Cycling Tank Algae

[RockingCricket]

In my cycling 90G SW, algae is starting to bloom. Is this anything to worry about? I used conditioned tap water. There are two kinds that I can see. First and most prolific is brown in color and long in length. The second is smaller, bright dark green and non-hairy. The start of an algae problem, or is to be expected?

 

[1979camaro]

algae tends to grow during the cycling period

 

[SALTY WATERS]

I personaly do not like tap water for a SW tank, unless you have checked out the chemistry of it at our regonal warter supplier, I would go with RO or Distilled. Algea will tend to grow if it gets out of hand you can take out the LR (asuming that is what it's growing on) and give it a quick scrub in another bucket of SW to remove some of it. If it's not out of control no worries as your clean-up crew should take care of it once you add them after the cycle.

 

[RockingCricket]

Salty, I understand that distilled water is preferable but my tank is already filled and cycling. There is no chloramine added to my local water, though I still used a conditioner to help eradicate anything that remained, and be on the safe side. I think I will use distilled water for water changes. I found a source of 5 gallons for $1. Seems reasonable. I'm aware that an algae bloom is to be expected, but don't know if I am suffering a variety that needs to be watched out for. It is growing on decorations and dead corals (no LR as yet).

I hear a lot of talk about clean-up crews. Can I ask what is a clean-up crew, when they should be added, and for what reason?

 

[Mushroomman]

Clean up crew is invertibrates (starfish, hermit crabs, shrimp for example) that eat excess food, some algaes, etc.

A dollar for 5 gallons is a good price, the LFS I work at sells for a buck or so a gallon.

 

[dbacksrat]

a conditioner will only eliminate chlorine/chloramines in tap water--you may still have heavy metals and all kinds of other wonderful chemicals left in your water that can cause hell in an aquarium

 

[rohnds]

The algae is due to high PO4 and SiO4 content in your water and not chloramine( forgot the formula),

Rohn

 

[RockingCricket]

.........so nothing real to worry about. Thankyou

 

[RockingCricket]

I wasn't aware that a complete water change was needed once the cycling is completed. Perhaps THAT will be the time to make that swotch to distilled water. 70% water change okay as I have fish in there?

This makes me wonder. Can a SW tank be cycled without fish (using the dead shrimp method) and therefor without salt? JUst curious for reference and the chance of a few dollars saved.

 

[SALTY WATERS]

Woooh! Complete water change... where did you hear that? Why would you spend all this time cycling your tank, just to remove all the newly cycled water. A partial water change could be done like 20-25% would be sufficiant.

Cycle without "SALT"....? If you meen just adding water into the tank and cycling it then adding the salt to try to save on the cost of the salt; the answer would be "no", not the same bacteria grow in the FW as in SW.

$1.00 for a 5gl jug...very good price! I pay about $3.00 (Cnd) for my 5gl jug.

 

[Mushroomman]

When you cycle you arent really cycling the water but creating bacteria in the sand and filter media I always thought

 

[discus4everGrl]

your tap water may be high in phospates and nitrates. Those two things of course, are algea foods. I made my first water change in my nano with tap water because i used it in my fw tanks with no real algea problems. However, my saltwater started to get that brown algea overnight with a tap water change. I cleaned it and did a water change with ro water and haven't had that problem again. The difference in my fw and sw tanks is my fw have live plants which prolly assimilate and use these two elements and therefore outcompete the algea for the food. This isn't true in a sw tank, it just sits there for the algea to use.

 

[wayne]

The dead shrimp method originated in salt.
The reason you don't see many referneces to it now is very few people now recommend cycling with fish or shrimp, prefereing to use live rock instead.
There is a belief that the filter bacteria in frsh and salt waters are different, thus to get your cycle setup you ned to use saltwater. At the end you will not need to change 100% water as the bacteria are not in the water, they live on solid surfaces.
Get your source water right or you will find all you ever do is fight algae, and compared to freshawater marine algae is super tough to deal with.

I will be honest, you sound super inexperienced, and probably advised on setup by an lfs as you doing things most people stoppd doing 20 years as they were hard work to keep the fish alive. I would recommend a book called the New Marine Aquarium by Mike Paletta, or Matural Reef Aquaria by John Tulloch. Both of these are good for beginner setup, and will tell you methods which will really work for you, avoid saltwater aquariums for dummies like the plague, it gets sinking reviews from experienced hobbyists.
A final warning - getting a setup right to keep fish alive for more than 6 months is not cheap, though not necassarily killer. Don't be part of the 80% that give up after 6 months

 

[RockingCricket]

Thanks Wayne for your supportive comments and recommended reading. I'll certainly find the books and try to avoid Salt water for dummies *crazysmil (it was $2)
I have come to SW from FW and am inexperienced, but enthusiastic and am doing as much research as I can. Most of the adivce I am collecting comes from the members at this site and not my lfs. If you can expound on the mistakes you say I'm making I would appreciate it. Apart from my use of tap water, and use of as little LR as is possible (both of which have been approved by member of this site - you nmight've met me here by a different name) and cannot think what you are refering to.

You do seem to know your stuff though, so if I can ask what advice you would give to help me with the progression of my tank (tank specs should be in my siggy), both if cost was no factor, and also if it was, I would be very keen to hear what you have to say. Perhaps in pm if not on this thread.

The following link is where a complete water change after the tank cycles was advised........ http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/beginnerscorner/a/aa061703.htm .........which states "After the ammonia and nitrite levels drop to zero, as soon as possible or at least within 5 days, perform a complete water change."
Seemed funny to me, but then again made some sense seeing as the benefitial bacteria lives on the tank surfaces and not in the water.

Regarding the brown algae which is taking hold, I assume I'm right in saying that conducting water changes with distilled water will slowly erradicate the problem, so long as it is it which is causing the problem, and not the use of some playsand (which is silica free I believe). The setup came with 3 flouresent bulbs installed (havent checked the spectrum on these) and I added a regular 4 foot kitchen light tube in the remaining slot for more light. I've learned that the wrong kind of light may also cause brown algae to flourish.

 

[RobMiller5]

nitrates dont cause algae ammonia does...there is going to be a ammonia spike in the nitrification process, so you've got algae from that. Phosphates also do not cause algae. Nor do Silicates. Ammonia is the cause 99% of the time. You can't eliminate ammonia in the aquarium, you can reduce it in a mature tank, but in new water and filter the ammonia spike is un-avoidable because it is part of the nirtification process. Ony thing todo is to try and clean the algae up, Add some Plants that will tank over algae in the usage of ammonia, and grow the plant instead of the algae. For a SW tank i'd be using RO water hey, because simply i think SW tanks need the cleanest water of all.

 

[wayne]

Well in salt you can skim out organics before they're mineralised to ammonia anyway, but fish estrude raw ammonia in their urine and through their gills anyway so you have to deal with it.
While it is true algae preferentially use ammonia than nitrate, the presence of nitrate as a possible food source is a problem, as is the presence of phosphate which is also required.
I would say prepare to forget/ignore most of what you learnt in freshwater. If I was you I would get the Paletta book from the library, and read my stickied thread. I would then get in my base rock in , and get 2 or 3 big lumps of live rock and distribute them as these have all the bacteria to seed the tank. You should now wait 3 months plus and not add more fish. your next two investments will be a big bucket of salt (cheaper that way) and a clean up crew which you might well want to get mail order to save costs.
I will tell you now I am pretty cheap, but with the addition of the liverock you will have a working system that will be good and stable. One tip depends on your relationship with your lfs, but when they get live rock in there will be all sorts of rubble at the bottom of the boxes. Ask 6if you can have this

 

[Yazoo1970]

I used tap water to start my tank also and had big problems with algae that sounds like exactly what you are suffering from now i fought it for about 6 months until someone pointed out to me to check the phosphates. I know algae does not come from phosphates but they feed the algae and make the problem 100 times worse. I got some stuff from the lfs called PO 0 its a 2 part soulution that ekliminates phosphates. As soon as i used this my algae problem disappeared within 3 days and my tank is still clear of green algae i still have a little brown algae but the tank did a 180 and is in great shape now. I would suggest testing your tank for phosphates its a cheap test you can get at the lfs. I also think that a 20 to 25 percent water change using RO/DI water will help tremendously i do a water 20 percent every 6 weeks on my tank. I have never asked i guess that is sufficient. Test for the phosphates before you do what my dumb *** did and buy uv sterilizer and all kinds of equipment the lfs store told me i needed for the algae

 

[RockingCricket]

Thanks Yazoo. A PO4 test kit came with my tank. I ran the test but didn't get any results (the water remained clear - not yellow). Am not sure how old the kit is so will pick a new one up today. I'm expecting my phosphate level to be sky high.

Thanks Wayne. Thats a great suggestion regarding the LR rubble left in the bottom of the boxes at the LFS. I'll put on my most charming smile and see what I can muster.

I have nitrIte. Ammonia and NitrAte are high, pH 8.2 consistantly, Spec Grav 1.024 consistantly so it seems as if everything is cycling as expected. No unexpected fatalities. Just the nuisance brown (diatom) algae which if the PO4 IS high, sounds as if PO0 will sort it.

 

[RockingCricket]

...I had the forethought to buy a bucket of salt when originally setting up, so that cost is covered. Regarding the clean up crew, can I mix and match various scavengers to meet my likes ands needs, or is it better to buy a preassembled crew so to speak. I'm particularly fond of long-spined black urchins and wonder if these can be incorperated into the crew. Am assuming that the higher water quality and lighting required for inverts is not required for the cleanup crew?

 

[RockingCricket]

...sorry for the repeat posts, but surely my convict (engineer) gobys are doing some amount of cleaning up?