Help with 28 gallon JBJ

Tyrian

Tyrian

New Member
So i decided a couple months ago to attempt my first salt water tank. Fish tanks in general, as far as fresh water goes, is not a new territory for me; i've been making them since i was a kid.

Anyway i did alot of research before attempting and finally got the courage (and paycheck) to pick up a 28 gallon JBJ Quad. Afterwards i started to slowly gather my live rock and cycle my tank, slowly adding live rock about every week or so. My tank, for now, is as follows.

28+ lbs Fiji live rock
2 inch bed Argonite sand
Candycane Coral
Hammer Coral
Red Zoas
Orange strain of Ricordea Florida
Nassarius and Turbo Snails
Peppermint Shrimp

My main delima right now is everything was going great, got timers for my lights and getting it on a nice schedule, then ii had an outbreak of wat i think is brown algae. I dont believe it's slime but from wat i've heard this is all a part of the cycle process. I just wanted to make sure if this can be confirmed for me 100%. The levels in my tank are all normal; ph, nitrate, nitrite, salinity ammonia, ect. And my main lights are on for 10 hours then the moons kick in. Now if the algae is normal for my tank, as hideous as it looks should i just let the snails do their jobs or is there another way i can help to rid myself of this menace? Thanks for your time.
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
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Pretty normal as part of a new tank progression... while the silicates in the sand are being used up. If you want, you can cut back your lights to say 5 hours a day for a few days to knock it back some & then maybe run them like 8 hours a day, just be sure to not overfeed too, very easy to do :)
 
Tyrian

Tyrian

New Member
O interesting! That sounds great, will only leaving the lights on for 5 hours a day until the algae dies down affect my corals negatively, especially the hammer coral?
 
Tyrian

Tyrian

New Member
thats great!

i wasn't sure if all the algae was to much for the snails that i had to handle or wat, but i did wat u suggested, i ran back my timers to have the main lights on for only 5 hours

i also wanted to know your opinion on lettuce nudibranches, i saw one at the local fish store over here and i really wanted to get t, would it help with my algae prob or would iit only feed on green algae?
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
I had brown algae & then green hair algae, thought bummer... I wanted a "pretty" tank like everyone else. Then in about 3 months it was all gone & my tank has been algae free since.

IMO - I would hold off any nudibranch - with good maintenance (change water weekly 10-15% ro/di sw) and try some Chemi-Pure Elite (carbon & gfo) if needed, give the tank a bit of time to mature & it will all pass - just be careful to not overfeed.

Not sure how many snails you have - but snails make great CUC's - in my 34 gal RSM tank I have 20. Best of luck !
 
Tyrian

Tyrian

New Member
thanks so much for your help!

i have 2 turbo and like 5 nassarius im working with

as for the nudibranch i was just wondering if it would eat it anyway on the account i really like the look of it, yet with saltwater u can't just go off and buy anything you want =P
 
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