Rookie Error Creates Questions

[JNelsonCo]

Hello All,

I have a 36 gallon reef tank that was started February 9. Inventory includes CaribSea live sand, 20 lbs CaribSea Life Rock, 2 Ocellaris, 4 Green Chromis, 1 small Coral Beauty, 5 snails, and 10 soft coral frags from the WWC Tax Craze Sale.

All was going well till I had to go away for two weeks. I purchased a digital light new timer and failed to set it correctly. The lights have been on 24/7 for 16 days?

Result: Algae Palooza, half the corals frags look stressed, especially the 3 montiporas which are white, about 20 small white dots on the glass (see photo), and one small amount of these bubbles on the rock (see photo)

Steps: I had about 1 inch of h2o missing from evaporation And I topped off with fresh water, no salt. I correctly reset the lights to 8 hours per day. It is late now, so tomorrow morning I will titrate the tank, make adjustments as necessary, clean the glass.

Question:
- Is resetting the ligt
- Will the corral survive?
- What are the white dots?
- what are the small bubbles on the rock?
- What should be done about them?

Any other input would be helpful. Thank you for your input.

 

[Phildago]

Woah, first things first. You're going to want to get that wood out.

The white things are Spirorbid worms. Not an issue they'll come and go, but never bother anything.

The corals will be okay as long as everything else is in check

The small bubbles look like bubble algae. Get something to eat the algae and manually remove as much as you can

 

[0utworld]

If the corals aren't dead, they can bounce back given the right conditions. Soft corals especially because they are very hardy. Your montis sound bleached, which is pretty bad but I'd have to see photos of it to be sure.

The white dots are spiroid worms, nonharmful filter feeders.

Small bubbles on the rock are oxygen produced by algae through photosynthesis.

Whatever you do right now, don't make large changes. Your system including your corals are probably acclimated to everything right now. Work towards your goal in small steps. I would definitely start with testing your water parameters, and manually removing some algae.

 

[0utworld]

Woah, first things first. You're going to want to get that wood out.

The white things are Spirorbid worms. Not an issue they'll come and go, but never bother anything.

The corals will be okay as long as everything else is in check

The small bubbles look like bubble algae. Get something to eat the algae and manually remove as much as you can

Isn't that a background

 

[JNelsonCo]

Woah, first things first. You're going to want to get that wood out.

The white things are Spirorbid worms. Not an issue they'll come and go, but never bother anything.

The corals will be okay as long as everything else is in check

The small bubbles look like bubble algae. Get something to eat the algae and manually remove as much as you can

Ok, will do.

The wood is not in the tank. I have had fresh water aquariums for 50 years. It is the backdrop that was on the tank an I just left it. Someday I want to change it but haven’t found the right one yet.

 

[Phildago]

Isn't that a background

Oh, it might be. I honestly can't tell. It looks like it's on top of the rocks to me lol

 

[Phildago]

Ok, will do.

The wood is not in the tank. I have had fresh water aquariums for 50 years. It is the backdrop that was on the tank an I just left it. Someday I want to change it but haven’t found the right one yet.

Oh okay lol. My bad. It doesn't look bad at all, in fact I love your tank setup. I was just startled by wood in a reef, it's a scary idea to me.

Seems like you're on the right track then. Nothing too bad going on right now. The algae is the worst of your worries. So as long as you can keep it under control as the corals grow in the nutrient balance we be easier to maintain.