Okay now what?

[Karah]

So a few months ago I finally made the decision to bring my love for marine life home and try out saltwater. We always had freshwater tanks growing up, but my parents always said saltwater was too difficult. Well, Im 24 and I guess I still have some tendencies to try things simply because my parents said I couldnt do it *giggle*. So I started on the ridiculous and what now seems to be never ending amount of reading up there is to do on marine tanks, then a few weeks ago I got my 55 gal tank setup (thanks Jason!). Got it all up and running and it's been cycling for a few weeks now. The ammonium and nitrites are finally down and the nitrates have spiked, which from what reading I have done, means the cycle is just about done... right??? Anyway, about the time the nitrates began to spike was the same time some small and now growing brownish spots started appearing everywhere. So, question being, is this good? Is it bad? And if so, how do I fix it? Also, at what point would I begin to introduce a cleaning crew, fish, and corals? Thanks in advance for all the help!

 

 

[Dragon Eye]

Brownish spots.... It could be a bacteria bloom or it could be coraline algae. A photo would help better ID what it is. Once everything reaches zero you can add a clean up crew and very slowly add other things like fish and coral.

[Origami]

I'm thinking that you're seeing a bloom of diatoms - a normal part of cycling in such a new tank.

 

Here's something brief I came across for you:

http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatfishblog/2009/02/11/new-tank-syndrome-in-home-aquariums/

[zoozilla]

I'm thinking that you're seeing a bloom of diatoms - a normal part of cycling in such a new tank.

 

Here's something brief I came across for you:

http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatfishblog/2009/02/11/new-tank-syndrome-in-home-aquariums/

 

+1. It's a natural progression. Especially true in younger, less established tanks. Just give your tank more time to cycle.

[armymedic]

same here with the brownish covering i have all over the rock and the sand....but mine is only 5 days old. I expected weeks into it but not days....could it be due to the manual ammonia adding technique ive been using?? thx.

[Karah]

Great info! Thanks guys! And @ armymedic... nice to know I'm not the only newbie with this little question.

As for pictures... I have no camera I know... I know... thats definitely another investment I plan on making for the sake of this hobby. Probably around mid to late October is when I plan on having a little chunk of change to be able to get a nice one (any suggestions? underwater capability? or is that not so important?) and be able to start getting all of the corals I spend hours looking up on the internet every night .

 

On a semi related note, I've also been trying to plan out what types of corals and fish I would like to house. I'm definitely more interested in filling my tank with corals over lots of fish but I have been trying to find a list of a few fish that are compatible with eachother, reef friendly, AND wont grow out of my tank... or at least not do so too quickly. The roadblock I find myself hitting though is the fact that I'm more drawn to the more aggressive breeds of fish that... well... eat other fish if youre not careful. Any suggestions? And please feel free to lmk if I'm completely crazy for wanting a reef and these types of fish in one tank.

[armymedic]

karah,

Welcome to the group session! you will find a number of folks on here that are rocket scientists in this field and are willing to help out.

 

As far as the brown stuff you have does it look anything like this? this is what i have on my tank right now. and i am at day 6~

 

 

My link

[Karah]

Mine is patchier on the sand... but looks about the same on the rock. I also didnt have my lighting on the tank for the first couple of weeks of the cycle and there is little to no natural light in my apartment, so that may be why it didnt come up any sooner like yours has.

[armymedic]

good point. i have been running my lights for a couple hours a day just in case it would help at all.

[Coral Hind]

armymedic,

 

What you pictured is diatoms and as mentioned there is nothing to worry about, almost every new tank gets them.

[armymedic]

cool....thx

[ctenophore]

I like to start new systems by leaving the lights off for the first month. That gives non-photosynthetic organisms a chance to establish before algae can spring up. If I were starting a new system today, I'd use a bacteria concentrate like Microbacter 7 or Prodibio to help establish heterotrophic bacteria populations. These will help outcompete diatoms and cyanobacteria when the lights go on later. Live rock left in the dark will still grow sponges, which are thought to play a central role in reef nutrient cycling. The bacteria concentrates will help the sponges grow even faster than normal. You can still add a few small fish during the no-light startup, but stay away from herbivorous ones (no algae to eat) or obligate crustacean/pod predators like wrasses.

 

Sorry if this sounds overly technical, I just re-read it and it may be a bit lingo-heavy for beginners. Any questions please ask.

 

Justin

[zygote2k]

When you buy clean up crew, make sure you just get a few hermits- maybe less than 10 and get more varieties of snails. Son't worry about a sand star or a fighting conch until much later down the road- they'll probably starve in a new tank.

[Karah]

Checked my water parameters today and I believe the cycle is FINALLY over! pH is 8.2 and the Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates are all reading zero... Oh and those diatoms have really taken over...

[lanman]

Even before you ask... you will soon see little things that look like star constellations on the glass - quite small. Normal! Then you will see little white specks on glass and rocks. Normal!

 

The Diatom bloom will probably only last a week or so. Start ramping your lights up to a normal 'day', if they aren't already. Get a good cleanup crew running, and a fish or two - and start enjoying the tank!

 

Welcome to the hobby, Karah - and nice to meet you at Steve's yesterday!

 

bob

[Karah]

Yep! Seeing the small white stars and spots... both only as of today. but I think Ive officially run into my first real problem with my tank... the plumbing from the return pump has got a very slow leak Oh well... Two steps forward, one step back. I definitely didnt expect to get off to a flawless start in this hobby so its actually going more smoothly than expected. And it was great meeting you too Bob!