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The cyano is clearing out! It tends to go as quickly as it came. I consider it just another part of cycling – next I'm sure I'll start seeing some bubble and possibly hair algae. If you can't stand the sight of algae, aquariums are not for you. It's just a fact of life. You will at some point have some algae, even if you go freshwater, although it is easier to solve in many freshwater tanks.

I also have hundreds (thousands?) of tiny copepods and amphipods beginning to swarm my glass. I'm sure they are all over the rock, but you can't really see them there. These are tiny critters that come in with rock and munch on algae and other microfauna. They are a very positive sign that the tank is healthy and progressing.

When I added the last few rocks from the old 35 gallon, I also discovered several red and brown feather dusters, a few tiny clams, and some tiny starfish all alive and well. There was a bristleworm in one of the rocks, luckily I didn't grab him... I am very allergic to their bristles. If you so much as brush against one of these they release their bristles, which embed themselves in skin. I usually don't notice until I go to wash my hands, and notice the fuzz. (This is most often followed by a stream of cursing and a frantic search for some vinegar to dissolve them.) I remove as many as I can with vinegar and tape, but the area itches like mad for a few days and tiny blisters eventually form. You would think I'd really hate the little guys, but I have a soft spot for them. They generally keep to themselves and eat only the dead and dying. I once had one that was nearly half an inch thick and as long as my tank (at least 20”). I named him Grendel and we developed a truce – I wouldn't touch him, and he wouldn't send me into anaphylactic shock.. As far as I know Grendel is alive and well in another hobbyists tank now.