Algae Bloom! Does it warrant a CUC?

[saltwatercube]

Short facts on my tank: 24 gallon AIO cube, one month old, 2 clownfish were added monday. Parameters are being monitored daily and today's are: 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 10 nitrate. My PH stabilized and I got my nitrites down before adding fish, and everything is appearing good in the cycling department. My phosphate test kit is still in the mail, but I am assuming I have some phosphates present because of the algae.

All this algae appeared today, all at once and out of nowhere, and I assume it is totally in part to me leaving the light on for 8 hours where as I cycled in the darkness. Going to go back to only putting on the main light for viewing. Also, can the blue light cause algae? I had been advised to leave that on at night, but now I am second guessing. The algae has little bubbles on it, but I assume this is just my tank going into the ugly stage.

After this picture, I added in more filter media that just came in yesterday. I now have seachem purigen, chemi pure elite in addition to my filter floss, and the cured rock seeder stick in my back compartments. My back middle compartment could have chaeto in it any day, just waiting for the light to come in, so for now it is in my quarantine tank.

My question is, does this level of algae warrant any kind of minimal clean-up crew? I thought I would have much more time before adding in a CUC. I don't want to add in a snail or a crab and then have no alage for them to eat because the issue clears up so quickly. Should I wait a few days and see if the algae gets cleared up from all the new media and the addition of the chaeto and then reassess?

I was going to wait a week or longer and then add another small fish, but I could add one snail or hermit crab or the likes instead.

Thanks so much in advance! The community on here is so reassuring and helpful!

 

[Subsea]

Instead of rushing to add more fish, what is the end goal for your ecosystem?

Not knowing your experience level, I suggest you exercise patience and allow your system to mature with minimum changes during the cycling process. Brown algae on substrate is most likely diatoms, which is a type of phytoplankton and pico herbivores will consume it. Microbes consume phytoplankton which are primary producers in the food chain.

What are you seeding with “cured rock seeder stick”?

Was substrate & rock dry when you added them to ecosystem?

PS. After looking more closely at your pictures, I see no nuisance algae. Diatoms are a healthy bioindicator and are a nutritious source of food for the bottom of the food chain.

I suggest you move your thread to “members tank journal“: NOT NUISANCE ALGAE FORUM.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

Short facts on my tank: 24 gallon AIO cube, one month old, 2 clownfish were added monday. Parameters are being monitored daily and today's are: 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 10 nitrate. My PH stabilized and I got my nitrites down before adding fish, and everything is appearing good in the cycling department. My phosphate test kit is still in the mail, but I am assuming I have some phosphates present because of the algae.

All this algae appeared today, all at once and out of nowhere, and I assume it is totally in part to me leaving the light on for 8 hours where as I cycled in the darkness. Going to go back to only putting on the main light for viewing. Also, can the blue light cause algae? I had been advised to leave that on at night, but now I am second guessing. The algae has little bubbles on it, but I assume this is just my tank going into the ugly stage.

After this picture, I added in more filter media that just came in yesterday. I now have seachem purigen, chemi pure elite in addition to my filter floss, and the cured rock seeder stick in my back compartments. My back middle compartment could have chaeto in it any day, just waiting for the light to come in, so for now it is in my quarantine tank.

My question is, does this level of algae warrant any kind of minimal clean-up crew? I thought I would have much more time before adding in a CUC. I don't want to add in a snail or a crab and then have no alage for them to eat because the issue clears up so quickly. Should I wait a few days and see if the algae gets cleared up from all the new media and the addition of the chaeto and then reassess?

I was going to wait a week or longer and then add another small fish, but I could add one snail or hermit crab or the likes instead.

Thanks so much in advance! The community on here is so reassuring and helpful!

Looks fine, and on the right track to me. There is no escaping the ugly phase, unfortunately. Just be patient, and yes a CUC will help. I would also get some copepods.

 

[Boehmtown]

Personally I'd add a few hermits and snails if you're gonna turn your lights on. I would also probably turn the lights on at their lowest setting for 6-8 hours a day. No lights at night. If any algae gets way out of hand you can turn the lights off for a week. Wait on the corals till after the ugly stage, no this isn't the ugly stage. This is just some very early life starting to live in your tank. Pods and phyto help speed things up a bit

 

[saltwatercube]

Personally I'd add a few hermits and snails if you're gonna turn your lights on. I would also probably turn the lights on at their lowest setting for 6-8 hours a day. No lights at night. If any algae gets way out of hand you can turn the lights off for a week. Wait on the corals till after the ugly stage, no this isn't the ugly stage. This is just some very early life starting to live in your tank. Pods and phyto help speed things up a bit

Thanks so much for the advice! I will not do any coral for at least 6-8 months. I turned off the lights too, I really think this has something to do with me leaving the lights on so much. If I add some CUC and then the algae disappears, would they take food supplements? I've heard that once you feed them pellets they won't eat algae as good so I want to avoid that.

 

[saltwatercube]

Update: Thanks so much for the advice! I have read every piece and really appreciate the feedback. I turkey basted the alage once last night and scraped the glass with a magnet and it has not returned or progressed any further. Going to halt on adding anything until I make sure it is gone.

 

[saltwatercube]

Looks fine, and on the right track to me. There is no escaping the ugly phase, unfortunately. Just be patient, and yes a CUC will help. I would also get some copepods.

Thanks so much!

 

[saltwatercube]

Instead of rushing to add more fish, what is the end goal for your ecosystem?

Not knowing your experience level, I suggest you exercise patience and allow your system to mature with minimum changes during the cycling process. Brown algae on substrate is most likely diatoms, which is a type of phytoplankton and pico herbivores will consume it. Microbes consume phytoplankton which are primary producers in the food chain.

What are you seeding with “cured rock seeder stick”?

Was substrate & rock dry when you added them to ecosystem?

PS. After looking more closely at your pictures, I see no nuisance algae. Diatoms are a healthy bioindicator and are a nutritious source of food for the bottom of the food chain.

I suggest you move your thread to “members tank journal“: NOT NUISANCE ALGAE FORUM.

Thank you so much for your advice I really appreciate it. I was under the impression this was algae, so I thought this was the place to put it. But I also add updates on my member tank thread every so often, and updated about this. I got scared thinking it could be dinos or something that was a potentially harmful nuisance because of the bubbles, so I figured I would check. I seeded the tank with a piece of rock from an established tank from my LFS that is highly recommended and reputable. My rock and sand are dry. This is my first SW tank but I have kept many FW tanks. I did extensive research beforehand, but I like checking to see what other people have experienced and getting reassurance that I am on the right tank/ well-informed in my husbandry. I was told it was best to wait 1-2 weeks of stable parameters in between fish to allow the cycle to catch up and not overload it, so I was referencing that goalpost. Thanks for the advice and taking a look, I really appreciate it.

 

[Subsea]

Kudoes to your attention to detail.

Before you go further into adding stuff, what is the end goal for this tank.

With 53 years of Reefing I claim to be an expert because I have made every mistake possible and SURVIVED to be content with having ZEN. At 75 years old, peace & tranquility are my goal and for that reason, I operate low tech ecosystems with easy soft corals and mixed invertebrates & filter feeders combined with ornamental seaweeds: fish are optional.

@saltwatercube

Saltwater,
You have some very nice looking rock. However, your system has only bacteria & slight coralline algae; you have no micro flora or fauna to outcompete nuisance ugly algae.

Consider seeding your tank with this

Gulf Live Rock.com

gulfliverock.com