[Paps5]

Help! Gozillion micro somethings...also white some things!

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I am in the 3rd week of cycling my 75 gallon tank. 100lbs of live rock 4in live sand base. Water was cyrstal clear first 2 and a half weeks. Water became cloudy. Had water checked, PH was 7.5 everything else great. LFS recommended water change to help raise PH, changed 10 gallons, have not had PH checked yet.

All of that to find some answers!!!!!
# 1 The water has cleared but I have GOZILLIONS of these tiny, tiny white things that swimand crawl in the glass. They do not look like starfish, more like a flea!

#2 I have some dark green and dark purple algae on the live rock, I was told both are good, but I have a snow white something growing now. Rapidly. I have not been running lights except when checking for water clarity.

[migget]

Sounds to me like you have a ton of copepods whichis a great source of food for varies kinds of reef fish. I wouldnt worry at all, if therre not bugs and samll bubbles then you may have skimmer puttingout to much oxygen for the water. BUt dont sound like tht , jsut leave it and see the things grow.

john

[Paps5]

Thanks for the help! I have a few pics of the white stuff.
I'm not for sure how to upload them. Any advice? I tried the attachment but the upload failed.

[BLKBRDTA]

To post a picture on a thread do as follows:

(File must be smaller than 1.54MB and can be jpg, jpeg, png, gif, bmp, tif, tiff, or pdf file format.)

1. Save picture file to your HDD.

2. Open your browser and go to: ImageShack® - Image Hosting

3. On the top right click "Choose file" and find the picture on your HDD to be uploaded (hosted.)

4. Go down a little and check the box "resize image?" then select your resolution that you would prefer (640x480 and larger is recommended.)

5. Then click "Host it!"

(In a few seconds a new page will appear with multiple thumbnail code URL's.)

6. Scroll about halfway down (under the advertisements) and uncheck the box "Include details"

7. Then just below that box there is the thumbnail code for "Hotlink for forums (1)" click that line and press Ctrl+C (to copy that code.)

8. Next, just go back to the thread you are posting on and in the message box (wherever you want the picture to go in the text) press Ctrl+V (to paste the code.)

There you have it! Hosted pictures without having to "attach files" on here!

[Paps5]

Thanks for the info. on posting pics. Hope this works!

[Paps5]

One more!

[BLKBRDTA]

I will second the Copepods statement. I was looking at my tank today and saw a small white flea looking creature floating along the current. Then it landed and went into an empty Hermit crab shell. Copepod! lol I will sometimes see bigger ones roaming the sand bed really fast at night with the Lunars on. And yes, the green, red, purple, cyan, pink stuff growing is Coraline algae, a positive sign of the cycling. I read that you don't turn on the lights unless checking for clarity? You should leave the lights on for at least 10 hours a day, no matter what type of bulb/fixture it is. This may be why your pH is so low. The lights will aid in cycling your new tank as well as assist the Nitrogen cycle. Also, water changes that are done too frequently will offset your levels, lowering Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates, but it can also raise your Sg too high or cause unstable pH levels. There is a product that your LFS should carry called pH Buffer. With proper dosage, it will raise/lower your pH to optimal levels (usually between 8.1-8.3.).

[stevekellner]

This is indeed Copepods. I seocnd the lighing should be on for atleast couple of hours

[Paps5]

Thanks for all the help!

[BLKBRDTA]

Not a problem Paps. Try 6-8 hours of lighting a day, if Diatoms and algae start covering everything, cut down lighting times. If not, then its safe to go to 10 hours of light a day. Some go 12, but its not recommended. Later

[migget]

BlkBRDTA i know tht at least for me whenever ive cycled a tank it goes through an algae bloom phase. Tht lasts for like 2 weeks and then the brown algae/diatoms die for the most part and your left with jus the rock, at least for me when ive cycled my tanks, every time.

john

[BLKBRDTA]

This is true, it usually does turn into an outbreak, then start slowing down and leveling out. It is a perfectly normal part of the cycling process that my 50 just went through. But I was telling him to gradually raise his lighting times due to the fact that Diatoms respond and blossom with your lighting schedule. Some new tanks will go through this phase, and never really come out of it, being completely covered in brown hair from the sand bed to the surface walls. This may require the entire system to be broken down and re-cycled from a Diatoms outbreak. The member BennyZ had this problem, so he broke down his entire 200g Acrylic and replaced the display with a 200g Starfire. Just a heads up.

Tony

[migget]

ok i see i jsut miss read it then