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SanDiegoreefer
10/10/2006, 09:18 PM
The live rock is cycled and has been in the tank for 4 weeks. The sand has been in for 10 days. A week ago I added 10 small hermit crabs and 7 snails. Since then I've noticed some of the stuff growing on the live rock disappearing and turning a white color. Are the crabs eating it?

3 days ago I added some soft corals. I'm leaving the 10,000k on 9 hours and the actinic on 11hrs now.

Also, in the last couple days I'm noticing the algae growing on the sand. What's the best way to get that in check? The snails I have seem to be concentrating on the glass.

abugs1985
10/10/2006, 09:21 PM
Sounds like you have a pretty new setup so your tank is most likely just cycling, the algae should go away fairly soon. Do you have any pics? Also...check your ammonia level in the tank, the white stuff on the rocks might be die off.

drummereef
10/10/2006, 09:21 PM
I'd let the tank go through all of it's cycling first. I wouldn't worry about the algae blooms too much as they are normal as the tank matures. Has the tank cycled completely? Are your ammonia and nitrites 0?

abugs1985
10/10/2006, 09:23 PM
also...try getting that lighting down by a couple hours for now...for example have your actinics go on at 9 in the morning, the the day lights on at 10 am and leave them on until 3 pm and the actinics until 4 pm. Obviously thats just an example so you can set the times according to your sched. so you can view your tank when you're home. But I've always found that if i slowly build up the time the lighting is on in a new setup the algae growth is much less!

andyrew
10/10/2006, 09:26 PM
I think you probably jsut need to wait a little longer... by a little maybe a few weeks its hard to say. That said your photoperiod is a little longer than I think most people would have, cut it back by an hour or so for each and I think youll get some results.

SanDiegoreefer
10/10/2006, 09:45 PM
Sorry, I'm having trouble posting pics. Will try later.

I'm leaving the lights on longer now for the soft corals I just added. I thought they needed lots of light. Is that wrong?

Gotta

revenge53142
10/10/2006, 11:04 PM
i had alge problem till i figured out to use ro water

SanDiegoreefer
10/10/2006, 11:24 PM
I'm gonna try posting pics again.

The tank is cycled. I've heard that 9-12 hours with the lights is normal. Is that incorrect? I thought I was going on the low side.

I am using RO/DI water.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/133235DSC00085.JPG

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/133235DSC00081.JPG

IamAReefer
10/11/2006, 12:40 AM
Couple of things that have worked for me...
You can leave all lighting off for a few days to stunt the
algae growth. The soft corals will be fine without it.
Also, once you get going, a "sifter" fish such as a Diamond Goby is
great for removing junk from the sand. As a by product of them
looking for goodies in the sand, they stop any algae "carpet"
from forming over the bottom.

Trigeek
10/11/2006, 05:11 AM
Have you added any sand from an existing sand bed? This would help to add critters (pods, worms, small stars) that feed off of this algae and help you sand bed become functional. Cerith and nassarius snails will help with this. Time is the main thing.

mzeinstr
10/11/2006, 05:16 AM
i have my actinics on for 14 hours (5 AM to 7 PM), my 400W MH come on at 11:30 and are off at 5:30. i was told that MH lighting for over 6 hours was unnatural, as the sun is only at its peak for 4-6 hours per day.

marti

MichaelMichelson
10/11/2006, 09:35 AM
That algae is just fine in a new tank. As for the lighting, yes, the sun is only at it's peak for around 5 hours, but the corals actually need white light for longer than that. If propagating corals, the best way is to keep the white light (MH) on for around 8 hours, (10,000K compact) on for around 10 hours. Keep the actinic on for around 13 hours. That's the lighting schedule that I keep all of my saltwater tank at home and at the LFS I work at. Sucess for over 2 years.

Shagsbeard
10/11/2006, 10:09 AM
A little physics, for those who've never been underwater for 24 hours....

The refraction of sunlight into sea water makes it so the sun is pretty much overhead as soon as it rises to these critters. They're used to the light coming straight down for most of the day. To see this effect, go to the bottom of a swimming pool and look up at the surface. You'll notice that everything around the pool is in a circle over you... not all the way to the edges of the pool. With the index of refraction, and Snell's law, you can find the actual angle at which the rising or setting sun would appear to a fish on a reef.

ChunksInClemson
10/11/2006, 01:49 PM
good point!

SanDiegoreefer
10/11/2006, 05:30 PM
Thanks for the responses. :D Very interesting opinions. I like the Goby suggestion. That makes sense to me. :beer:

Also glad no one posted anything that I'm obviously doing wrong with the tank. :bounce2: