sand sifting fish or star?

[hackteck]

well ive been up and running cycled now and now i'm starting to get diatom algae, what kind of fish or star could i get to get rid of it on my sand bed before it gets unsightly?

[tripper]

Diatoms are just part of the cycle. After your cycle is complete, the diatoms will burn themselves out. Usually takes about a week or two. I wouldn't be too concerned. However, after you cycle is done you can get a fish in there and start stocking, just take it slooowwwww. You might also want to get a cleanup crew in there to start keeping things in check. A good mixture of hermit crabs and snails would be a good start.

tripper

[hackteck]

i already have a cleanup crew and my tank is already cycled everthings 0 except trates which are 10

[tripper]

Oh, well in that case you should be all set to add fish. I wouldn't be too concerned with the diatoms, but if you want to get a star that will help, I would suggest a brittle star. They should help with cleaning the diatoms on the sand bed and on your LR.

As far as fish go, there is nothing that's really going to touch diatoms, but you can add a hardy fish at any time now.

tripper

[hackteck]

should i wait a few more weeks to add a star not really for the diatoms but to add some diversity to my tank or would it be best to wait?

[melosu58]

My suggestion would be a sand sifting goby. A dragon goby or diamond goby or watchman. There are several types that will not only take care of diatoms but will keep sand moving so as not to give algea a foothold.

[hackteck]

what do goby's eat? dont want anything thats hard to feed

[Brenden]

Anything that drifts past them.

[hackteck]

what about one of these?, keep in mind i want to get corals in the next couple months after my tank has matured, so i dont want to get anything that will bother or eat any corals. are these ok also i have a cleanup crew right now various snails and crabs and 1 clown fish

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...cfm?pCatId=572

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...pcatid=216&N=0

[mwrmma]

hey hackteck, just wondering how long it took for your tank to completely cycle? i'm assuming you did the fishless cycle with LR. i just got my 90 full of LR and i'm waiting for a cycle to occur. ( Just a little impatient, but i guess everyone is at first)
good luck!

[hackteck]

yes i did the fishless cycle, it took me about 7-9 days, ive been cycled for about 2 weeks, ive got a cleanup crew and 1 clown fish in there, everythings still 0 except nitrates which are around 10. i had a pretty quick cyle i guess because my lr was cured already and i also had ls

[mwrmma]

did you put in any shrimp or anything? how many lbs of lr and ls did you add? i put the lr in on last friday and still no sign of a cycle, but i'm assuming the die off will create a cycle sooner or later. i put in 45 lbs of fiji premium select, and 10 lbs of rubble and a 2.5 lb piece from a lfs. hopefully i'll see something soon. what do you think?

[Brenden]

If you have not seen any NH3 yet I would throw in a shrimp. Sounds like you did not have enough die off to start the cycle.

[hackteck]

i had 80 lbs of lr and 60 lbs of ls and yes i added a shrimp also size is your tank?

[mwrmma]

ok, i'll do that tomorrow. also, i am using a FW test kit, which i would think would still show the nh3 in a sw tank. we'll see what happens this weekend. 90 gal tank
thanks!

[hackteck]

better to use a test specificly for sw or one that does both fw and sw