[Mattfish]

We've got our 125g tank going about 3-4 weeks now. We've got 4 green chromis, and a cleanup crew in. This past week, while I was traveling, my wife hadn't noticed that the skimmer level was set wrong and that it was effectively overflowing with water, so all the skim was being recirculated right back into the tank. We got LOTS of algae - I mean really a lot. The chemistry is still good - everything where it ought to be.

Now that I've reset the skimmer and it's removing crud like crazy, will the crabs, snails, shrimp, etc be able to catch up with all the algae, or should I try to "brush" the LR softly to dislodge as much algae as possible so it'll get sucked through the sump and then the filter pads and skimmer? Or should I let it work itself out?

It seems so dirty and although we're going to get some more snails, crabs, etc, I'm curious about which side of the equation I should look towards - i.e., let the ecosystem work itself out naturally, or take action to avoid an out of control situation?

[glampka]

Hi Mike,
You could help things along by srubbing & removing with your regular water change. CUC should be able to handle it. You can also cut back on some of your lighting to nip the problem as well.

[e_baer]

If you do help it out a little, try to catch all of the free floating algae asap, because if you dont, its like blowing those white puffy flower things all over a lawn. It would just spread at an even faster pace.

[Mattfish]

Thanks for both replies!

In the absence of time - I have to leave again tomorrow for a week, and didn't want to leave it all on my wife to handle, we effectively tried to buy our way out of the problem - inexperience goes far when you go visit your lfs!

We got a LOT of snails - astreas and nasarius, crabs - blue & red leg hermits, and emeralds, and shrimp - peppermint, cleaner, camel and fire, and they're all doing their thing.

We've also got 4 green chromis, 1 six line wrasse, and 2 banggai cardinalfish. It all seems to be one happy family so far.

Lot's of swimmy stuff, crawly stuff, slimy stuff, and moving things with color - very cool, and really getting to be fun. We'll monitor the algae, which really seems to have gone down overnight. We had a number of shrimp, crabs, and chromis before the algae explosion, so this wasn't a "let's dump in wildlife" party as much as it might sound like it.

[e_baer]

If you plan on having a reef tank, careful with the camel shrimp. They sometimes eat polyps.

[Steevo]

100 micron filter sock, washed out daily in your case, this would catch lots of muck

[Mattfish]

Once again, great information from RB. I didn't know about the camel shrimp - the second lfs we sometimes go to didn't mention that (lesson learned), and that will be important to us.

As for the filter tip, next weekend is our first major cleanup and perpetuation step - so the timing is great. We've got a water change, probably 25%, and a filter cleaning and system check.

Thanks!

[e_baer]

One of my favorite sites is Aquarium Fish: Tropical Freshwater Fish and Saltwater Fish for Home Aquariums just because it gives all the basic info on the basic creature that you would find in your LFS! Just to let you know.

[Mattfish]

That's a great site to know about! I'm just starting my livestock research phase (I don't buy toilet paper without a spreadsheet), and having gotten through the equipment buying and tank startup, we're now trying to identify what we want and have a general plan for when and how.

Thanks!

[e_baer]

Good luck! I'm just glad your taking the proper steps in setting your tank up!

[Mattfish]

Not only is it live "stuff" in the tank, we've got a 21 month old son who will be learning from this as well, so we kinda need to do it right.

We did have 2 green chromis' die on us this past week, but the lfs told us that there were several others that went to other homes that also perished. We got 4 at the same time, and 2 died, and 2 survive. We checked everything out, and couldn't find anything wrong with water, etc.

After checking everything (I was travelling on business all week, so it was kinda painful to hear about this on the road), I came home from the airport Friday night and went straight to the lfs and asked lots of questions, then we went and added more cleaners. As it happened, the skimmer was set wrong after the chromis' died, so that was where all the algae came from.

Now everything's working properly and the new guests are warming to their new home.