Team algae!

Hey guys! Very very very very new to salt water (only my second post)! Anyways, I've been skimming through the forums for a couple of weeks now trying to educate myself on the "basics" of algae growth and everything else!

My question is:
I have a 55 gallon tank that has been cycling for about 4 weeks now. There is one live rock and two rather large pieces of base rock. The rest are rocks and shell pieces that were picked up from the beach! My lighting system is an "Aquasun T5 High output linear fluorescent," and the two bulbs being used are a "coral sun 10,000k," and "ocean sun actinic 420." Both are 54W! I recently found a crab inside of the live rock (can't get a picture of him I've only seen him twice!) and have one blue damsel.

Finally, to my question!

Is the normal for a new tank?! (pics below)

My water parameters are:
Temp: 78-80
Salinity: 1.024
pH: 7.7
NH3/NH4: 0mg/L
NO2: <0.3mg/L

Damsel being fed small amounts of flake food once a day and I have been running my lights about 12 hours or so?

Again, sorry for any excess information provided, or plain-out sounding dumb!

haha, thanks a lot in advance guys,
Matt

 

I would call that pretty normal for such a new tank. It looks like cyano or diatoms, but I can't really tell for sure since it's such a thin layer.

Do you have any other equipment? Sump, skimmer, 'fuge? If not, I would suggest at least a HOB skimmer.

 

thanks for your time man! and I do not have any that you mentioned...I have been trying to read up on what to get next, but as you can imagine the vast amount of options makes it difficult for someone just getting into it! I have a hang-on mechanical filter as of now....you think the HOB skimmer would be the next best investment?

 

Yes it most definitely is.

 

Do you have your aquarium on a stand or table?

If you have a stand, do you have room for a sump?

If you can put a sump underneath, it opens up lots of options for you. So, before buying a HOB skimmer I'd advise making a long term game plan. It'll save you a bunch of money and headache if you do.

M

 

BTW --- Welcome to 3reef!!!

M

 

Also,your tank will get uglier than that,after it cycles,it will then have to mature.It's a normal part of new tank syndrome.Mine is going through the really ugly stage right now at about 9 weeks old.

 

Ditto!

 

thank you everyone for your wealth of knowledge, it's greatly appreciated!

as for the sump! I started researching these, I found that there are EXTREMELY customizable as each can be made to fit certain specifications...being fairly new to the hobby would a pre-manufactured sump be the way to go, but still get the job done well?

 

Hi
Have you thought what you actually want? Fish only with live rock (FOWLR)? or Reef? etc etc

It will this save you money in the long run as someone mentioned above. I have always had plenty of Live rock, never use Base rock as it doesnt filter the water.

Determine what you want before you open your wallet then find out what you need

Oh and as for the crab, if your going to keep a reef then terminate it while you casn still get it :/