LR dying?

[claudiabkr]

I set up a 15 gal Eclipse 1 on Sunday stocked with 20 lbs of LR full of color. Today, the rocks are almost all brown! The hitchhiker snails are MIA, but the fan worm, tube worm, a few bi-colored worms with white legs, a grassy looking maroon tuft that moves and some tiny white shrimp that crawl around like fast little ants are still around.

 

My tests are all within normal ranges. Temp 80, ph 7.9, sg 1.022. Lighting is the sucky stock 13w that came with the hood but a 32w PC retrofit is on its way.

 

None of my books cover this. What am I doing wrong?

[jenniebutterfly]

sounds like diatoms and is a normal part of the cycle. expect some die-off though, thats the point of your cycle. have you tested for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate yet?

[claudiabkr]

I tested ammonia, nitrite and nitrate on day 2, but didn't write it down. I'll test again today.

[jenniebutterfly]

yeah it really sounds like diatoms, do a search on here for it, and find someone that has posted pics, that way you won't worry. but it sounds totally normal.

[Steve973]

Yep, it's all normal, and it'll clear up as time goes on. You'll first see these diatoms, then probably cyanobacteria (either blue-green or reddish/purple/brownish) and then turf algae that hangs around for quite a while, and actually becomes the bane of many people's existence.

 

 

Steve

[EtOH_is_good]

your doing good. keep up with the observations. snails are probably chomping on all the diatoms in the tank. also snails may be more active during the night. take out the flashlight at night to see if you notice anything else like pods.

[barbadeau]

i'm cycling my tank and I have diatoms and a bit of algae, perfectly normal, when its done cycling supe rwater conditions are the only way to keep the crappy stuff from growing, patience mang!

[claudiabkr]

I tested today (day 5) and results are: temp 81.5 (is this too high?), SG 1.022, PH 8.1, Ammonia 0.35, Nitrite 5.0 (as high as my test kit goes), Nitrate 80. I'll get some pics up if someone will let me know how as I'm old, ergo a computer idiot.

[MillerLite]

I think the temp is a little high. Try to keep it somewhere between 78-80 if possible. Stability is also pretty impotant so make sure that it doesnt flux too much. Also you SG and your ph are a bit low. Try to keep the SG between 1.024-1.025. SOme people do different but this provides the best results for me. Sounds like your tank is cycling just fine. BE prepared to wait 3-4 weeks before your cycle is over. Patience definitely is a virtue in nano-reefing. Good luck!

 

Do a search on picture posting. Tigahboy did a great tutorial on this. By the way, its not overly important that you install your lights right away. During the cycle you probably dont want to use your light too much anways. This can help keep algae growth down. ANy coralline algae you have in your tank should be fine.

[MillerLite]

Sry, forgot to add. pH should be around 8.3 if possible. Keep in mind, anytime you change pH or salinity, do it very slowly (over days). Not so important in your tank when cylcing but its future inhabitants wont like such rapid swings if you do this in the future.

[chrissreef]

If you have nitrite and ammonia it means it hasn't cycled. I suggest turning the lights on for half the amount of time until the tank fully cycles. The snails might have died if the tank is cycling... replace when nitrate = 0. nitrate doesn't matter, keep sg and ph in their normal ranges but they're not sounding like problems now. As others said, diatoms (brown slimy algae) are normal followed by "higher" algae... add herbivores and then the purple will come back (of course add calcium, stron, iod, magn starting now) but DON"T add general vitamins or tank nutrients, that will just cause more algae. good luck!