David

 

[DavidG]

Thanks for the quick response!

Yeah, I used tap water to get up and running but after reading the forums realize I am going to have to use RO/DI unless I want to become an algae farmer.

1) Could the fact that I didnt run my skimmer today allowe the sudden growth? Its the first time Ive left it off for 24hr. and suddenly my substrate is brown.

2) I was wondering if I could get a clean up crew now or if I had to wait until the tank cycled. I take it I can put the snails in now then.

3) Regarding the substrate, I only have the 1" of aragonite and have been reading about DSB's. Is it too late to try and add sand to the tank? If not, how do I do it without creating a bucket of mud? I only have the three fish and three rocks in there right now.

David

 

[ReefLion]

Not having your skimmer on may have contributed to the bloom, but it was something that was probably going to happen anyway. Keep the skimmer on for now IMO.

Snails can suffer during a cycle, but usually they are ok. Do a little research and go with a few of the hardy species.

Add a couple pounds of sand every few days. Only cover up a small bit of the existing surface each time you add new sand, as the sandbed is probably assisting with nitrification.

Tim

 

[reefworm]

Definitely not too late to add the sand. I would only be worse later. Add as Reeflion suggests and you should be fine. You'll go through a number of blooms of diatoms and different algaes as your tanks settles in and your bacteria and benthic populations are maturing. Just wait it out. It may help also to position a PH or two to blow across, but into, the sand bed to keep cyano from developing later on those surfaces.

good luck!

regards,
rw

 

[DavidG]

Then I guess in a way it is something to celebrate! Another rite of passage.

How do I add the sand with water in the tank? I imagine it would make a murky mess to just drop it in there.

 

[Anonymous]

Yep.......a real Growth Experience buddy. Have Fun!

 

[Anonymous]

I am real new to this too, but I added sand recently to a full tank. I turned off the pumps, scooped out the crushed coral and then poured the sand in. The sand is very heavy and sank right to the bottom. I spread it out with my hand and left the pumps off for about an hour or so. My tank was crystal clear again in no time.

 

[Newts]

When I added sand to a full tank I used a plastic cup or something similar,scooped up dry sand then let the cup fill slowly with water,once cup was full I took it to the bottom of tank and slowly tipped it upside down and slowly lifted it up and left it in a pile.Very little dust cloud when I did it.the pile of sand will flatten out in a day or two.

 

[Anonymous]

*&^%$!

I had to strip down and put my rock on the bottom (cuz like the newb I am I put it on top of the sand!) and even though I pulled out almost all my friggin water, then shifted rock to the bottom of the tank (adding eggrate flourescent cover to protect it) and then filled it back up with water. When I turned my ^&*$! PH's back on, it was still kinda soupy, and of course, they weren't adjusted for the change in tank features so they blew southdown all over the stinkin place so I wound up with soup for 3 days... AGAIN!

My suggestion.. Make sure the water is fairly clear before turning stuff back on (unless you absolutely HAVE to) that way you can see if a PH is going to cause you grief. (I now have to smooth out two gaping pits in my sand where they got overblown.)

*&^%$!