I Could Really Use Some Help

[Llewellyn]

OH - and I forgot to mention. I REALLY REALLY appreciate all of you babysitting me through this! It is nerve wracking! LOL THANK YOU.

Kim

[Seige]

Hi Kim,

How high does your test kit measure Nitrates too?

I recommend you take a sample of your water to your LFS and ask them to test it. Explain what you saw and just ask if they can test because your not sure your kit's accurate.

You could also do a google search for the brand of kit and see if anyones had similar results.

My guess would be that your nitrates are off the chart high due to cycling and the bio balls.

Did you get a test kit for reefs with all that stuff? If your going to keep corals you should get one. In general it's good to have tests for Copper, Magnesium, Iodine, Calcium, KH and Phosphates. Possibly a few other things. Some, like copper, you won't use much.

The brown algae should dissappear in a few days. No worries.

[Seige]

OH - and I forgot to mention. I REALLY REALLY appreciate all of you babysitting me through this! It is nerve wracking! LOL THANK YOU.

Kim

ROFL... Anytime...

[Llewellyn]

Okay. Water quality update. (Can you say anal? LOL) I took another nitrate test this afternoon, I just wasn't satisfied that I couldn't read the results. According to this one, nitrates are zero. Is this possible so soon? The move was last Friday, so tomorrow will be a week. I had pretty much perfect water on days 1 and 2, then up to the levels noted above for three days, then down to zeros today. Does this seem appropriate for a mini-cycle? I've cycled new tanks dozens of times doing freshwater and know it takes three weeks to even a month at times, but never had this mini-cycle issue so I don't know how this works.

When the levels rose, they didn't really peak but stayed the same for three days and then down to nothing. That's what makes me a little nervous.


Don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE it if it was over so soon so I could start adding a little livestock here and there, but I'm not buying it at this point.

[Seige]

I don't have enough experience to say but I would think it's likely over. Your system had already done it's initial cycle so this was just one of many mini cycles your tank will go through.

Hopefully someone with more experience will respond.

[Llewellyn]

Hi,

The tank seems to be stable again. Ammonia, nitrites, nitrates are all back at zero. pH is at 8.4, hydrometer reads 1.025. The leathers seem to be doing well. I purchased some live rock for the tank this weekend, and plan on taking out some of the dead decorative corals soon and replacing it with more.

My only problem now is the horrible brown algae that's covering the entire front of the tank and much of the dead coral decoration. I've read that this will go away once the tank stabilizes. Is this true? I've debated trying to scrape as much off as I can, but from everything I've read they suggest just leaving it alone and (per one article) "one morning you'll wake up and it will be gone." I kinda find that hard to believe from the looks of it, lol. Should I get some snails and/or crabs to try to help with clean up? If so, does anyone have any suggestions?

I plan on adding a few corals in the next couple of weeks, and a couple of small reef-safe fish soon also. Is there a protocol to what to add first? I'd appreciate any suggestions on those also, what are some good beginner choices?

Thank you!
Kim

[Seige]

The brown algae will go away as long as your not adding silica nutrients (typically found in tap water). Just give it a few days.

You can get a cc. I suggest Nassarius, Cerith and Turbo snails. If you add hermit crabs don't get too many. They eat the snails, the ones you paid good money for, to get their shells. Scattering a bunch of empty shells around the tank will reduce the kill rate. You could also try getting a Sally Lightfoot crab, they eat algae constantly.

Do you have a quarantine set up for your new fish?

Yes their is an order for adding fish. Some are hardier fish you can use to start with like clownfish, and certain other fish like damsels and angels shouldn't be added to the end because they are territorial. Whatever fish you add should be quarantined first. oh, Stay away from jumpers.

Corals will depend on your lighting. I'd start with something simple like a mushroom. You can also try an open brain but it'll need spot feeding. Stay away from filter feeders until your tank matures a few more months (I should have).

[Parrothead]

Hey Kim,

As Seige mentioned some nas. snails would help, if it is brownish powdering looking algea it will go away. I would avoid the hermit crabs, they will become a problem later on and with live rock they can be a pain to remove, just my thoughts. Also let your tank get settled before adding livestock, or corals just because a test kit says everything is fine does not mean it is, the tank has to mature before you get to carried away. Spend some time in here reading the post and such and learn from that. Their is alot of knowledge and experience available here, use it.


Tanks
Robert

[Doodaa]

It won't hurt to remove algae of any sort. Consider it as a nutrient export. It's growing on nutrients in your water. The best thing is to reduce what it's feeding on so it quits growing, but removing it doesn't hurt anything at all.

[Llewellyn]

Thanks all for the advice.

A couple of people have mentioned letting the tank mature before adding livestock. Since this was an established tank that was just moved and apparently went through a mini-cycle due to the disturbance, does this still apply? The leather corals that came with the tank look to be doing very well (knock on wood, fingers crossed). I don't want to do anything elaborate, just start adding a couple small things over the next couple of weeks.

Thanks!
Kim

[Seige]

Hi Kim,

Your probably better off then most people starting up but still take it slow. Remember your tank maybe ready but you have a lot of learning to do. Take it slow, do your research and you'll make fewer mistakes then I did. ;-)

CJ

[Seige]

Kim, Since your tank was running for a while, does it already have a cleaning crew? If you have one do you know whats in your cleaning crew?

[Llewellyn]

I know there are worms hiding in there, I've seen a couple. (The red ones with a black vertical stripe). Looks like he used to have some snails, but nothing was alive when I got the tank. He did say he had a couple fish in the tank before I got it, but he gave them away. Basically the only thing in it when I received it were the three leathers, and stuff I can't see. lol. The algae looks like it may be receding a little bit today.

[Seige]

Glad the algae's receding. Should be cleared up in a few days.

Your sure the tanks safe? That the prior owner didn't use meds in it or have anything in it that may have been diseased prior to giving up the hobby?

I'd start slow, with a cc and no more then 2 fish for at least 4 to 6 weeks so you know the tanks safe. You can check out fish and cleaning crew online.
Saltwater Fish Species, Aquarium Fish Profiles

I'd recommend starting with about 8 small Nassarius, and around 6 Turbo's and / or Ceriths. If your LFS has a deal like 10 snails for $20 then take the deal. The exact number you get of each type doesn't really matter.

In my experience Turbo's spend most of their time on the LR, Ceriths spend about 1/2 on glass and 1/2 on LR, and Nassarius spend most of their time on or under the sand bed.