what's next? (order of things in a new tank)

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jenwebber3

New Member
29 biocube up for about 3 weeks, live rock for 2. levels are good. i've had some purple stuff sprouting from the rocks and all kinds of different wormy things. i am now getting diatomaceious algae. i thought i read somewhere that the algae will go thru cycles, brown, then green, then the good purple stuff. is that the case? do i wait for the brown to give way to something else? will it hurt whatever is sprouting from the rock? do i put something in to start eating worms and algae (shrimp, crab, etc)? should i be doing water changes? i have a bunch of books and they all seem to jump from basic setup to stocking, skipping all this in-between stuff. i trust the guy at my local pet shop, but only so much. thanks for any tips,
i don't know what i should be doing right now!

p.s. when is a good time to setup a refugium?
 
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AlexfromSATX

New Member
Hey Jen,

the diatom bloom can be cleared with a clean up crew, and wont hurt anything at this point, its just not fun to look at. The purple or Coraline (?) Algae will come with time usually 3-6 months if water changes and things are done regularly. If your tank is done cycling and all of your readings are at zero I would do a water change and then add your clean up crew. I would do snails and if you want to do hermits make sure you have some spare snail shells lying around or you could see some of your snails disappear. As for a water change schedule some people do them weekly and some bi weekly, although Bi-weekly they are bigger changes. Hope that helps a little! :thumbup:
 
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AlexfromSATX

New Member
Whoops, didn't see your PS. A refugium can be set up pretty much at anytime. where were you thinking of putting it? Most people just put some Cheato and LR rubble in a back chamber of the BC's and hook up a small light to help the cheato grow.
 
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jenwebber3

New Member
thanks! that helps a lot, i don't want to screw up so soon! lol. not sure about the refugium, i fear it might depend on what my pet store can get. i work too much to mail order and am timid about shipping live things that way anyway...think i'll head to the store today!
 
J

jenwebber3

New Member
yup, got some red-legged and blue-legged hermits, a bunch of margarita snails, and a beautiful tree coral (colt coral?) that had about 5 or 6 little brittle stars hitchhiking on it! though now one of my light ballasts seems to have pooped out (4-week-old tank, greeeeeat), so i'm hoping it's ok with just the 10000K for now. I know tree corals are pretty forgiving...
 
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jenwebber3

New Member
yes, an emailed, but every time i call them it takes day or two to reply to me. which is amusing, since their office is less than an hour from my house! ergh.
they've always been helpful, though, once they get in touch!
i hope my poor hermy crabs don't go blind from the switch from dull daylight to bright 10000K! lol. poor kids!
 
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