Algae in tank (still cycling) - Should i do something or ignore it

J

JumboAg99

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[The tank has had water and sand for two weeks, LR for one. I've got what looks like a bunch of algae starting to grow on the sand and glass. :cussing:

The ammonia level is about 0.25 right now, and I haven't had a nitrite spike yet. (Meaning that at this rate, it's going to be a while before I can put any sand dwellers into the tank to take care of the algae problem.) I am somewhat surprised that I haven't had an ammonia spike yet... with a fresh water tank, the ammonia hit comes very fast.

I'm only running the lights about 8 hours a day right now. And the tank is at a consistent 77-78 degrees.

Should I “let her ride” or do something about the algae?]
 
[No reason to run the lights if there isn't anything in there but rock and sand. It will only promote algae growth. I'd seed the tank with someones live sand or buy one of the off the shelf products with live bacteria to help it cycle. Add hermits and snails once the ammonia level is 0. My small refugium with a even a little bit of caulerpa in it has done wonders for my algae problem. You might consider partitioning off a part of your sump with a light over it or in your overflow box. FWIW Mark]
 
[The scoop of LS is a good idea, but there is no need to buy one of the shelved bacteria products. Most of them are junk. You can add a tiny pinch of flake food everyday to get the cycle kick-started.
Cut the lights down a bit, if it is nice LR you will want to have some light but maybe just 4 hrs per day.
After all your levels spike, start pulling out the funky algae by hand, and then let your new clean-up critters do the rest.

This is all totally normal and known as New tank syndrome. No worries, in a few more weeks it'll look great!]
 
[Amanda is right you need to run the lights but run them less. It's import to gradually simulate a real environment. If you have added live rock; fauna (worms and such) should begin to show up they will need that weekly dose of food to grow, devolop, and reproduce.

The initial new syndrome is usually done within a 2 week or 1 month time frame but to have the nessesary fauna to support your system it may take several months. The fauna is nessesary to maintain a healthy and natural sand bed. If your sand bed dies as linuxfisher can tell you will happen if the fauna's reproduction process is disturbed or their # aren't sufficent to support the tanks culture the tank will crash...

No one not even Dr shimek (at least from reading is work) can tell you what is a good ratio of fauna is before seriously stocking the tank. Please allow as much time as possible. I know it's hard to wait. I managed to wait a year with live rock, sand, water, and a clownfish.]
 
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