New tank syndrome

[StrategicReef]

I took maybe 40 lbs of aged rock and my numerous SPS from my old tank and put them into a 80 gallon tank.. with the sump the actual volume is about 80 gallons. I installed a very good skimmer and a middle refugium to grow a ball of chaeto before the return.

It's driven by intense light enough to support SPS. Soon I am having algae on the grass and hair algae, powerhead and everywhere. Right now I have 4 anthias so I feed about a cube of brine or mysis, etc a day. so I know this is the source of nutrient.. and also cause the algae with the daily feeding.. I run GFO and carbon in a phos reactor, the nitrate and phosphate is not detectable but I know it's being consumed by the algae.

I only had about 4 snails which I just realized wasn't enough to keep things in check, therefore I bought just a few more and it is looking better but ideally I should have like 30 more snails to pull out the algae as soon as they grow. I have more Live rocks curing which will be added soon.

The SPS is growing and coloring up just amongst the algae on the rocks.

I never ran a system with a sump and fuge before so I want to know if eventually things will balance out and perhaps one day my chaeto will win over the algae in the display? I started with a small ball and it's getting bigger everyday, I have also upgraded to a LOA flood light over it about 8 hours a day for now.

So should I just wait or get more snails?

[digidana]

i'm new, but i've read that a lot of people let the fuge light run 24/7 so the chaeto outgrows the phosphates/nitrates/algae. i've also read that the phosphate tests suck and are unreliable and if you have green algae, you have phosphates. more chaeto should help. i have some green algae too, i just ordered some mangrove to stick in there. its supposed to work really well. i don't think more snails would hurt either. but, i'm no expert!

[Shooter7]

Having algae in a new tank is not unexpected, just as your thread title indicates with "New tank syndrome". IME, if you keep to your tank husbandry practices and provide ample flow, these small nuisances will go away on their own. Mainly takes just some patience on your part.

I would, however, suggest finding a way of feeding that is less of a negative for your tank and more healthy a diet for your fish (and corals). If you're using the frozen you mentioned above, you should make sure you are thawing it and straining it before putting it in the tank. I would suggest researching and finding some of the homemade formulas of frozen food that are floating about here on RC. I made my own food after using flake for some time and suffering algae problems. The fish love it, as do the corals, and it's less phosphates going into the system than the processed stuff.

[StrategicReef]

I am going to buy a small strainer for my frozen food, I am missing this step.. I just rinse it for a few seconds then put some selcon right now which is probably not good enough.

Do Selcon contribute to algae? It's not supposed to have any phosphate or nitrates