Emergency fish in cycle+ so much algae.

[Parkerbenz]

I recently had to move all of my fish and coral frags into a new tank, from a 75g to a 46g bowfront. 60lbs of live sand, , 50lbs of dry rock, and new HOB filters (aquaclear 110 and a tidal 110)

Seeded with one pound of live rock and a couple pounds of live sand from a trusted, well established fish tank.

List of fish:
Yellow tang
2 yellowtail damsel fish
2 ocellaris clowns
Canary wrasse
Fire shrimp
2 peppermint shrimp


I have been dosing prime every day, and feeding less than I normally would. On day 3 I saw my coral frags (which have been temporarily set in the sand at the front of the aquarium) started to turn the sand around them brown. I had a diatom/silicate problem in my last tank, which is probably the cause. Today, the diatoms have bloomed and have spread to the glass, and the rock. Are there any methods to reduce diatoms without water changes? Or is this normal for a cycling tank?

 

[Parkerbenz]

Also, I have some slimey algae that has covered some of the sand, and produces air bubbles that are trapped in the algae. I did not have any issues like this in my last tank, so I hope it is not dinos...

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

The tank is cycled or you s have ammonia.

It’s an ugly phase.

If you leave it it’ll pass.

 

[marlinmon]

Water parameters?

 

[Parkerbenz]

Water parameters?

Give me a few minutes to test, my ammonia alert still says that ammonia is below .02ppm

 

[Parkerbenz]

Ph: 7.8
Nitrite: 0.1ppm
Nitrate: 2-5ppm
Ammonia: 0ppm(tested twice)
Alk: 8dkh

 

[Halal Hotdog]

When things get ugly that is not necessarily a bad thing. As long as ammonia stays at 0 and nitrites end up at 0 you will be fine. 50 lbs of dry rock is a lot, do everything you can to keep things alive and it will all balance out eventually. You may want to add a few of the bacteria in a bottle to help the dry rock get to where it needs to be, but may not be necessary with the live sand.

 

[Parkerbenz]

When things get ugly that is not necessarily a bad thing. As long as ammonia stays at 0 and nitrites end up at 0 you will be fine. 50 lbs of dry rock is a lot, do everything you can to keep things alive and it will all balance out eventually. You may want to add a few of the bacteria in a bottle to help the dry rock get to where it needs to be, but may not be necessary with the live sand.

Will do, im using the prime to keep the fish safe. The real live sand and live rock I got from a friend should help I would think. I dont mind the algae, just want to make sure it wont harm anything during the cycle. Where can I get that bacteria?

 

[Halal Hotdog]

Will do, im using the prime to keep the fish safe. The real live sand and live rock I got from a friend should help I would think. I dont mind the algae, just want to make sure it wont harm anything during the cycle. Where can I get that bacteria?

I'm not sure if they will really benefit you seeing as you have life already in the sand, but BRS sells it. Can't hurt getting a diverse population of bacteria.

https://aquarium.bulkreefsupply.com/search?w=Bacteria&asug=

 

[Parkerbenz]

I'm not sure if they will really benefit you seeing as you have life already in the sand, but BRS sells it. Can't hurt getting a diverse population of bacteria.

https://aquarium.bulkreefsupply.com/search?w=Bacteria&asug=

Thanks, isnt it a little weird that I tested 0 ammonia and a bit of nitrate? My seachem ammonia alert said I was in the “alarm” stage for about a day. The tank hasnt even been up for a week...

 

[Halal Hotdog]

The dry rock could be leaching off decaying matter and your biological filtration might not be able to keep up. I have found the ammonia alert badges to be pretty accurate until they get to the end of their life. If it showed high ammonia then went back to safe then it is probably working correctly. When it gets stuck on one color without changing is usually time to replace.

 

[Parkerbenz]

The dry rock could be leaching off decaying matter and your biological filtration might not be able to keep up. I have found the ammonia alert badges to be pretty accurate until they get to the end of their life. If it showed high ammonia then went back to safe then it is probably working correctly. When it gets stuck on one color without changing is usually time to replace.

The dry rock I got is suprisingly clean. Just a few things that I noticed wasnt rock, so I removed that. The ammonia alert is only a week old, im glad to hear that it sounds like they do actually work, I was pretty skeptical! For filtration I plan on adding a 20l sump (with another 10g tank to hold extra volume). For now I am just using an aquaclear 110 (with carbon), and a tidal 110, (with Matrix) and if needed I can run something in a media reactor I just picked up.