New tank getting algae

[aquaman05]

Hello, so I purchased a used tank and was able to keep the old filter media and about 20lbs of the old sand. Once I got home I put some more live sand in and dry rock I had from previous tank. Tank has been running for about 4 weeks now. I've been testing my water every other day. Ph- 7.8. Ammonia-0, nitrite-0,nitrate-has been about 20-30 range. Salinity 1.025 and temp Is 76. Everything has tested the same the whole time except the nitrates changed A little. I added a few hermits last week and today I added 2 emerald crabs and a clown fish. I'm getting the diatom bloom but I'm also getting algae all over everything, green on glass and kinda stringy on rocks and sand.
Running chateo and ruble on one side of built in filter and floss purigen on the other.
I'll try to post pictures of the algae so you guys can tell me what you think. Thanks for any help and sorry for the long post

 

[aquaman05]

Sorry picture sucks, I can try to get more tomorrow

 

[Billldg]

That really looks like new tank uglies. It doesn't matter if its a new tank, or a old tank that was purchased and moved and set back up, you will likely go thru the new tank uglies either way. Hopefully with it being a tank that was setup beforehand, the uglies will last much shorter than usual. I recently set up a 40b with purchased live rock and still went thru the uglies getting ready for my upgrade.

 

[LegendaryCG]

Old sand is probably loaded with excess nutrients, might want to clean it good.

 

[aquaman05]

I mixed it with my new sand to help.seed my tank is what I was thinking ?

 

[Jekyl]

Give the sand a good vacuuming during water changes. Ugly phase can't be avoided.

 

[fugetaboutit05]

Hello, so I purchased a used tank and was able to keep the old filter media and about 20lbs of the old sand. Once I got home I put some more live sand in and dry rock I had from previous tank. Tank has been running for about 4 weeks now. I've been testing my water every other day. Ph- 7.8. Ammonia-0, nitrite-0,nitrate-has been about 20-30 range. Salinity 1.025 and temp Is 76. Everything has tested the same the whole time except the nitrates changed A little. I added a few hermits last week and today I added 2 emerald crabs and a clown fish. I'm getting the diatom bloom but I'm also getting algae all over everything, green on glass and kinda stringy on rocks and sand.
Running chateo and ruble on one side of built in filter and floss purigen on the other.
I'll try to post pictures of the algae so you guys can tell me what you think. Thanks for any help and sorry for the long post

I set up my reef tank several weeks ago as well, got 2 Algae blooms, green and brown. Did my homework and found that snails were the remedy to the “new tank uglies”. Depending on the size of your tank get a handful of a mix of trochus, astrea, and turbo snails. Your hermits will help but they are slow to help clean algae blooms.

My snails come out at night when the blue lights come on and go to WORK lol... did a phenomenal job on my rock work, and they are working on the glass.

 

[Dkmoo]

Normal, keep up with husbandry and manual removal. Will go thru a few of these ugly phases until tank naturally matures and stablizes.

Be patient avoid any "quick bottle fixes" which may solve yiur short term issue but will not help you achieve tank maturity so problem will always come back. Can take up to 1 year to naturally mature.

 

[aquaman05]

Should I leave my light off ? Seems to be getting worse. I hate to have a major algae issue this early on...

 

[Jekyl]

Welcome to new tank uglies. Keep up on water changes, remove as much algae as you can in the process. Don't over feed. Get a skimmer. Otherwise you're just along for the ride now

 

[brandon429]

the tank needs rip cleaned, all sand rinsed in tap water, then RO, then put back with clean rocks set on top. If you want to draw off and use the same water you can, but if you don't rip clean this you've increased the aging of the tank tenfold by moving over the old waste.

*old rules didn't know how to rinse sand and skip cycle so what you did is normal, there's just an updated and better way. here's two direct examples with every detail logged till outcome.

Algae Identification

Any opinions on what type of algae this is growing on my rocks and sand bed?

www.reef2reef.com

it wouldn't be possible to find a negative aspect in the recommend after seeing that work. only going off the description alone and not seeing the thread could lend a negative connotation


there is nothing shy of that action that will work better, its literally indicated here above all else due to certain details we can see in the pics.

you have a new tank, it needs to look new and not aged, that way you can ride out the aging process uninvaded. Your tank will not self correct from the above condition, full eutrophication is setting in. See this thread when you study the one above.

Old tank syndrome is vanquished in reefing now

the cause of old tank syndrome is compounding whole waste particles that blanket the interstitial sand grain zones and plug up the channels in live rocks- in some cases it's sheer overgrowth allowed from various invasions that plugs up the surface area on live rock combined with a thin veneer of...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[ScottB]

Should I leave my light off ? Seems to be getting worse. I hate to have a major algae issue this early on...

Don't hate on algae in a new setup. That is what is supposed to happen.

Hate on algae all you want when the biome is mature 12-18 months.

Can't hurt to measure NO3 and PO4, but in the beginning your nutrients are going to be all over the place.

 

[xrouter]

It would be weird if you didn't get a bloom. It just happens and you have to live with it and it will slowly go away as the tank ages. There are good measures you cant take to stop it going crazy like turning the light off longer if you don't need them (no corals?), making sure you have a good CuC and keeping your feeding low. Get as much out as you can by hand and try not to get down about it, it will pass.

What is not good is just turning the lights off for a few weeks, seeing it all go away and then turning them back on and having a bloom again when actually you need the algae to burn through whatever is driving it and get to the point where your CuC can manage it, it just takes time. The key is don't go adding any corals if you haven't already because then you have to worry about it effecting them. Get the tank stable first.

 

[Jekyl]

It would be weird if you didn't get a bloom. It just happens and you have to live with it and it will slowly go away as the tank ages. There are good measures you cant take to stop it going crazy like turning the light off longer if you don't need them (no corals?), making sure you have a good CuC and keeping your feeding low. Get as much out as you can by hand and try not to get down about it, it will pass.

What is not good is just turning the lights off for a few weeks, seeing it all go away and then turning them back on and having a bloom again when actually you need the algae to burn through whatever is driving it and get to the point where your CuC can manage it, it just takes time. The key is don't go adding any corals if you haven't already because then you have to worry about it effecting them. Get the tank stable first.

+1

 

[brandon429]

also pls do not take offense at your thread being studied its strictly the reef system we are studying because your pics landed during a time when the discussion of tank aging runs high.

If you'll notice compared to real reef pictures, your tank looks like a real reef. its not in bad shape, real reefs have grazer feed that is produced by waters in good standing, not bad params.

real reefs grow algae. this setting above is ideal for fish to control, and inverts, but what we're discussing is how their full waste loading in addition to current measures presents a finite run time.

by de-aging the tank, instating full control and no clouding from rocks and sand, you de-age it and allow months and months of conversion waste by animals that strip the algae off rocks saving your work, or storage space for chemical additions that directly kill the algae.

there are for sure doser option, param changing options, light starving, twenty ways to kill algae but in the end the sand is either adding or subtracting waste, its never at a neutral in reefing.

hope you are cool with deep-sciencing your post we do that occasionally its a friendly welcome and you've bought a -fantastic- reef, you simply get to choose what age you start with

b

 

[aquaman05]

I put my skimmer in tonight, maybe that will help. I have a radion light running one of the coral cycles. It's on about 9 hrs a day. So far I just have a clown and a small clean up crew. I wanted to add another clown but I'm thinking I should wait this out.
Thanks for all the advice on this matter, I really appreciate all your input!!

 

[fugetaboutit05]

Should I leave my light off ? Seems to be getting worse. I hate to have a major algae issue this early on...

With the inhabitants that you said you had, nothing is going to “require” light to survive if you shut down for a day or 2.

I have 2 anemones in my tank, so a “blackout term” wasn’t an option for me. But without coral/reef, anemones, or light sensitive inhabitants, a temporary black out will help. But i promise you, snails help. I didnt get them in the beginning because I do not like the look of them on the glass or just hanging around. I have 14 snails of a mix in a 55 gal display, and i barely see them during the day now. If i do, they are just hanging out on a rock formation. They don’t look bad at all.

During the first few days i saw them a lot, but they were doing what needed to be done. Cleaning the algae blooms.after that they hide and come out at night.