Algae in a New Tank

My 29 gallon has been set up for roughly two-and-a-half months now. The foundation of new life all started with the diatoms, ugly brown flaky powdery film. It began small and then spread to cover the sand bed, most of the rock, and even the powerheads and thermometer.

Next came the brown hair. Not much different in color from the diatoms except, well, hairy. It was at this point that I added the CleanUpCrew, approximately 10 nerites and around 25 cerith snails.

Almost overnight I could see the work the janitors had been doing. They started on the sand, returning it to the almost new state, but I guess nothing is ever new in a marine aquarium. Soon streaks across the rocks began appearing where the snails had been feasting on the "nuisance". The two live seed rocks (the rest starting as dry base) soon had the encrusting coralline completely exposed and ready to spread like wildfire.

About a month-and-a-half in I also began testing and supplementing calcium and magnesium. Soon after I noticed the red coralline beginning to spread to the once pasty white dry rock. Perhaps a reef is possible this far from the ocean.

I post this because while the newly established tank suffers what some may consider ugly algae blooms, this is in itself a beautiful part of our hobby. We have succeeded in creating a synthetic environment that is capable of sustaining life! With the right hand it is not a short leap to fish and corals. The marine aquarium must "evolve", starting with the lower "ugly" forms advancing to the fantastic examples of marine reef aquariums seen from the more advanced practitioners of our hobby.

In short, don't let the algae blooms in the early stages of a new marine aquarium get you down. Instead, REJOICE, you are well on your way to a small but gorgeous reproduction of one of the most complex ecosystems on our planet.

Finally, the latest addition in my new tank has been some fern-like green macro algae on some of the rocks and especially the glass. My aquarium is alive!

 

Great way to think of it. Every new form of life in your tank is just that a new form of life breeding and growing in your own home. Sounds like you got into this hobby for the same reasons as me. Nothing like bringing a small piece of the natural world into your living room.

 

Great post. Everyone new to this hobby (like myself) should read this.

 

That's the way to write a post if with passion. I felt the same way when life started popping up in mine.