Am I doing this right?

Hi all,

This sire has been so helpful in getting me started on my first reef tank.
Before I get into my problem, here is what I have:

20 gallon tall
1inch layer of sand on bottom, 20 pounds live rock (assorted)
Reaction 4 stage filter with UV sterilizer (rated up to 100 gallons)
Rio Nano protien skimmer (dont know if i have it adjusted correctly yet)
JBJ Formosa light (65x2) It has a purple light in it as well as clear.
3 cheap chromis to kick-start tank cycles (recommended by local store)
5 hermit crabs to clean
Powerhead (30 gallons/minute)

I have had the tank since Oct 6th 08 (5 days)
I run the lights for 8 hours a day and clean the front of the glass every day(on the inside of course). I am starting to see as of today brownish yellow algae developing on the tonga branch rock thats closest to the light. It is also developing on the sand in some select areas without any shade from the rock.The hermit crabs look like they are eating it but not very much.
The water was tested for ph, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, and salt levels two days ago and everything was fine. This was when they told me that it was okay to jump-start my cycles with a few small chromis.

Should I be worried about the brown algae, and if so, what should I do?
A picture of it is attached below.

It may be that after spending so much money on all the equipment Im just paranoid now haha.

Thanks everyone!!!
Yuri

 

all tanks go through algae when they are first set up

 

Is there a way to help control it more? I dont want it to get out of hand...

Thank you

 

Another thing I realized, the protein skimmer outlet is producing bubbles that are blown by my powerhead into the areas that have significant growth of brown algae. Should i redirect the flow so that these bubbles dont hit my rock??? I was able to adjust my protein skimmer such that it now produces more bubbles in the tank and has more foam traveling up through and into the catch can. Is this right?

 

Hope this helped. Keep asking questions. This is a complicated hobby you have embarked on. But a rewarding one. Research, research, research. You will want to also figure out EXACTLY what you want in your tank. You want a reef tank.....that is a beginning. That defines what kind of fish you can have. The kind of fish you want will further define what kind of inverts you can have. Now, in a 20g, you are limited to about 7 inches of fish. So choose wisely.

Have fun!!!!! John.

 

Wow! I really love this site. Thanks a lot John.

To clarify some things....
The rate was per hour, haha not per minute. That was my fault.

The filter canister came with the carbon package already inside of it. Should I remove it then for now?

I will not be able to check the water parameters every other day. But maybe a two times a week. Will this be okay?

Also, how long should I expect for the cycling time now that there are waste producers inside the tank?

I turned off the uv sterilizer for now. Should I keep the lights off during the cycling process?

Thanks again John.

 

Peace.......John.