Need Assistance

[ReefRob]

I have a 40 gallon FOWLR tank (tank is one month old - live rock is three weeks in the tank, bought it wet). I have gradually added fish, 5 total. 2 clowns, 1 damsel, 1 blue tang (added yesterday - very small one...yeah I know it will grow), and 1 royal gramma. Also 5 hermit crabs, one cleaner shrimp and one crab (large red claw). So after having the water tested at the LFS the water is good, however, the owner says the tank is almost though a cycle and is almost done?/! OK.

After having 150- watts of light (new Jebo light) above the tank for 3 days now, I now have brown algae on half of my live rock and some substrate (crushed coral). Now What?????

Do I do a partial water change? Do I buy 5 more hermit crabs to assist the other 5 who are doing their best? Do I do nothing? I have already cut the lights from 12 hours to 6 hours a day beginning today.

Any ideas? I am also adding a drop every two days to the tank of Phyto Max the past 8 days. Could this be a cause? Could too much fish food be a cause? I use one cube of frozen brine shrimp a day - half in AM and half in PM.

ALso I have a the stock JEBO trickle powerhead filter on the back/top of tank and an Eheim filter. Should I remove the medium from either filter system?

Any ideas?

 

[melosu58]

Welcome to AA. Before you do anything else read this

Cycle your salt tank

Dont add anything else live to your tank till your cycle is over and you do a 33% PWC. That tang needs to be in a tank twice that size. I `m thinking that the brown algea is diatoms. is it brown and powdery. Usually it will go away in a short period of time. Are you using tap water? Just some of my thoughts.

 

[Sadielynn]

excess nutrients and incomplete cycling ... I agree with everything mel said ... I would consider taking the fish back esp the tang

 

[thincat]

Why do LFS's try to push live fish onto new tanks? They say they Know saltwater tanks or do they just want to make a sale. Almost done cycling is like saying i almost servived drowning. You have nothing in your tank that needs Phyto Max and that will only pollute your tank more then it needs to at this time in it's life cycle. Go slow, wait until your tank is completely cycled. Then and only then should you add any animals to your tank. All this jumping the gun going to do is kill everything in your tank. Just go slow.....

 

[Sadielynn]

Why do LFS's try to push live fish onto new tanks? They say they Know saltwater tanks or do they just want to make a sale. Almost done cycling is like saying i almost servived drowning. You have nothing in your tank that needs Phyto Max and that will only pollute your tank more then it needs to at this time in it's life cycle. Go slow, wait until your tank is completely cycled. Then and only then should you add any animals to your tank. All this jumping the gun going to do is kill everything in your tank. Just go slow.....

It is a money maker ! They have a bottom line , the fish dies they figure the person is too dumb to research for the answer , thus another sale , however to come looking for answers is a step in the right direction !
I now will take on our pet stores here locally and will burn them in the end with knowledge !! Sell me something at a moment of weakness (we all have that syndrome admit it ) or misguide me you will loose , I will return the coral to die in their system but I wont come back or make a stink of going on line for stuff !! They hate that because it = lost sales ...

 

[ReefRob]

I did use tap water to start the tank...was going to change water using ocean water...Should I change water? what percent?

 

[thincat]

Just do normal weekly or bi-weekly 20-30% water change either with NS water or made up water same thing... Be careful where you get your sea water from our coastline is pretty polluted.
PS:Sadielynn thanks for the reality check.

 

[ReefRob]

Thanks

I just made a 30% change with water from "Catalina Island." LFS says the diatoms will go away. I had my water tested there as well. All looks good. Ammonia is almost 0. Nitrite is good.

Well I hope the brown stuff, diatoms? goes away.

Thanks,
Rob

p.s. LFS tried to sell me some anti algae chems. I passed.

 

[ReefRob]

What protein skimmer would best work for a 40 gallon minireef tank for the lowest price?

Im looking at several including the Red Sea Prizm protein skimmer which i can find for only $70 and looks generally good, but i cant find any reviews. I do not know how keen I will be on changing water every two weeks.

 

[thincat]

Once every two weeks is the minimum that I would recommend changing water in a SW tank. It will be easy, 40 is such a small tank anyway.
As far as a skimmer you get what you pay for.

 

[Sadielynn]

Look into the aqua c or look around on some forums there is always a good deal of stuff being thrown up on for sales ..the red sea does not have good ratings from what I have read ...
If you want you can do a larger change say 40% -50% monthly if you must go with out changing out water , it is a bum part of it but it gives you a chance to inspect things and to remove things that are there and you do not want ...Catalina water is fine and will not hurt the tank but the diatoms will still take time to burn out and go away
The diatoms are usually due to a new tank and will burn out as the nutrients are used up and gone ... they will go as quickly as they came ... HTH