algae everywhere

HI,
New to site glad to be here. Just switched from fish only to cured live rock. I have 55 gla. tank with 110lbs of live rock sitting on live sand. Put in tank 2 weeks ago. Losts of brownish green algae all over tank, sand and equipment. So right now just the fish and rock. Any suggestions about the algae. When should I star adding coral, urchins, ect?

I need all the help I can get.

Thanks Donna

 

Hi Donna, thanks for joining 3reef!

It's gonna take a little time for your aquarium to start adjusting to the new bioload from the live rocks you added.

What kind of filtration do you have? Do you have a protein skimmer?
What kind of lighting? How long are the lights on?

 

Going through a algae bloom.

 

Hi,

Sorry to hear about your algae bloom. I've known people who have completely ditched their tanks due to algae, so I'm hoping you have more fotitude. First off clearing out algae takes a little time. Have some patience and it will get under control. That said, your probelm may very well work itself out as your system balances. If you'd like to take an active role in battling it, there are two ways to get it under control:
1. Remove available food for the algae
2. Get some algae eaters
Algae feeds on nitrates, phosphates, co2 and light. Nitrates can be reduced by lowering your feeding schedule and doing a few water changes. Also you can add nitrate removers to your filter. Phosphates are the least considered cause of algae blooms and are usually the result of using treated tap water. This can be rectified by cylcing in ocean saltwater or saltwater made from RO water. You can also remove phosphates chemically. CO2 is impossible to control and is created by all your fish. You can opt to lower your lights for a while to help there. But, I prefer not to do that becasue once you are ready to turn them back up the algae usually comes back. I like to fight the algae on it's "home turf".
Now, algae eaters. It sounds like you have diatom algae. Go to your LFS and try to bring a pice of the algae with you. If it's on the snad, just scoop a little up. They should have some inverts there that can help. Also, diatom algae usually does not like high water flow, so you can point a powerhead at your rocks and see ifthat helps.
You definitely want to get this under control before adding coral. Many coral can be affected by algae growing on or near them. Plus, if you are having trouble with nitrates, you will want these to be under sontrol before you add anything valuable to the tank.
Hope this helps.