neilc
New Member
Posts: 13
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algae
Feb 7, 2009 15:55:26 GMT -5
Post by neilc on Feb 7, 2009 15:55:26 GMT -5
Algae is growing all over the tank. Is this OK? I'm cleaning the glass but I'm not cleaning the black casing at the back as I think it looks better with the algae. Is it OK to leave some algae growing there or is any algae a bad thing? (Thanks for all your help. I'm gradually learning and this site is a great help)
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algae
Feb 7, 2009 16:04:27 GMT -5
Post by eve on Feb 7, 2009 16:04:27 GMT -5
it all depends on what kind of algae it is as long as it doesn't take your tank completely over and it doesn't bug you, it's not a problem what is the stock of your tank anyway? i would really like to know what you keep
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neilc
New Member
Posts: 13
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algae
Feb 7, 2009 16:22:21 GMT -5
Post by neilc on Feb 7, 2009 16:22:21 GMT -5
I've only had the aquarium about a month. I bought it used and kept all the water so I wouldn't have to start over again. I had the water tested and it was all fine except that the salt levels were high, so I changed 2/3 of the water (water from my local shop at a ratio of 2 saltwater to 1 RO? . Then I had the water tested again and all was OK so I bought a Maroon Clownfish, 2 Chromis, a green pollop? and 2 anemone's. All are doing very well, but I figure it's best to wait a while before adding any newbie's. (I also introduced a cleaner shrimp but haven't seen it since. It's only a 50 gallon aquarium so I'm thinking it's probably died) I also have a lot of live rock
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algae
Feb 7, 2009 16:29:26 GMT -5
Post by brenda on Feb 7, 2009 16:29:26 GMT -5
I know nothing about saltwater but it sounds like a nice tank...Post pics sometime. I will try saltwater someday!!!
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neilc
New Member
Posts: 13
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algae
Feb 7, 2009 16:33:52 GMT -5
Post by neilc on Feb 7, 2009 16:33:52 GMT -5
I've had a few freshwater tanks in the past but my wife preferred the saltwater fish. I'm taking it slow, the fish are expensive! I'll post a pic soon, thanks
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algae
Feb 7, 2009 16:40:08 GMT -5
Post by eve on Feb 7, 2009 16:40:08 GMT -5
that's great i would love to convert my 29 into a marine tank, but didn't have the money for it yet so with a 50 gallon tank you're doing great IMO i would definitely not introduce any new fish until at least another month however, you can introduce invertebrates and a cleaner crew do you mean a green polyp? green polyp since i don't know which chromis you have, here is one of a blue green one if you have lot's of liverocks in your tank, the shrimp might be hiding some where or died due to wrong salt parameters as you mentioned what is your salinity? temperature? i would try to get a cleaner crew for your tank but the temperature is very important for that, because many snails can't live in temperatures above 72 degrees
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neilc
New Member
Posts: 13
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algae
Feb 7, 2009 16:44:17 GMT -5
Post by neilc on Feb 7, 2009 16:44:17 GMT -5
Yes I did mean green polyp . I forgot to mention the 10 hermit crabs I have Those little guys are working 24/7
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algae
Feb 7, 2009 16:47:38 GMT -5
Post by eve on Feb 7, 2009 16:47:38 GMT -5
that's great 10 hermit crabs are nothing in a 50 gallon tank just found what i was looking for there are package deals for cleaner crews and what i love about those deals, the amount of them is calculated by tank size >> Cleaner crew <<< also the parameters needed are mentioned as well
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algae
Feb 7, 2009 17:58:11 GMT -5
Post by Carl on Feb 7, 2009 17:58:11 GMT -5
I would add that if this algae is green not the red slime (which is usually indicative of Cyanobacteria), I recommend to encourage it as long as it does not grow in sheets over your live rock (then smothering its effectiveness as a nitrifying and de-nitrifying bio filter) The reason is this green algae is effective for nitrate removal in marine tanks. I generally have preferred to do just as you have; scrape it off of obvious areas and leave it on the background. Cleaner crews as Eve suggested can help keep it in healthy check. Mexican Dwarf Hermit Crabs (Clibanarius digueti), are especially good at controlling the bad algaes as well such as Cyanobacteria (which are not actually algae) Carl
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algae
Feb 7, 2009 20:05:10 GMT -5
Post by bikeguy33 on Feb 7, 2009 20:05:10 GMT -5
this is just my humble opinion.....but the bioload was way too large too fast. even with water from another tank, the tank isnt properly cycled i wouldnt think. water holds very little of the nitrifying bacteria your tank needs. it is mostly in substrates and the filters etc. i would wait a month at least before adding anything else. i as well am looking forward to pix....
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algae
Feb 7, 2009 20:47:23 GMT -5
Post by eve on Feb 7, 2009 20:47:23 GMT -5
actually i will throw something else in here
which many will stumb i guess
a marine tank can be basically cycled immediately why? because the good bacteria is in the liverock, however of course, it only works with cured liverock
if you fill up your tank with uncured liverock, then your tank has to go through the nitrogen cycle
but not with cured rock
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algae
Feb 7, 2009 20:54:30 GMT -5
Post by bikeguy33 on Feb 7, 2009 20:54:30 GMT -5
live rock doesnt supply enough quickly enough in normal amounts of 1 pound per gallon. it sure does help tho. when we did maintenance it would take 1-2 weeks to cycle a normal marine tank. the normal marine dithers like damsels were able to help....they were pretty tough to uncycled tanks...
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algae
Feb 7, 2009 20:59:48 GMT -5
Post by eve on Feb 7, 2009 20:59:48 GMT -5
when i set up my 10 gallon tank, i put in cured liverock, livesand and of course filter
i didn't put my clown in until a week later because i wanted to know if there is any truth to what i said above, i tested the water daily
there was never a spike, neither in ammonia or in nitrites a week later i added a clown and some shrimp also tested the water for another 2 weeks every day after i did
it never went through any kind of cycling process at all, even that the filter was brand new
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algae
Feb 8, 2009 12:42:33 GMT -5
Post by Carl on Feb 8, 2009 12:42:33 GMT -5
As long as the live rock is "cured" there is no cycling process in the tank itself (the filters still will accumulate nitrifying bacteria).
The key is whether or not the live rock is truly "live". As it comes into importers, much of the aerobic bacteria is dead (some life forms and anaerobic bacteria survive), so placing this new live rock into a brand new marine aquarium can actually have the opposite effect and be disastrous to any fish added at the same time.
I had several tanks in my store where I seasoned this new rock for 6 weeks, and in addition to this I placed land based porous calcium carbonate rocks that over about a 8 week span would pick up many of the same organisms and become "live rock" with little difference from live rock mined from the reefs, with the added bonus that I did not have to deplete a reef for this "live rock"
Carl
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