Algae in a new set up?!?!

[ff.rice]

Hello all, I've had my tank set up and running now for about 3 weeks.... Everything has been going well, but tonight I noticed that I am starting to get some algae on the glass and also what looks to be algae on top of the sand in my sump. I was wondering if this is normal?!?! I am new to saltwater..... A little run down on what I'm running..... I have a 30 gallon tank with a 10 gallon sump devided into three sections, the first I have bio balls that came with the tank, middle I have 10# of live sand and about 3-4# of live rock, and third is just the return pump. In my DT I don't have anything in it yet. I am also running a HOB filter just for the extra filtration. I have a maxi jet 1200 in the tank also. I do not have test results yet, my API test kit is on the way so hopefully soon I can have some readings! In the next week or so I plan to put more live sand in my DT along with more live rock. I'm hoping this algae is just a bloom and normal during the cycle and that it will clear up but I was wondering if I should try to keep it off of the glass? Or leave it alone and let it do its thing? Any other suggestions are certainly welcome as well!! Thanx

 

[Daviddes]

It's just the tank cycling, the brown Rubbish should go away in about 3 weeks, just do 20% water changers every week, my tank has just cleared from the same stuff and everything is still alive and well.

 

[Ando77]

Did you use RO water? And are you running a phosphate reactor to help this?

 

[ff.rice]

The water I used was supposed to be RO but I'm skeptical..... But either way I don't have a RO/DI system yet so I'm unsure..... I will do the water changes and hopefully it will clear up! Should I try to keep it off of the glass ? Or leave that alone too? Should I put a cheap starter fish in?

 

[furrymurray]

It looks like diatom algae. Google diatoms and check if its the algae you have. Perfectly normal in a recently cycled tank. Usually clears up in a couple of weeks. Yours looks like it is just starting. May get worse before it gets better.

 

[ff.rice]

Ok..... It got worse.... And it looks exactly like diatoms..... I think I'm going to have to find a new source for RO/DI until I can get my own system! My question now is do I leave it on the glass (will it go away)? Or do I clean it off and let the filter help?!?!

 

[furrymurray]

Mag floats work great at getting this off the glass. You can also use a turkey baster to help blow it off the rocks. It will probably come back until all the silicate are used up it your system. But you can at least try to get the filter system to catch some of it

 

[ff.rice]

Awesome..... Thanx!!!!

 

[Gregcoyote]

If you can remove it, that's best. Just blowing it around doesn't help, the selenium and organics are still present and algae will re grow faster and faster. Removing the pollutants is the only long term way to go, either chemically, algae scrubber, direct removal (protein skimmer) or biological filtration. Or usually a combination of them. Not sure the bio balls are good for you, might want to replace them with live rock.

 

[ff.rice]

If you can remove it, that's best. Just blowing it around doesn't help, the selenium and organics are still present and algae will re grow faster and faster. Removing the pollutants is the only long term way to go, either chemically, algae scrubber, direct removal (protein skimmer) or biological filtration. Or usually a combination of them. Not sure the bio balls are good for you, might want to replace them with live rock.

The bio balls are in the first section..... I have live rock and live sand in the second section of the sump and just put those in there to help filter a little...... The original owner of this tank had them and only them in the sump tank, so I figured they wouldn't hurt.

 

[Gregcoyote]

They can become a nitrogen source once they clog up.

 

[ff.rice]

They can become a nitrogen source once they clog up.

Good to know! Is this something I should take care of right away? Or should I wait until the tank is cycled and established?!?! It's only been running for about 3 weeks.

 

[mr_X]

If it's not cycled, you should not be running the lights. During the cycle, the water is loaded with nutrients. This plus light equals trouble. I would turn out the lights while it's cycling and be patient.
No starter fish are necessary, and once the tank is cycled and if they made it through, they may cause you grief down the road and are very hard to catch (I'm assuming damsels).

 

[ff.rice]

If it's not cycled, you should not be running the lights. During the cycle, the water is loaded with nutrients. This plus light equals trouble. I would turn out the lights while it's cycling and be patient.
No starter fish are necessary, and once the tank is cycled and if they made it through, they may cause you grief down the road and are very hard to catch (I'm assuming damsels).

I don't have any fish, and had decided against getting any..... But had no idea about the lights! So lights out huh?!?!

 

[mr_X]

Well, what are you looking at that you need the lights on? The algae?
Yes, shut them off for now.

 

[ff.rice]

Well, what are you looking at that you need the lights on? The algae?
Yes, shut them off for now.

Hahaha..... No I'm not using it to look at..... I thought and was told by somebody that the tank needed the lights cycled on for 8 hours a day for the good algae and bacteria..... Good to know! So no lights for the live rock and live sand in the sump either?!?!

 

[Gregcoyote]

No lights needed. The cycle happens without it. The bio balls aren't any emergency.

 

[ff.rice]

Thanx everybody!!!! I learned a lot with this thread.... Glad I put it out there! You all are so knowledgable and helpful!