The DOOFUS Needs Assistance (hmmmm)

[KarenJax]

Ok so we all know I'm new here. :D I did look for answer to my question, but apparently my comprehension level dropped in direct proportion to my age level.
My tank has been cycling 7 days. The only two inhabitants that I can SEE (lol) are the 2 Astreae snails Bibbity and Bobbity. Now, Bibbity hasn't come off the LR yet (chicken) but Bobbity is doing laps around the glass.
In one corner, I have noticed a growth of golden colored???? Algae maybe? I asked my son, he said get a sand star. I read on here that they eat the sand clean the die of hunger! So I'm not convinced that the best way to go with a week old tank. Obviously of course the algae has to be handled. How though? I'm testing the water today so I'll have the answer to that later. :frustrat:

 

[dcantucson]

Algae is just part of a normal cycle. Do your water changes once a week and it will eventually work itself out when it runs out of its food source. You didn't use tap water did you? If so, switch to RODI.

 

[KarenJax]

Algae is just part of a normal cycle. Do your water changes once a week and it will eventually work itself out when it runs out of its food source. You didn't use tap water did you? If so, switch to RODI.

Ahhhh ( hanging head in shame) yea I did. I'm not on city water. I have a well that's attached to an aerator. I can do my changes with rodi then? :oops:

 

[Ulta]

+1 Dcan,

New tanks will get a Diatom Bloom toward the end of their cycle covering everything with brown Diatoms. This is normal. Shortly after you should be reading 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites. Then you can do a water change to get your Nitrates down, you want them below 20ppm. Once all that is in place you can go get yourself some snails to clean up the Diatoms :)

And yeah, the Diatoms will quit spreading in time and your water will stable out. Then your CUC will clean everything off for ya ;)

+1 RO/DI water for better water quality/less algae issues!

 

[Bifferwine]

Yes, skip the sandsifting star. They have very poor success rates and require large, mature, established tanks to do well.

 

[sen5241b]

Maragarita snails will eat brown algae. I was told they will slowly die in warmer water but mine have been going for the last year now.

 

[KarenJax]

Thanks guys. No wonder I <3 you all. You guys don't make a doofus feel toopid for asking silly questions! Should I just stir my sand myself or let sleeping diatoms lie?

 

[Bifferwine]

How deep is your sand bed? In general, you don't want to mess with it, because it can release trapped detritus and gasses into the water, which can harm your tank. We get around this by keeping a clean up crew that consists of burrowing snails and other inverts to slowly and gently keep the sandbed stirred and clean.

The diatoms are not hurting anything -- they are just ugly. And they will go away on their own eventually. If it was me, I'd gently turn over the very top layer of the sand with a spoon or something, but don't dig into the sand.

 

[KarenJax]

About 2 inches of live sand mixed with crushed coral.

 

[Bifferwine]

Yeah, I would not stir that up. If you stay at the very surface of it, you'll be fine. But there is probably a lot of crud trapped in a 2-inch deep sandbed. Grab some nassarius snails and conchs if you don't have some already, those will help. Red and blue legged hermits sometimes eat diatoms, but not usually in my experience.

 

[KarenJax]

I'll run some water tests tonight when I get home. I was wondering about the N. Snails. I thought that maybe they would be best but I wanted to double check first instead of buying some poor little fella and accidentally killing it or harming it.

 

[bjohanson1234]

I would wait until the cycle is completely over with before adding anything. When the ammonia and nitrite read 0, do the water change then add stuff slowly.

 

[KarenJax]

I would wait until the cycle is completely over with before adding anything. When the ammonia and nitrite read 0, do the water change then add stuff slowly.

The magical appearing Astraea snails, Bibbity and Bobbity are currently the only two inhabitants that I know of. I did see something tiny and dark go zipping across the sand back to the LR though. I wouldn't have put anything in there but the 2 snails hitchhiked in on the LR. They seem to be doing ok. Bibbity is stubbornly staying on the LR but Bobbity is cleaning away on the glass. Do I need to move Bibbity or just let her make her own way to the glass? My son said they wouldn't move off the LR until they were sure there was food on the glass.

 

[Bifferwine]

Just leave them be. They will move to find food.

 

[KarenJax]

I would wait until the cycle is completely over with before adding anything. When the ammonia and nitrite read 0, do the water change then add stuff slowly.

Just leave them be. They will move to find food.

Ah that's what I figured. I do get a kick out of Bobbity running laps around the tank nom nom nomming lol