First Post, Excited to be here!

[trytostaylive]

Hello everyone this is my first post on this forum, seemed like the nicest one out there.
My name is Cory and i Hope to get to know everyone well over all my projects!
All formalities aside i have my first issue for you guys.
Prior to the problem ill describe my setup.
I have a 30gallon saltwater setup running.
I will keep adding to it and progressing as money comes in :) well all know that feeling.
As it stands now, water parameters are almost perfect, its been running for 3-4 weeks now with 20-25lbs of live sand, and i only have 10lbs or so of live rock. Ill be adding more as soon as i get the cash like i said. hydrometer is on point, im sure im still building my bio-profile as we speak. I have about 4 blue leg hermits in there left over from my fluval edge nano reef.
I am running two hanging filtration systems equaling around 450GPH flow.
planning on adding a fan(for current) soon.
Other than that i am running a 7K and a 10K 25w lamps
Not super detailed, but im fairly busy today, if more specific details of my setup are required to answer questions or give advice lemme know and i will get that info for you.
Now to my first question!
I am running my tank until i know things are perfect before i put any coral or fish into the tank and i know that will be awhile.
However i have a rust colored organism growing in my tank! and i dont know what it is, what the cause is, or how to resolve it. I cleaned it very well after i took pictures today so it looks fine now, but i want the niche to be self-sufficient almost!

 

[Paste]

looks like diatom, a brown algae that I got tons of just after my tank initially cycled..
it went away shortly after, with maintenance and water changes you should be good.

 

[trytostaylive]

wow that was quick :) so i should just let it do its things, keep changing water and cleaning?
and what do you think of the light setup and flow setup so far?

 

[Cathic]

First let me welcome you to the site, hello there!

You will want to get rid of the HOB filters, they will cause you more problems than they are worth in the long run. Also I notice you have Diatoms/Cyano (brown and purple), thats because of your flow and the new setup. You need to add at least 1 good powerhead to get some water movement going in there. Second Im not sure what kind of tank you are going for but you will need most likely replace those lights if you want to have a reef tank. The ones you have just arent strong enough to support most reef inhabitants (corals nemes etc).

You are correct in saying you will need more rock, that would be my first purchase along with the powerhead. Next I would invest into a good protein skimmer this along with your rock and sand will be the only filtration you need.

Others will fill you in on all the rest. I hope you have a wonderful experience here and I hope we can get all your questions answered!

Welcome to LivingReefs! - Cathic

 

[Bifferwine]

Yes, those are diatoms. Be sure you are using RO or RODI water -- tap water fuels diatoms. In a newly set up tank, they are normal and pretty much unavoidable, and will go away on their own as the tank matures. They do not hurt anything; they just look ugly. :)

 

[cvcdrk]

You're definitely going to need more flow in the tank. You should aim for somewhere around 30x-40x your tank volume. Some reasonably-price powerheads should do the job well.

Also, are you testing the water/do you have a test kit? What have your parameters been like?

 

[chichimom79]

Welcome aboard! They have you covered :)

 

[little_fish]

Hello and welcome!

 

[Waddi]

Welcome to the Reef bud!

 

[yote]

+1 All the above

Welcome aboard.

 

[moncapitane]

Hello and Welcome.

 

[ErinCahir]

Hello and welcome to the site!!

 

[Smitty]

Hello and welcome to the site...glad to have you aboard.

 

[Samhain]

Welcome to the addiction!

 

[trytostaylive]

You're definitely going to need more flow in the tank. You should aim for somewhere around 30x-40x your tank volume. Some reasonably-price powerheads should do the job well.

Also, are you testing the water/do you have a test kit? What have your parameters been like?

I have test strips, im sure not as high quality as a chem. test kit. but with funds needed spent and no fish they do for now.
On that note though, any recommendations on a test kit worthy?
Also parameters are doing well, nitrates and nitrites a little high but going down, crabs seem to love their new home.
Any recommendations on a power head?
get paid tomorrow and its upgrades to the fish tank or the prelude i cant decide!! haha

 

[cvcdrk]

Most people use API test kits in the beginning. Test strips our notoriously inaccurate. Red Sea makes good test kits and Salifert are the best but a little pricey. A good test kit is indispensable in this hobby.

You should be testing for pH, Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates right now. Later on you may need to add calcium, magnesium and alkalinity to the list. If you're trying to watch the cycle in action you will see a sharp rise in Ammonia followed by a comparable rise in nitrites. After awhile, these numbers will return to 0 and nitrates will be high. At this point you can do a 50% water change and if nitrates are then <20 you can add your first fish. :-)
I doubt your nitrates are "going down". There are a few ways to reduce nitrates but the primary way is to do water changes. During the cycle you shouldn't change any water, though, it will only extend your cycle.

For a powerhead a lot of people use Hydor Koralia powerheads. They're cheap and they work pretty well. JBJ makes good powerheads as well...Oceanstream, I think. Probably way out of your price range if you're trying to be savy about it but the vortech mp10 is amazing and probably the best.

Hope this helps.