New Fish Only & Live Rock Setup

[daledom]

Hi Guys,
I have just set up a new 4ft x 2ft high x 1.5ft tank. The tank has cycled and the levels are all great. I have now added 3 Percula Clowns and they are going great. They are eating and seem to be happy. I now have a problem that the sand is getting algae on it, I am using a marble sand and think I have made a mistake in choosing it.

The lighting is 6 x 54w T5's (4x10000k & 2x Actinic Blue tubes). I have them on for 12 hours a day. Is that too much ?

Do I need a cleaning crew ?

Is there a way to add more live rock now that I have added fish ?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Cheers
Dale

[NewbReefer]

welcome to the site and addiction
marble sand? as in the colorful glass marbles seen in many of the goldfish tanks?

[reeffreak]

Originally Posted by daledom

Hi Guys,
I have just set up a new 4ft x 2ft high x 1.5ft tank. The tank has cycled and the levels are all great. I have now added 3 Percula Clowns and they are going great. They are eating and seem to be happy. I now have a problem that the sand is getting algae on it, I am using a marble sand and think I have made a mistake in choosing it.Sorry,I don't know what marble sand is.Aragonite base sand is the best for saltwater tanks.

The lighting is 6 x 54w T5's (4x10000k & 2x Actinic Blue tubes). I have them on for 12 hours a day. Is that too much ?Cutting back on lights(maybe 6hrs) will help.You will need the full 12hrs though when and if you decide on corals

Do I need a cleaning crew ?If the cycle is complete..sure,let the algae be your guide on what types and how many cleanup crew you're need

Is there a way to add more live rock now that I have added fish ?Buy fully cured live rock...not to much at one time and just add it in.If you go with uncured then its prolly better to cure it in a separate container

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Cheers
Dale

Dale....Welcome to the site!
Anymore questions feel free to ask.

[daledom]

Marble sand is crushed marble, very fine and white. It is sold in most aquarium shops here in Australia as an alternative, Should I try and remove it and replace it with proper sand.

[NewbReefer]

sorry man i haven't heard of marble sand.

[reeffreak]

I would while you only have a few fish and rocks.Can you put the fish in a holding tank while you change out the sand?Changing out the sand may cause a mini-cycle.Personally in your situation,I would go with a combination of dry/live sand or all live sand(aragonite base) so I could get the fish back in the display as soon as possible.

Maybe others can chime in on marble sand.I have never heard of it here in the U.S.

[Bifferwine]

Since your tank is relatively new, I'd check and see if you could take the fish back and have the store hold on to them for you if you decide to change out the sand and add more live rock. Adding more live rock (1 to 2 lbs per gallon of water is recommended, I don't know what that is in kg or liters) will likely start a new cycle and could kill your fish. Algae problems are very normal in new tanks. If your levels are good, you should definitely add a cleaning crew to start working on the algae. And 12 hours of light is not too much, but like others have said, if you are having an algae problem, cutting back will not hurt.

[bobby]

You will likly see algae on the sand in a new tank. Non arganite sand or sand with silicates can cause a algae prob but algae will also have to feed on other things like nitrate and phosphate. I wouldnt remove the sand it will clear up in time with good husbandry. Alot of people are using non reef sand now to cut costs and I have added a quartz sand to my 55 to test it so far so good and I think the tank has been set up alittle over a month now. What are your perameters? Are you using Ro water? Are you doing water changes? What are you feeding the fish? By using bad water, over feeding and not doing water changes will cause exsess nutrients which will lead to algae. My 30gal reef didnt clear up till it was 3 or 4 months old, and now it look fine.

[yote]

Ive never heard of marble sand either.I personally wouldnt use anything but aragonite in my tank.It just looks a whole lot more natural.

[RigoSharon]

welcome to the site ..nothing new to add. remember to post pics!!!!