28gal nano cube hqi temp and algae

[Plumbum1984]

My tank has been up and running for 12 days today my temp flexes from 78 in the morning to 80 at night with 7 hours of light is that to warm or to much of a flex and could that be the reason for all of the long hair green algae and brown...pet store told me to get some hermit crabs to cut down on the algae seems to be working but all of the algae is ending up on my sand bed crabs have been in for 48 hours and seem to be doing fine should I add more of a clean up crew ( turbo snail) I don't know all of my water levels are perfect please help...

 

[carey]

You aren't cycled yet so I wouldnt add any more live crew to your tank. Do you have a test kit for your water? You will definitely need one to get your tank cycled properly.

 

[Plumbum1984]

Yes I do have a test kit ph, ammonia and no2 and no3 is all perfect, is there any thing else I should concern ,,. Do you think 80 at night is to warm

 

[carey]

I keep my sw tank at 80 but I've been told I should keep it at like 78.

Do you test for nitrates? It's really rare a tank can cycle in 12 days or less is the only reason i ask. You should have some reading on the nitrates. Specially if you just finished cycling.
Just my opinion though, someone else will come along I bet.

 

[iDream]

A 2 degree temp fluctuation is fine. I suggest you try to cut your lighting time in half, and feed only once every 2 days

 

[Plumbum1984]

Yea I was thinking about cutting the light back to 4 hours a day but would that be ok for the crabs,, and the guy at the pet store told me that I don't need to feed the crabs that they will live off of the algae till I start adding fish but it's hard to beleave what anyone says because I've herd so many different things

 

[iDream]

Yeah you don't need the light for anything unless you have corals, I see obviously you have a 28G nanocube. How long has it been up and what's your CUC consisting of right now?

 

[Plumbum1984]

Up and going for 12 days,, I only have 12 hermit crabs only to cut down on the algae.. But I don't under stand the hole cycle thing when my ph and ammonia ect is good.. Am I cycled and should I be feeding my crabs or will they live off the algae

 

[Plumbum1984]

Check out my pics under plumbum1984

 

[iDream]

They'll clean up detritus. 12 days you say? That doesn't sound like long enough for a cycle. Can you give us numerical test results? How did you cycle it if you think you cycled it? You should have seen a spike and drop in ammonia, then a spike and drop in ammonia, then 0ppm for each and have some reading of nitrates.

 

[Plumbum1984]

Ok my ph is 8.4,ammonia 0.25 ppm,nitrite 0, nitrate 0, salt is 1.026

 

[Plumbum1984]

Not bad for a rookie??

 

[needmorecowbell]

Not bad for a rookie??

It looks nice! Those Holes in the rock look big enough to put frags in

 

[Plumbum1984]

It looks nice! Those Holes in the rock look big enough to put frags in

Oh yea I can't wait I'll give it a few more weeks to see if every thing works out and I'll put one in just for the **** of it but I'll tell you what it's only been 12 days and I swear I can't keep my eyes off of it but the funny thing is my ol lady couldn't even tell ya that there is even a crab in it and it in our living room lol WTF

 

[needmorecowbell]

Haha ya, you should get some pulsing Xenia, I love that stuff. It would add life to the tank IMO. Also some blue ricordea makes it pretty too.

 

[Plumbum1984]

Haha ya, you should get some pulsing Xenia, I love that stuff. It would add life to the tank IMO. Also some blue ricordea makes it pretty too.

Thanks I will have to check it out... How long should I wait before I even bother

 

[needmorecowbell]

Until you get good steady param. If you wanted to start a little early go with mushroom coral.. They live through a lot.

 

[Taco]

I have a 28g nanocube LEDpro and it runs hot too. If you put a small fan on the back open area it will drop the temp to 77/78 round the clock.
I got the jbj nanozip uv light and it works great for algae.
I've had mine for prob 2 months and only have some damsels, on sandwiched starfish and a red nobby looking starfish. Going to add some inverts soon.
I set my tank up similar to your layout so keep me posted I am new too!
-j

 

[0o.Kelsey.o0]

I have the exact same tank, mine also over heats, all i do is stick something in the lid so it stays open a crack, i also leave the feeding lid open. My heater is set to 75 but i don't think it ever really gets used since the tank is at about 77-78 during the day and 76 at night. I would take the filter out of the back as well, i just got rid of mine since it gathers so much gunk, which increases the algae growth. I replaced mine with some broken up base rock.

You can black out the tank completely for a couple days and that will kill the algae. You don't have anything in there besides the crabs so everything will be fine. Just do a large water change after the blackout since all that algae will have died. Blackout means absolutely no light for the tank, cover it with a blanket or something to ensure this.

 

[Plumbum1984]

Yea the fan works really well blowing across the back of the tank keeps it at about 78 but I don't understand why I would take out the filter when the carbon is what gets rid of the fishy smell as well as the sponge helps to clear out all of the floating stuff on top of the water, another thing I don't understand why dose my salt level keep going up and yes I only use fresh water to top off my tank and could that be the reason I lost two of my hermit crabs my salt was 1.029