Wow, the coralline algae is spreading really fast! Lots of light green that has appeared over the past few days, along with the dark red spots that the live rock has!
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How did this turn out for you? Any updates
things have been going as they should! The crabs and snails are thriving.The one thing though is that I’m battling a big cyano and Hair algae bloom... and I know exactly how it started. When I first got the live rock there was hair algae on it, but I kept it because I “wanted the ecosystem to grow” and that really came back at me lol. Anyways, I’ve done some scrubbing and kept the lights on only half of the day, I might get more snails to combat it. Because all of the parameters are stable and all of the clean up crew seems healthy I’ll add a fish or coral once the bloom is over. The tank is not in its peak right now but I’ve heard it’s common for blooms to happen when starting a tank
this pic is after scrubbing most of the algae off
Yes this happens.
Although some think it’s unsightly, it’s a sign that the tank is progressing.
Nitrate and phosphate are the two main nutrients that Cyanobacteria and hair algae use along with light.
Cyanobacteria relies more on the phosphate then anything else, so if your nitrates are low Po4 is the most likely cause.
It should cycle on through this process,
But if the Cyanobacteria continues you should check your source water because it may contain phosphate.
Sometimes the live rock itself will have bound Po4 and the Cyanobacteria can exploit this but once its used it will slowly disappeared.
Although some think it’s unsightly, it’s a sign that the tank is progressing.
Nitrate and phosphate are the two main nutrients that Cyanobacteria and hair algae use along with light.
Cyanobacteria relies more on the phosphate then anything else, so if your nitrates are low Po4 is the most likely cause.
It should cycle on through this process,
But if the Cyanobacteria continues you should check your source water because it may contain phosphate.
Sometimes the live rock itself will have bound Po4 and the Cyanobacteria can exploit this but once its used it will slowly disappeared.
Here’s a progress picture!
It’s currently an algae “no man’s land” but I’m scrubbing it, reducing light, and will add more snails soon to fight it
I scrubbed off all of the hair algae before taking this picture, so it looks a lot better than it usually is...
Algae aside, I’m proud of how it’s going so far, hermits have changed/traded shells a lot, and I’m starting to get the hang of things. 1 month has felt like a breeze!
It’s currently an algae “no man’s land” but I’m scrubbing it, reducing light, and will add more snails soon to fight it
I scrubbed off all of the hair algae before taking this picture, so it looks a lot better than it usually is...
Algae aside, I’m proud of how it’s going so far, hermits have changed/traded shells a lot, and I’m starting to get the hang of things. 1 month has felt like a breeze!
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I finally decided to bring in the heavy reinforcements, and got some Mexican turbo snails. They’re cleaning pretty well, but they’re absolutely LITTERING the bottom with poop. It’s just a constant barrage, reminds me of machine gun bullet casings...
I got 4, I might return 1 or 2 because of this and also they are huge!
I got 4, I might return 1 or 2 because of this and also they are huge!
