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Is this diatom?


Oofie

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So I've had my tank for exactly 3 weeks today, and all of a sudden over the weekend, this brown stuff emerges and takes over one piece of lr, some over sand and other smaller rocks. Is this something I should be concerned of? I just got my lights a week ago (PC 2x40), so I've been running them for about 8 hours a day. I also did a 20% water change last monday as I was topping off with sw (:slap:) so my salinity shot up, now I'm good at about 1.024 SG.

 

Should I try to get rid of this (by siphoning, turkey baster?) or leave them be? My cuc will be arriving this friday also if that helps.

 

I also have a question on lighting, is it ok if I run my lights 2 hours in the morning and another 6 hours in the afternoon/evening? I have a weird work schedule and I'd want the tank lit up whenever I'm home.

 

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Thanks,

Ron

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Just continue to top off and leave it be. Don't change much on the lighting cycle; you could even bump it up to 10 hrs per day if you like.

:welcome:

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As others have said, everybody goes through it, just take the time now to keep researching, your tank has started!

 

Thanks to everyone who replied. Now, can I run my lights 2 hours in the morning and 6 hours in the afternoon/evening or is it better to have straight 8 hours uninterrupted?

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Thanks to everyone who replied. Now, can I run my lights 2 hours in the morning and 6 hours in the afternoon/evening or is it better to have straight 8 hours uninterrupted?

8-12 straight

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johnmaloney

yep run it straight. diatoms are normal, CUCs will get to them if you want it out now, or you can just wait it out. if you decide to wait it out, add some copepods to the tank, they will bloom feeding of the diatoms, and it will mature tank quickly.

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yep run it straight. diatoms are normal, CUCs will get to them if you want it out now, or you can just wait it out. if you decide to wait it out, add some copepods to the tank, they will bloom feeding of the diatoms, and it will mature tank quickly.

 

alright, thanks guys! I guess I'll just run the lights 1 1/2 - 2 hours in the morning and another 8 hours in the afternoon/evening, is that ok? Or will 2 light periods confuse my livestock? As for the cuc, there was a group buy in another forum and it was very cheap that it was hard not to order, so they'll be arriving for sure on friday.

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I would run the lights on one on/off cycle...not two. IME corals make some dramatic changes when the lights go off, and I bet making them do that twice would have some negative side effects...also, when you think of the sun....

 

Just keep an eye on your parameters when you add your CUC! Acclimate slow, snails are notoriously difficult to bring into a tank.

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I would run the lights on one on/off cycle...not two. IME corals make some dramatic changes when the lights go off, and I bet making them do that twice would have some negative side effects...also, when you think of the sun....

 

Just keep an eye on your parameters when you add your CUC! Acclimate slow, snails are notoriously difficult to bring into a tank.

 

alright, I guess I'll just run it once :D How do I acclimate the cuc that will be arriving? Put them in a bag and put it in the tank to have same temp? I need help as this will be the first time I add anything to my tank.

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johnmaloney

float them for temperature, add water for ph and salinity acclimation. snails are usually shipped moist so just double the water over time. how long depends on species. Some species require drip acclimation. What are you getting?

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float them for temperature, add water for ph and salinity acclimation. snails are usually shipped moist so just double the water over time. how long depends on species. Some species require drip acclimation. What are you getting?

 

so float them on the water, add water to their container and wait? I'm ordering 8 nassarius vibex, 6 florida ceriths and 6 medium nerite snails for a 16g tank. Don't really know if they will be enough or too much though.

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so float them on the water, add water to their container and wait? I'm ordering 8 nassarius vibex, 6 florida ceriths and 6 medium nerite snails for a 16g tank. Don't really know if they will be enough or too much though.

 

Personally, I wouldn't put more than 5 in a 16g :)

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If you plan on feeding a lot, then that amount of snails is good. They eat all the algae that will form from having the extra nutrients from feeding. I have something like 10 astrea snails, 4 nass, and 2 ceriths in a 14 gallon.

 

You have to leave your lights on for straight period of time. No off and on. The livestock will think it's day and night all over again. Most people leave it for 9-11 hours on.

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I understand your pain about the lights and working, but remember nothing says they have to follow true day. Just skip the morning and turn them on when you get home, or use a timer.

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8-12 straight

 

I disagree, I ran my lights stright for a long time and always had a hair algae issue once I changed it to 4 hours on 4 hours off 4 hours on everything in my tanks grows like mad except I have zero hair algae.

 

 

I'm not saying you can't run them stright but you need to look at the results of YOUR tank under that lighting schedule.

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yeah, I've decided to just turn them on around 12 noon up to 8pm +/- 1 hour, depending on what my tank does, and probably 10-7 on the weekends. I figured the fish and corals would think it was day and night all over again in just a few hours.

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Diatoms start because of a cycle in your tank, everything is fine light especially plays a big role in any algae growth , if you want to see less i'd suggest using no light at all, some people do a dark cycle while there tank is new if you have no inhabitants or any corals i'd say do that, it will make your tank cycle less algae but still do what it needs to, to balance its paremeters, 3 weeks is a fairly new tank so congrats on the diatoms :) it just sucks when it gets out of hand, GOOD LUCK!! and welcome to the club!!

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