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From: alien@cpoint.UUCP (Alien Wells)
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria
Subject: Re: new marine tank question
Message-ID: <3573@cpoint.UUCP>
Date: 18 Jan 90 13:47:01 GMT
References: <34603@mips.mips.COM>
Reply-To: alien@cpoint.UUCP (Alien Wells)
Organization: Clearpoint Research Corp., Hopkinton Mass.
Lines: 52

In article <34603@mips.mips.COM> kck@mips.COM (Ken Klingman) writes:
$In the past few days the tank has developed multiple blooms of
$what I suppose to be brown algae on the front glass (actually
$plexi).  There's about a dozen spots, each the size of a nickel.
$Is this to be expected?  Should I clean the glass?  There seems
$to be a fair growth of the same stuff on the crushed coral as
$well.  Should I worry?

This is perfectly normal.  Brown slime algae is the first to appear.  It
really doesn't matter too much what you do it it (as long as you don't 
try to remove it from the tank), cleaning it off the glass will just cause
it to move elsewhere.

This slime algae will eventually cover everything.  If your water quality
is good, it will gradually be replaced by bright green algae.  You will have
to regularily clean any glass surfaces you want kept clear (for viewing).

Don't worry.  The algae shows that your tank is cycling.  The end result
of the biological filtration of fish waste is nitrate, which is a fertilizer.
This causes the algal bloom.  The algae actually work to keep down the nitrate
level and will provide some nibbling food for any herbiverous fish you get
(tangs, angels, etc).

The only tanks you want kept clear of microalgae (slime algae, the stuff you
are getting ...) are mini-reef tanks where the algae will choke off a lot
of the inverbs and macro-algae.

>The water is not crystal clear.  The only filtration I'm running
>is some pre-filter material at the top of trickle filter.  I
>think I eventually want to put in a foam fractionator since
>from what I've heard it's a "good thing", but there's too much
>variety available and I think maybe I should build one because
>they cost a bunch and I've already sunk a fortune into this
>thing.  I've been thinking that a simple cannister filter with
>activated charcoal filtering the sump in the trickle filter would
>do the job of clearing the water in the meantime.  Comments?

This I don't understand.  When I set up my current tank, the trickle filter
cleared up the tank in about an hour (it generally used to take overnight
with a UGF setup).  Your tank has not been running long enough to develop
a buildup of complex proteins (which would cause a yellowish tinge, and 
would be taken care of by a protein skimmer), and I generally don't 
recommend the addition of carbon filtration (others will disagree here).

You may be having a (harmless) bacterial bloom, which can cause the water
to take on a white cloudy appearance.  This is common for cycling tanks,
and is nothing to be worried about.  If this is the case, it should
disappear by itself in perhaps a weak.
-- 
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Alien   |   		- the Heavy Metal movie
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