question about bio activity.....

[N_Jones]

Here's the setup.........

new tank just over 2 weeks old....
SG/ppt - 1.026/35
Ph - 8.2
Am - 0
rites - 0
rates - less than 20
Cal - 400
Alk - 3.5 mEq/l

I know that it has just finished cycling. I watched the Am, rites, and rates spike and then fall. These params have been steady for about 5 days now. And I am experiencing a Diatom bloom. Wow that happened in just hours too, at least it seemed that way. Now the sand bed is covered in tiny bubbles. They release from the bed carrying bits of stuff some brown/tan some white/clear popping on the surface and droping what ever it is that they carry.

My question is this a sign of good or bad bio activity in the sand bed?

Thanks

 

[danch]

The bubbles are most likely oxygen released by the diatom's photosynthesis. It's good as far as it goes. The diatoms will soon fade out, replaced by another form of microalgae. The various micros will also start to feed a 'pod bloom (seeded by your live rock), if you give it time and don't put a predator in.

You probably want to think about a clean up crew, but don't go overboard. The algae will bloom and die back on its own and settle at a level that won't support the size of clean up crew that the retailers want to sell you.

 

[N_Jones]

I was think of getting 5 turbos and about 10 hermits to start things off........

 

[danch]

How big a tank is it?

A lot of people don't like hermits - they won't limit themselves to algae and scavenging. I'm a newbie too, and wanted to see something move faster than a snail, so I've got 5 of them with the 8 atreas, 4 ceriths, and 2 nassarious in my 75. That crew (along with the huge population of pods) seems to be doing a good job for me at the moment.

 

[N_Jones]

It's a 55 gal.......... I want to add more than that, but that's what I'm thinking about adding now....... then add some more stuff in a couple of weeks......

 

[acpoweradapter]

The hermits will eat the snails for their shells eventually.

 

[papagimp]

Hermits wont' always go for the snails, but alot will and it's always a crapshoot. I would highly recommend you forget about the turbo's as well. My recommendations go towards several nassarius snails to stir the sand and attack the detritus/overfeeding. Some cerith to stir the sand and hit up a little on the glass and rocks, some Nerite to attack the algae on the glass, some asteria's to keep the nerites company while they both work the glass. And if you really want hermits, get the more expensive scarlet hermits and avoid the blue legged SOB's. This is what I've got in my 55, about 10 of each and the only algae growth I see is a smidge on the rocks, but not eough to consider it a nuisance and the back glass gets about 1/2 full of green algae, the front and sides and sandbed stay nice and clean.