Time for a clean up crew ?

Steve 926 · 07/17/2007, 07:47 AM

Hell to all

I have a 50 gal display that has been up for 2 weeks.
The 60 lb of LR has been cured separately for over a month & is now in the display. I have placed some LR into a small refuge. that I have in the sump under a 6500 k daylight bulb on a 12 /12 on off cycle. The fudge now has a good amount of brown / diatom growth. The display has had no lighting other than the ambient light from the room / window near by ( I have left the fixture off) & has no real growth other than a small brown patch on the DSB
The water parameters are:
Sg 1.026
Ph 8.25
Temp 80
No2 0
No3 0
Ca 390
Mg 1450

My Question is a clean up crew for the display / sump.
What do you think is the best for either, I hope to start a small mixed reef.
Would it be better to just add to the sump first, or turn the display lighting on (Solaris 250w led) now to start a better growth in the display ?
Can I expect the brown / diatom in the sump to just run it's course, & let it be ?

Thanks to all for a reply, & any info you may have

Steve 926

der_wille_zur_macht · 07/17/2007, 07:50 AM

If your nutrient export is up to par, the diatom bloom will run it's course and disappear (mostly) after another few weeks or so.

Start running your lights ASAP. Pumping that much energy into your tank will really change things - you don't want to cycle in the dark and then have a bunch of surprises when you turn the lights on and start stocking.

07/17/2007, 07:47 AM	#1
Steve 926 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: NJ. Posts: 555	Time for a clean up crew ? Hell to all I have a 50 gal display that has been up for 2 weeks. The 60 lb of LR has been cured separately for over a month & is now in the display. I have placed some LR into a small refuge. that I have in the sump under a 6500 k daylight bulb on a 12 /12 on off cycle. The fudge now has a good amount of brown / diatom growth. The display has had no lighting other than the ambient light from the room / window near by ( I have left the fixture off) & has no real growth other than a small brown patch on the DSB The water parameters are: Sg 1.026 Ph 8.25 Temp 80 No2 0 No3 0 Ca 390 Mg 1450 My Question is a clean up crew for the display / sump. What do you think is the best for either, I hope to start a small mixed reef. Would it be better to just add to the sump first, or turn the display lighting on (Solaris 250w led) now to start a better growth in the display ? Can I expect the brown / diatom in the sump to just run it's course, & let it be ? Thanks to all for a reply, & any info you may have Steve 926 __________________ Experience is something you don't get, until just after you need it . Current Tank Info: Small in nature (50gal. Reef) Large in Heart. Re-occurring dream of a 300 gal.

07/17/2007, 07:50 AM	#2
der_wille_zur_macht Team RC Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NY Posts: 17,749	If your nutrient export is up to par, the diatom bloom will run it's course and disappear (mostly) after another few weeks or so. Start running your lights ASAP. Pumping that much energy into your tank will really change things - you don't want to cycle in the dark and then have a bunch of surprises when you turn the lights on and start stocking. __________________ Inconveniencing marine life since 1992 "It is my personal belief that reef aquaria should be thriving communities of biodiversity, representative of their wild counterparts, and not merely collections of pretty specimens growing on tidy clean rock shelves covered in purple coralline algae." (Eric Borneman)