Thanks all very much for the excellent responses. I am fairly in-tune with the basics, so I was mainly referring to other elements such as calcium, magnesium, phosphates, potassium levels/tests and the like. I should have been a little more clear with that:smile: The nitrite is 0 and ammonia is .1, but the algae is still evident, tho better than a few weeks back.

I have had a smaller salt water tank for several years, but find there is so much more to know with a reef set-up.

Oh, and I would still like to know if the 'bacterboost' I was sold several weeks ago is something that is beneficial to the continual operation, or an additional additive not needed, and appreciate any advice on that.

Have you checked phosphates? Might have missed that. Algae means that there is phosphates regardless of if you can read them. Running a phosphate reactor or similar will fix that in a hurry.
Anyways, for those levels you'll want to test more frequently after you've started to add corals.

The ammonia should be at zero.
You do not need any 'additives' to cycle a tank. All you need to do is throw in a dead shrimp as the initial food source to get the bacterial going.

then with a good base knowledge, a book like the one by bob fenner that was mentioned would go a very long way with you.
you can see that you're going to get all kinds of suggestions and advice on a board as active and as helpful as canreef so even after you post here, you'll probably have a few theories or suggestions to explore and a good book can make knowing whats right for you and your tank a much easier task.

IMO, bacterboost might help the initial cycle, but a waste of money thereafter.

We also have our own reference library. :smile:

http://216.187.96.54/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=40

naesco, why avoid bumble bee snails?

I hope you mean no more than 10 at a time. Only 10 snails in a 150 sure isn't that many. When I ran a sand bed I had 40-50 snails at any given time.

I have literally thousands of snails in my tanks but I didn't buy them, they breed like rabbits :lol:

Bumblebee snails are whelks and therefore are predators both on other snails and the beneficial worms and other critters we encourage to grow in the rock and live sand.
But they look cute don't they?

It may be that 10 is all that he may need. But, if more are needed, he can add more or let them populate themselves as Marie has suggested.
The myth of one snail per gallon is a marketing ploy.
We sometimes see marketing schemes where recommended 'clean up crews' are advertised.
They contain far too many snails and often contain snails like astrea that never see sand in the wild and, when they do find themselves in our aquarium, they find themselves stuck upside down in the sand only to be eaten by the first hermit crab that comes upon them.
The excess snails in these crews starve to death and are often see being eaten by hermit.
The hobbyist not the hermits is to blame. All the hermit is doing is eating a dead snail. Sometimes just an empty shell is found.