New tank, Ugly stage algae?

[ASIN28]

Hey all,

It’s been a while since I set up a new tank I have this 32 AIO all cycled and running for 2 months now. Started the tank with complete dry Marco rock, Carib Sea Special Grade live sand. Running filter floss, marine pure bio balls, and I added chemi pure not sure if I should have done that or not this soon. I Do weekly 10% water change. I know I am going to go through the ugly stage and I’m here for the ride, however this is getting a little out of hand and seems to be something different. What does this look like? It’s a red/brown. Cyano? Should I act or just let it ride.
Ammonia 0
PH 8.2
Alk 8.0
PO4- 0
Nitrate 0

I know nitrate and phosphate have to come up I’ve been feeding extra and if need be I will dose.

What do you think? Should I act or just let it do it’s thing?

 

[BairCorals]

Yeah I wouldn't run the chemi pure until you need to. With 0 po4 and nitrates you're bound to get dinos and cyano. I'd let it do its thing and get the chemi pure out for now and keep the lights off since you don't have corals

 

[ASIN28]

Yeah I wouldn't run the chemi pure until you need to. With 0 po4 and nitrates you're bound to get dinos and cyano. I'd let it do its thing and get the chemi pure out for now and keep the lights off since you don't have corals

You think I should hold off on weekly water changes for now too?

 

[slingfox]

Looks like cyano and/or dinos. Only way to clearly ID is with a microscope. Red color suggests at least some cyano there.

 

[BairCorals]

You think I should hold off on weekly water changes for now too?

Absolutely! I never do water changes while a tank cycles or has no/ undetectable nutrients. Do you have any fish in there yet? If no I'd throw a pair of clowns in there and get it going for sure. And probably add some hermits and snails. That way you'll get some nitrates and phosphates going and could help the tank level out

 

[BairCorals]

Looks like cyano and/or dinos. Only way to clearly ID is with a microscope. Red color suggests at least some cyano there.

Yeah im leaning toward cyano as well

 

[ASIN28]

Absolutely! I never do water changes while a tank cycles or has no/ undetectable nutrients. Do you have any fish in there yet? If no I'd throw a pair of clowns in there and get it going for sure. And probably add some hermits and snails. That way you'll get some nitrates and phosphates going and could help the tank level out

The tank has been cycled for over a month already. Yes I have 2 clowns, YWG/ Pistol, which were transferred from a 13.5, and I also have a full clean up crew made up of snails and hermits! I’ll hold off on the water changes which I should have known to do, and I’m gonna go pick up another fish to help add some nitrate

 

[BairCorals]

Eh I wouldn't worry about adding another fish then. I'd just feed more and see where that takes you. I mean unless you find yourself a royal grama that just needs a home! Wish mine would come out more...
Anyways yeah I'd stop the wc until you see your nitrates get to where you want them then start back on your wc schedule and running chemi pure again if that's what you'd like to do

 

[ASIN28]

Update: I did another 3 day blackout a month ago, stopped water changes and cyano cleared up nicely. Until this week it bloomed again and it’s coming full force. Still not doing water changes. PO4 still 0, Nitrates 1.2
Can I do a chemiclean treatment to clean this up without doing any other harm?
Thanks

 

[BairCorals]

I have used chemiclean with no issues for sure. Wouldn't be a bad idea to add some bottle bacteria in after you finish up the treatment. Don't forget to put an airstone in as chemiclean will bring your ph down. Point your powerheads up to get a good amount of surface agitation and watch your skimmer. I just pull the cup off and let it overflow back into the sump for more air exchange.
Hope your tank comes back around soon!

 

[Lavey29]

Update: I did another 3 day blackout a month ago, stopped water changes and cyano cleared up nicely. Until this week it bloomed again and it’s coming full force. Still not doing water changes. PO4 still 0, Nitrates 1.2
Can I do a chemiclean treatment to clean this up without doing any other harm?
Thanks

Your going to be experiencing various ugly phases over the course of the first year. Your nutrient levels are bottomed out which opens the door even wider for the uglies to take over. Dosing chemiclean in a new tank with a barely developing biome is a terrible idea. It will kill what little good bacteria you have now. Focus on fundamentals, weekly water changes with sand siphon, get you nutrients up, reduce lights for a few weeks to 6 hours with blue and uv only no white. Get a diverse cleaner crew. Dose good bacteria weekly like PNS probio which is a natural heterotrophic bacteria that eliminates organic waste. Dose pods.

 

[crabgrass]

If you don’t have any corals, just keep the lights off for a bit. The fish don’t need it. If you want light on (before you add coral), just pick a good LPs lighting level and ramp up over 30 days.

It’s tough to not want to blast the lights. Trust me I didn’t listen either and am dealing with issues 20 months later.

And as others said no chemiclean for now. Save that for when your down the road and stocked with corals and lights off is less of an option (even then they can survive a 4 day blackout).