I have a 55 gal. tank w. 60lbs of live rock. Yesterday I added my first coral (fuzzy grass) and now when the lights go out and the moon lights kick on I am seeing hundreds of tiny white specs darting around and crawling around on the glass. I can't make any sort of id because of their small size. Anyone know what this may be?
White specs swimming in new tank...What are they?
- Thread starter rubiconman
- Start date
Thank you so very much for the quick responses. I am new to this exciting hobby and need all the help I can get. It is good to know that I have a bunch of experts to come to when I need it. I have another question. Is there anything that I can do to control the algae that is growing on the glass? It's tiny patches (the size of a pencil eraser) of lime green stringy algae and it seems to be growing on the live rock. It has really come out since the addition of the MH's. I have been able to remove it with the magnet cleaner, but it comes right back after several hours.
I am somewhat new to the hobby myself, but have done a decent amount of research into nuisance algae control...
Typically, the name of the game with algae is nutrient control.
Hence cjsrch recommending using a filter to clean out the water you fill your tank with. Reverse Osmosis / Demineralization through Ionization (RO/DI) is widely used in the hobby. This will help you limit algae nutrients coming out of your home's tap water.
A second approach is not to overfeed... You didn't mention adding any fish to your tank yet. But its worht mentioning that uneaten food can/will quickly foster an algae bloom.
Agressive protein skimming and appropriate filtration helps to remove nutrients from the water.
Regular (weekly) water changes WITH RODI water help to dillute nutrients as well.
Light is a nutrient for most algae as well, but limiting light could negatively affect the life you want to keep in the tank.
Scraping your tank glass to clear the algae isn't a big deal. Although it wouldn't hurt to try and pull what you scrape out of the tank if possible.
If you stick to the above, you shouldn't have to worry too much about algae blooms as your tank cycles. Keep in mind that every action you take in the tank will cause a reaction... This reaction can be thought of as a mini-cycle. Be sure to research before you make a change to your tank.
good luck!
Typically, the name of the game with algae is nutrient control.
Hence cjsrch recommending using a filter to clean out the water you fill your tank with. Reverse Osmosis / Demineralization through Ionization (RO/DI) is widely used in the hobby. This will help you limit algae nutrients coming out of your home's tap water.
A second approach is not to overfeed... You didn't mention adding any fish to your tank yet. But its worht mentioning that uneaten food can/will quickly foster an algae bloom.
Agressive protein skimming and appropriate filtration helps to remove nutrients from the water.
Regular (weekly) water changes WITH RODI water help to dillute nutrients as well.
Light is a nutrient for most algae as well, but limiting light could negatively affect the life you want to keep in the tank.
Scraping your tank glass to clear the algae isn't a big deal. Although it wouldn't hurt to try and pull what you scrape out of the tank if possible.
If you stick to the above, you shouldn't have to worry too much about algae blooms as your tank cycles. Keep in mind that every action you take in the tank will cause a reaction... This reaction can be thought of as a mini-cycle. Be sure to research before you make a change to your tank.
good luck!
Is is a good idea to run the skimmer all of the time? Of course since there is no fish the bio load is low? Right? I came home today and the tank was worse than it has ever been. I took a toothbrush to it and cleaned the rock and glass. I have been using RO water from LFS and just did a 10% water change on Saturday. Would it be a good idea to go ahead and vac out the substrate again now that all the algae that I brushed off is on the bottom? Again, I can't thank you all enough for the info. My new mushrooms seem to be doing fine. They are bigger than I have ever seen them. LFS said that I didn't need to start feeding them since the tank is so new. Is this correct info? When should I start feeding them?
rubic,
It's always a good idea to run the skimmer 24/7, and it won't hurt anything. Some people like to run them for a dry foam, I perfer a wetter foam.
It would be wise to do a much larger water change, 10% of 55 is 5.5g and it isn't nearly enough to do any real good. I'd personally go with 20g or so for each water change (I have a 29g w/ 11g sump and always do at least 20g wc). Be sure to use aged nsw, that matches the tanks water in pH and temp. Syphoning out all the crap that you can will help also.
Your tank is newly set up and the algeal blooms are just part of the process of establishing a tank. Keep up with your maint. and give it time. Please don't rush, research your purchases befor buying and you'll end up a very happy camper,...er, I mean reefer!
It's always a good idea to run the skimmer 24/7, and it won't hurt anything. Some people like to run them for a dry foam, I perfer a wetter foam.
It would be wise to do a much larger water change, 10% of 55 is 5.5g and it isn't nearly enough to do any real good. I'd personally go with 20g or so for each water change (I have a 29g w/ 11g sump and always do at least 20g wc). Be sure to use aged nsw, that matches the tanks water in pH and temp. Syphoning out all the crap that you can will help also.
Your tank is newly set up and the algeal blooms are just part of the process of establishing a tank. Keep up with your maint. and give it time. Please don't rush, research your purchases befor buying and you'll end up a very happy camper,...er, I mean reefer!
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