Questions, Please Help

[Clownboy]

I have the Aquapod 24g with 27# live rock and 20# of live sand. After Two weeks after being set up my Ammonia and nitrites are zero and my nitratres are 2.5

I have read that I should remove the bio balls because they produce nitrates, so I did today but I am wondering is this a good idea?

Also, am I ready for a clean up crew of hermit crabs. I Have brown algae on my live rocks, and I would like to get started on getting it cleaned up and put in my first fish in soon.

Please Help

Thank you,

[Icebox]

Clownboy, I would love to be able to help, but I have no experience with anything this small or with bio balls. It really depends on what you plan to keep whether nitrates are bad or not. I never worried about nitrates when I had a FO tank. I did a 20ish percent water change every 4-6 weeks, and everything seemed to be fine. It you are interested in corals then the nitrates would be a problem. So I would say with Fish only, I would leave em in, if you want corals take them out. Maybe someone else will chime in and help out a little bit.

You could probably add a crab or two. I would say you would be fine with a snail or two as well. (Again, I am not used to anything this small, but with the LR in there I do not think a couple would send the bioload out of whack.)

HTH

[Woodstock]

Since you have plenty of live rock and sand, yes, removing the bioballs was a good idea. All three (rock, sand, bioballs) do the same thing (provide a surface for nitrifying bacteria to colonize) except that the bioballs do NOT have an area for anaerobic (void of oxygen) bacteria to colonize.... ie: the deep pores of the live rock, or underneath the fine sand. These anaerobic bacteria remove nitrAtes to harmless gas.

What is Brown or Golden Algae?

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">Referred to as a microalgae, brown or golden algae is actually not an algae at all, but diatoms. What you are actually seeing in your tank are diatom skeletons, all linked together. It can appear as a simple dusting on the tank walls and substrate surfaces, or it can turn into a massive growth that covers just about everything in the tank. This type of algae outbreak typically occurs when a tank is just completing or has finished the nitrogen cycling process, new live rock is introduced, as the curing process can add nutrients when some organisms on the rock dies off, or tank maintenance has been neglected. It is a normal occurrence, as diatoms are one of the first to appear in the chain when the tank conditions are conducive for algae growth, and is usually a precursor to other forms of desirable and undesirable nuisance type green macroalgae.

• Lighting: The use of improper bulbs, lack of maintenance, and extended lighting hours are contributors that can lead to all sorts of algae problems.
  • Solutions: Only use bulbs that are designed for aquarium use, paying close attention to their spectral output; don't bombard the tank with an over abundance of light, follow the basic wattage rule of thumb; run the lights 8 to 9 hours a day.

• Nutrients: Diatoms are most responsive to silca/silicates, but DOCs (Dissolved Organic Compounds), nitrates, and phosphates are food sources as well.
  • Silicates are most often introduced into aquariums by means of using unfiltered fresh tap water, the wrong kind of sand or substrate material, and through sea salt mixes that contain a higher than normal concentration of this element.
    • Solutions: Use RO/DI filtered make-up water, an aragonite type sand or substrate source, and a high quality sea salt mix.
  • Phosphates (PO4) are commonly introduced into aquariums by means of using unfiltered fresh tap water, and through many aquarium products that may contain higher than normal concentrations of this element, such as sea salt mixes, activated carbon, KH buffers, foods, and many other sources. Also, for established reef tanks the long-term use of Kalkwasser precipitates phosphates out of the water, and these phosphate based compounds can settle on and in the live rock and substrate.
    • Solutions: U se RO/DI filtered make-up water, a high quality sea salt mix, and be aware of the elements contained in other common aquarium products you may be using.
    • Allowing excess DOCs to accumulate in an aquarium in turn gives rise to nitrate (NO3) problems. However, nitrates can also be introduced in the same manner as phosphates, and because it is the final byproduct produced in the nitrogen cylcing process, it can naturally build to high levels due the lack of proper aquarium maintenance care. As mentioned earlier, another contributor to DOC/nitrate problems is when new live rock is introduced, as the curing process can add nutrients when some organisms on the rock dies off.
• Solutions: Practice good aquarium maintenance care routines! This includes keeping the substrate clean, cutting back on feedings, regularly rinsing, rejuvenating or changing any type of prefilerting or absorbing materials (such as filter flosses, cartridges, bio wheels, sponges and carbon), performing regular partial water changes, and for DOCs in particular, adding a protein skimmer protein skimmer.
• For those with systems that have been running for some time and use wet/dry trickle type filters, the bio media in them, especially bio balls, are real nitrate factories, and therefore should carefully be rinsed and cleaned periodically.
• Add some good diatom eating Trochus and Astraea snails, a fish, such as a Kole Tang, Potter's or Flame Angelfish, and to help keep the aquarium bottom clean and tidy, some algae/detritus eating hermit crabs, a tank friendly true crab, shrimp, or other type of tank janitors. Of course you DON'T want to add ALL of these critters, just choose on or two of these options. In our photos, the clear or white looking patchy area at the bottom of the diatom algae is from where a small true crab in our tank ate the algae off the glass that it could reach.
• When adding live rock, take the time to cure it properly.
• Important Note: If your tank is still cycling, DO NOT add any new animals, do ANY water changes, or perform ANY MAJOR substrate or filter cleaning tasks, other than to change dirty prefiltering materials and/or to QUICK siphon stuff off the bottom, until the tank has COMPLETELY FINISHED cycling. The unsightly brown algae can easily be removed temporarily from the walls of the aquarium by using an algae scraper, sponge or magnet, and scrubbed off the substrate and rocks with a toothbrush, where it can then be removed from the water through mechanical filtration, such as by adding a hang-on-tank canister filter (read product reviews and compare prices), and larger floating pieces can be removed with a net, turkey baster, or by light siphoning.
• Carbon Dioxide (CO2): Low water flow or movement throughout the aquarium produces carbon dioxide (CO2), which algae consume.
  • Solutions: Depending on the size of the aquarium add a powerhead or two (read reviews & compare prices), install a wavemaker or surge device (read reviews & compare prices), and/or increase the flow rate or efficiency of the filtration system.
  • Looking at our enlarged photos, you can clearly see two areas in the tank where the algae first began growing and spread out from there, next to the powerhead and next to where the Magnum 350 canister filter intake and output are positioned. These are two spots where the least amount of water movement occurs. Solutions for this situation are to add another powerhead at the opposite end of the tank from where the present powerhead is located, or periodically reposition or move the powerhead itself or rotate the output nozzle to point in a different direction from time to time.

By putting into action any of these solutions, as the growth sources are being eliminated you should see a "gradual" decrease in the growth of the slime algae. In the meantime, while you determine and correct the actual cause underlying the problem, the unsightly algae can manually be removed as mentioned above.

One final interesting note is that because diatoms "consume" nitrates, often when aquarists perform nitrate tests, the readings come up as normal. Don't be deceived. If you were to remove the diatom algae temporarily before putting into action any of the above solutions, in all likelihood you will see a rise in the nitrate levels in the aquarium. It's like a catch 22. The nitrates have actually been there all along, but unreadable as the algae is feeding on it, therefore the nitrates "appear" to be in check. This applies to many other forms of algae as well! </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[Little Luey]

IMO the bioballs are not for the reef tanks. Your cycle has started and that is why you are seeing brow algie, this is normal, you could add at this time a cleanup crew. I would stay with snails only, no crabs because they will eventually kill your snails for food or just to get a bigger house, this could be an expensive practice.
The cycle should take a couple more weeks maybe, when there is no ammonia, nitrites or nitrates you will be ready for fish. You could read up on reef tanks or on the fish you want to keep in the mean time. The more you know about the system you want to keep is best for you, your animals and your wallet.

Enjoy and welcome to the Reef Sanctuary.

[Clownboy]

Thank you for your help.

[Clownboy]

What should I do to get rid of the brown algae, the lfs told me to remove all my rocks and clean them with a toothbrush. Please help!

[NUGIO]

I wouldnt do that you could smash any life thats starting to grow.you can use a powerhead to blow it off the LR and let your skimmer pick it up and vacuum the top layer of your sand during your water change

[Barcochris]

How bad is it? the clean up crew would help get rid of it, But it is normal for a new tank, if it is not real bad siphon of as much as you can, but yes you could scrub them with a nylon bristle brush

[Icebox]

It is tough to do, but be patient. I do not think I got rid of all of that for a couple months after I initially set up the tank. Keep the skimmer clean, and be patient. You can suck it out, but till you solve the problem, it will just grow back. Be patient.

[Little Luey]

Your clean up crew should do it. You can help by removing it by hand, getting more flow, but it will run its course. All new tanks go thru this.