Cycling New Salt Water Tank

[cornhusker]

I'm starting a small salt water tank to see how much work it is compared to fresh water before I make the investment in a bigger tank and equipment. I had an empty 10 gal tank with a whisper filter that I wanted to start with. I bought a power head as well.
I have a white sand base. I put a shrimp in the tank to help start the cycling process. No fish, just trying to get the tank to cycle.
I set the tank up the week before Christmas. The ammonia is down to 0, the nitrite is at 5.0 and the nitrate is at 10.0. The problem is, on top of the sand it's turning brown. Is this normal? Is it bacteria?
New & clueless.

 

[AZDesertRat]

That is normal and will eventually go away. I am assuming you used tap water and not RO/DI, which is one of the things that contributes to the brown.

 

[EdKruzel]

[welcome]

The brown stuff is common in new tanks and is an excess of diatoms also referred to as brown algae.

For many questions you probably have or will have begin here:
Newbie Q&A

Ed

 

[ReefNeck]

One thing for sure....If you plan to compare the difficulty between SW & FW you are comparing apples to coconuts with a 10 gallon tank.

With Saltwater tanks, the smaller they are the harder they are to maintain. Bigger tanks can be very easy if setup & equipped properly.

I'm afraid you are going to get nothing but a bad impression of saltwater aquariums by trying this on such a small tank. Sad to see because if you started with at least a 55G there is a world of difference in the maintenance required.

 

[jap1]

I don't think that's necessarily true. I have a 12 gallon tank that has done quite well. With a smaller tank, there are just more frequent water changes, but MUCH smaller initial investment. I love my nano!

 

[Fast Fred]

Consider getting about 10 pounds of live rock to help with bio-filtration.

 

[Russian123]

[welcome]

 

[AZDesertRat]

I don't think saltwater is any harder than freshwater but in both cases bad things happen fast. In other words the greater the volume the easier it is to keep things stable. Like the old saying, " The solution to pollution is dilution." The more water volume you have the easier it is to keep specific gravity correct or calcium level up etc.
I do maintain nano reefs also and have done so since 1990 but they are harder to keep pristine than the 100G.

 

[cornhusker]

I've added about 8lbs of live rock. My nitrites are now .25 & my nitrates are 20, but my water has a film on top. I don't think by filter is doing what it's suppose to. The filter is a wisper in the tank, there is no carbon filter in it just the filter pad. I think the filter was to low in the tank because the top of the filter was below the water. Plus from what I've been reading it seems like the filter pad should be clean out frequently. We set the tank up on 12/23 and have not cleaned the filter pad until today. Could this be my problem? Is this type of filter ok use in SW tank? No fish yet just live rock.

 

[drillsar]

You have a skimmer?

 

[cornhusker]

No skimmer yet. Do you need a skimmer if your just going to have FOWLR?

 

[drillsar]

Well yeah I would the white film is organics. skimmer will get rid of this..

 

[AZDesertRat]

Get a small powerhead and point it up so it agitates the surface. This will cause the surface scum to break up and be caught in the filter.

 

[DaveAngie79]

the brown stuff on the sand surface is alge starting its cycle get rid on it now will save you lots of time later belive me i just when through it a few weeks ago and just now coming out of the cycle

 

[cornhusker]

How do you get rid of the brown alge? I thought you needed alge for some of the fish or inverts?

 

[fishaholic911]

Get a protein skimmer that has a surface skimmer. This will get rid of the scum on the surface. A skimmer will help speed up the cycle process causing the brown alge to go away faster. Buy the best over the back you can afford because it sounds like you will get the reef bug and up grade