brown algae in refuge

[Gomer4378]

my tank isnt fully cycled yet but my refuge seems to have started growing some brown algae and I was wondering if I need to do something about it or not.
I'm very new to this so everytime I see something new I'm wondering if it's good or bad.

I hope these pics show it clear enough.
It only appears to be on a few rocks and the glass right along that left side.

 

[melosu58]

Just looks like diatoms to me.

 

[Lmg108]

Just looks like diatoms to me.

Yep, just a 'diatom bloom'...congrats your in the last stage of your cylcle It will start going away on its own. Vac your sand when you do your next PWC, it wont hurt nothing, just a nuissence

 

[Gomer4378]

Another quick Q.
In my refuge I have 2" of ls on top of 2" of mud and tossed all my lr rubble on top of that. I don't like the way it looks.
Can I put all the lr rubble in the return chamber?
I'll just leave the sand and algae in the refuge.

Will that cause any problems down the road?

and,
do I need a sponge in the baffle between the refuge and return chamber?

 

[Lmg108]

Another quick Q.
In my refuge I have 2" of ls on top of 2" of mud and tossed all my lr rubble on top of that. I don't like the way it looks.
Can I put all the lr rubble in the return chamber?
I'll just leave the sand and algae in the refuge.

Will that cause any problems down the road?

and,
do I need a sponge in the baffle between the refuge and return chamber?

What does it matter what it looks like? Your sump is hidden anyway. Personally I just have about 30 lbs of LR in mine.

 

[pat8you]

the live rock in your return chamber shouldn't be a problem. It's a little better to keep in your fuge just because then it will give a bit more shelter for pods to hang out and reproduce amongst the macro. Either way its not a big deal.

I would take out the sponge personally. They collect a lot of funk and then usually become a source of nitrates. If you decide to keep it in there make sure you clean or change it once a week. I would suggest just putting it in there every couple of weeks for a few days and then taking it back out. It will clean out larger particles in the water and polish things up a bit.

 

[Gomer4378]

That's a good reason to pull the sponge, the main reason I put them in there was it's a small sump (15 gal) and the micro bubbles where making it through the refuge and into the return.
Is there any other way to stop the bubbles?