Test Results? Additives? Pls Help!

[ANNIESREEF]

:strooper: I performed a few tests tonight for the first time. My tank is 4 wks and 1 day old. At 1st, had brown stringy algae growing on backside of lr but scrubbed in salt water and so far ok. Have seen a lil growth in 1 day tho.
Test results are as follows: nitrite is 0-0.25 but closer to 0 in color. nitrate is 0, high range ph is 8.4 and ammonia is 0. I have 5 snails and 9 blue leg crabs-for about 1 week now-doing a great job too!
I have used iodine once a week and just started adding calcium and essential elements per directions.
Am I doing anything wrong? have bunch of white stuff floating-swimming in water. Tried to educate myself for this. been studing since august of 2004.
any advise from those of you with experience-please advise what i can do to better my aquarium. been following(for most part) rules from Drsfosterandsmith.com.

[ab5ebdxer]

I would stop adding the additives at this time, you might consider it later but no need now. Be patient your tank still needs to cycle. You might consider a water change.

[leebca]

Additives are a bit of a scam. As long as you are doing your water changes regularly with a good quality salt mix, you do not need to put in additives, at all.

Right now, the additives are likely to encourage the unwanted growth. Just let things be as they are and begin your pattern of maintenance and care.
:)

[ANNIESREEF]

Thanks for the advise. I told you wrong tho, I was 3 wks and a day into cycle. was planning to do water change every 4th Sunday. Guess I will attempt tomorrow night.

[Scuba Dog]

I just dose a few things to my tank...calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium since my tanks are heavly stocked with fast growing hard corals it needs quite a bit, since your tanks is new the calcium demand wont be that much....as you start growing coraline algae and adding corals...then I would either start driping kalkwasser....or just use a 2 part additive such as bionic or cballance...

[phil519]

[welcome]

Take a look at this article on additives. I found it to be very useful.

Water Parameters (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.htm)

Good luck!

[ratherbediving]

The aticle Phil posted above is a great link, and I think is a very worthwhile read. However, ANNIESREEF posted the original problem as:

...have bunch of white stuff floating-swimming in water. Tried to educate myself for this. been studing since august of 2004 is

I guess this COULD be from adding to much additives... but couldn't this be something else? Perhaps something dying in the tank.... I would think after 4 weeks, the cycle should be complete and the nitrite should be solidly at 0... unless the biological filter is still struggling to keep up for some reason...

Pictures might help, if you have them....

[Scooter64]

based on the age of your tank, I would guess that the brown stringy stuff was probably the inevitable diatom bloom. It will pass on its own without the need to do anything except be patient. Trying to deal with the diatoms with additives will probably be met with frustration, and possibly a dominoe effect of unwanted results. I thought my bloom would never go away, but it did and yours will too.

The white stuff in the water was most likely calcium precipitating out of the water column if your calcium was high to begin with and your PH is 8.4.

My advise would be to hold off on any additives until proper test results indicate the need.

[ANNIESREEF]

Originally posted by ratherbediving
The aticle Phil posted above is a great link, and I think is a very worthwhile read. However, ANNIESREEF posted the original problem as:



I guess this COULD be from adding to much additives... but couldn't this be something else? Perhaps something dying in the tank.... I would think after 4 weeks, the cycle should be complete and the nitrite should be solidly at 0... unless the biological filter is still struggling to keep up for some reason...

Pictures might help, if you have them....

I haven't learned how to download pics on this site. Read "how to" just haven't figured it out. I sent you an email before I learned how to respond on this site. Please let me know what you think. Maybe have screwed up big time.

[ANNIESREEF]

Originally posted by Scooter64
based on the age of your tank, I would guess that the brown stringy stuff was probably the inevitable diatom bloom. It will pass on its own without the need to do anything except be patient. Trying to deal with the diatoms with additives will probably be met with frustration, and possibly a dominoe effect of unwanted results. I thought my bloom would never go away, but it did and yours will too.

The white stuff in the water was most likely calcium precipitating out of the water column if your calcium was high to begin with and your PH is 8.4.

My advise would be to hold off on any additives until proper test results indicate the need.

Thank you. As of today, no additives till needed.

[javajaws]

What exactly does this "white stuff" look like? Is it stringy, like slime? Small individual objects?

Could you be talking about pods?

[ANNIESREEF]

Originally posted by javajaws
What exactly does this "white stuff" look like? Is it stringy, like slime? Small individual objects?

Could you be talking about pods?
Some are definitely pods. I feel the rest of it may be trash blown off rocks. (I use turkey baster now and then). I have siphoned most of brown sediment off my sand now. Will perform 1st water change tomorrow night. Will check things about Monday and see how I stand.