Dino, Diatom, or Cyano?

[TedsReef]

Hi everyone. It's been 2 weeks since my tank has finished it's cycle. I have a couple things in there (4 snails, 1 paly, 1 zoa). I'm having trouble distinguishing what this algae is and perhaps I have multiple types. I've been treating it as cyano: wc and vacuuming weekly (does not vacuum off of rocks), and limiting target feedings to once a week.

Tank info: 20g, AI prime HD lighting, ammonia and nitrites 0ppm, nitrates less than 5ppm, phosphates 0.

Here are some pictures. Any help is much appreciated.

 

[reeferfoxx]

Hi everyone. It's been 2 weeks since my tank has finished it's cycle. I have a couple things in there (4 snails, 1 paly, 1 zoa). I'm having trouble distinguishing what this algae is and perhaps I have multiple types. I've been treating it as cyano: wc and vacuuming weekly (does not vacuum off of rocks), and limiting target feedings to once a week.

Tank info: 20g, AI prime HD lighting, ammonia and nitrites 0ppm, nitrates less than 5ppm, phosphates 0.

Here are some pictures. Any help is much appreciated.

Congrats on finishing the cycle! From here on you have to be patient with the tank. Because, next up are the ugly stages. Limit water changes to bi-weekly and let the tank build it's environment. If you want to keep adding coral, make sure you have measurable nitrates and phosphates. What are you target feeding now?

 

[TedsReef]

Congrats on finishing the cycle! From here on you have to be patient with the tank. Because, next up are the ugly stages. Limit water changes to bi-weekly and let the tank build it's environment. If you want to keep adding coral, make sure you have measurable nitrates and phosphates. What are you target feeding now?

Thanks! I'm target feeding very small amounts of reef roids to my two coral. One has two polyps that are fully open (and I've seen mass growth on it) and the other has 1 of 4 polyps open. I see what I think is brown hair algae on it near the polyp opening. I tried pulling it off with my fingers but couldn't get it. I'm waiting on tweezers to get here from amazon (turns out I bought them from China so arrival date is Nov 1 - Nov 30...).

Also, I have 4 snails, one of which is a Nassarius. I feed him a small piece of shrimp when I see his tube pop out (it's only happened once so far). I remove the remaining food when he's done with it.

The tank is also seeded with Tisbe pods and I've seen populations growing since I added them (11 days ago). Once a week I will add live phyto the day before a wc.

So I should just hold tight and let it continue? Think I should attempt to seed coralline algae?

 

[Brett newell]

I wouldn't dose anything else. Add a fish or 2 after qt and let it mature.

 

[reeferfoxx]

Thanks! I'm target feeding very small amounts of reef roids to my two coral. One has two polyps that are fully open (and I've seen mass growth on it) and the other has 1 of 4 polyps open. I see what I think is brown hair algae on it near the polyp opening. I tried pulling it off with my fingers but couldn't get it. I'm waiting on tweezers to get here from amazon (turns out I bought them from China so arrival date is Nov 1 - Nov 30...).

Also, I have 4 snails, one of which is a Nassarius. I feed him a small piece of shrimp when I see his tube pop out (it's only happened once so far). I remove the remaining food when he's done with it.

The tank is also seeded with Tisbe pods and I've seen populations growing since I added them (11 days ago). Once a week I will add live phyto the day before a wc.

So I should just hold tight and let it continue? Think I should attempt to seed coralline algae?

Weird growths will come and go. Green, red, brown, hairy or slimy. It will eventually go away but no need to meticulously remove it. Best thing to do is let the tank do its thing. Keep nutrients measurable and maintenance minimal. Your tank is a clean canvas and it needs to grow all kinds of things. Coralline will grow in time with patience and stability. The more we mess with the tank, the more it becomes unstable.

 

[TedsReef]

Weird growths will come and go. Green, red, brown, hairy or slimy. It will eventually go away but no need to meticulously remove it. Best thing to do is let the tank do its thing. Keep nutrients measurable and maintenance minimal. Your tank is a clean canvas and it needs to grow all kinds of things. Coralline will grow in time with patience and stability. The more we mess with the tank, the more it becomes unstable.

Sounds good. Thank you.