200L juwel FOWLR tank w sump and protein skimmer

[Ramylawand]

So I've been running my 180 L tank with about 20 KG of LR for the past 2 weeks. The setup is a protein skimmer inside the sump, 2 power heads, ceramic, and live sand bed (photo attached)

The water was half from the LFS and half tap water.(tap water in Dubai is phosphate free).

I have a few clarifications, is the brown green stuff what is called a diatom bloom? It's all over the tank and most concentrated on the sand bed...
There are different opinions on what to put in first, cuc or fish. I still don't have any livestock in there so what should I start with?
If cuc, I know what I want, but what about fish? Can I fit tangs in this tank? Do they outgrow it?what would be the ideal combination?
Micro bubbles... Any ideas on how to get rid of them?

I am thinking of starting slowly, with a couple of clowns, then introduce a tang and a dotted puffer....

Ideas, thoughts, suggestions please....

 

[Ramylawand]

And this is my first ever saltwater or any other type of tanks I will be posting more photos of how my new passion will evolve and what I will be experiencing....

 

[Ramylawand]

And If diatom, should I do anything? Water change? Wait it out? Get clean up crew? Get fish? Wait for it to go away and then get livestock? Tanks guys...

 

[Beengirl]

So that's about 52g according to my app, so... No tangs, sorry. It looks like the stuff on the rocks is hair like, if it is, that would mean that part is hair algae. Have you been running the lights during the cycle, or only had them on for the pic? Have you been testing the water at all for ammonia, nitrites or nitrates? An what are the levels? What ammonia source have you been cycling with? Can't add a CUC until the tank is cycled.

 

[Beengirl]

BTW, the rockwork you did looks really nice. You did good job on adding some hiding places for the fish.

 

[Ramylawand]

Hey, thx, yes, the lights had been on for about 12 hours a day...dd the tsts last week and they were: Ph: 8.4 Amo: 0 Nitrite:0 Nitrate:0 That was before the bloom...

I guess no ammonia yet.... Am travelling now and will be back Saturday, so thought not to add any fish till I get back and while I was away, the bloom happened...

What should I do now? Turn off the lights? Add a clown? Don't want damsel, scared it will just be too dominant...

Thank you,

 

[Beengirl]

Hey, thx, yes, the lights had been on for about 12 hours a day...dd the tsts last week and they were: Ph: 8.4 Amo: 0 Nitrite:0 Nitrate:0 That was before the bloom...

I guess no ammonia yet.... Am travelling now and will be back Saturday, so thought not to add any fish till I get back and while I was away, the bloom happened...

What should I do now? Turn off the lights? Add a clown? Don't want damsel, scared it will just be too dominant...

Thank you,

Okay, the lights being on has contributed to a major algae outbreak. But the tank isn't cycled, as evidenced any a total lack of nitrates, so cant add any fish or CUC cuz They would just die. At the end of the cycle, ammo and nitrites should be zero, but nitrates should be high from the nitrogen that was converted by the ammo and nitrites.

I know you said you're traveling now, so hopefully the lights off while your gone. If not, is there someone who can turn it off?and if they would be so kind as to throw a couple of raw shrimp in there for you(i explain this below), that would be very helpful. then the cycle can start while you're gone.
So turn the light off, not needed during cycle. And the blackout should help some of the algae die off, but that won't take care of it entirely.

You need to add an ammonia source to get the cycle started. It can be a couple pieces of raw shrimp or fish that you just toss in the tank and let rot. Or you can do liquid ammonia. The raw shrimp/fish method is easier cuz you don't have to dose everyday, but it can get smelly. The liquid ammonia smells better, but needs to be dosed everyday. The cycle can take weeks.
Let the shrimp rot, that's your ammonia source. Some people do fish-in cycles, but IMO that's cruel cuz the ammonia burns their skin and gills and can kill then and then nitrites outcompete the oxygen in the water, so they can essentially suffocate and die. Then the nitrates, which is the least toxic, can still suffocate them at high levels. And by the end of the cycle, there will be high levels of nitrates. No fish needs to go through that suffering when you can just throw in a raw dead shrimp. I'm done with my lecture now. Haha.

Next you'll need to manually removed as much of the hair algae as you can by hand or using a siphon vacuum. I've heard of people using a new toothbrush to scrub the algae off the rocks.

When the tank has cycled, your first CUC members need to be ones that will eat hair algae, like turbo snails and an emerald crab.

 

[Ramylawand]

Thank you, ok so the lights are off now luckily a friend of mine is stayin at mine while I am away.he will also add a mediumshrimp, with the shell cut into 3 pieces in there... Any chemical I can add to kill off the algae?

 

[chiclidlover81]

there is a product here in the us i dontknow if they have where you are it is called TLC SMART START it was amazing i was cycled in a week if it is diatoms stir it up and when aquarium becomes established it will diminish as for hair algae +1 to beengirl its all about the emerald crab they are your laborers and full of personality good luck and cant wait for more pics welcome to the most addictive hobby ever lol

 

[Ramylawand]

Thanks! I can't wait to be back to look after my tank! Do you think that a water change is necessary at this stage. It has been running for the past 2 weeks and my LFS advised that I don't do anything .... But here we go!! algae bloom .... :s anyway... I will refrain form adding any fish till I cycle and stabilise my tank...will probably use the pure ammonia method... Will definitely post more pics as I progress... will keep you all posted

 

[Beengirl]

Don't need a water change during the cycle if there's nothing living in the tank.

 

[chiclidlover81]

Don't need a water change during the cycle if there's nothing living in the tank.

not to hijack op's thread but how is your tank doing?

 

[Beengirl]

not to hijack op's thread but how is your tank doing?

Mine are great, thanks for asking. I'm gonna update my 55g thread this weekend, check it out if you have time.
OP:sorry for the interruption.

 

[Ramylawand]

Ok so I returned today, siphoned the algae on the sand bed, and scrubbed the rocks and now the tank is clean had a micro bubble issue, turned out that the water in the pump container was low.... So refilled it and no more micro bubbles instantly!!

Which method do you guys recommend for cycling? Shrimp? Or pure ammonia?

The other thing, is that my ph is almost 9.0.. Is this a problem?

Also, I noticed that some rocks are purple, one is green and others are brown... Normal?

 

[Ramylawand]

Ok so 2 Shrimps in.... Is that a lot? Also added a small powerhead of 1100 litres per hour

 

[Beengirl]

Ok so 2 Shrimps in.... Is that a lot? Also added a small powerhead of 1100 litres per hour

2 shrimps will be fine. Now it's a waiting game.

 

[Ramylawand]

So... I wake up in the middle of the night.... The shrimp had moved!!!! Turned on the light and see a small black crab munching on it!!!! And a small worm swimming around In the tank!!!! First time I see them.... Probably hitch hikers! Tried to look for them this morning again couldn't find it!!! How can they survive if the water is not cycled? Or is it?

 

[Beengirl]

I'm no expert on crabs, but have never seen small black crabs for sale at any of my LFS. That probably means its not a great one to have. I would try to catch it and either give to the LFS for free or if you have a sump, put it in there. Crabs are opportunistic feeders, and some will kill a fish if given the chance. And some are downright mean. Get a pic and boost it if you can. Most worm type things are bristle worms, especially if it hiding and only comes out at night. They're fine as long as they don't like a foot long.

 

[Ramylawand]

I will try to get a pic if I ever see it again... As you said there are loads of hiding places in my tank

 

[Ramylawand]

So I got a photo of my little inhabitant can anyone identify?