Newbie. No algae after 3 months...

[faithgbsn]

Hello,

I have a new tank that can't seem to grow algae, and was wondering if anyone has advice about that.
I keep hoping algae did grow and I just can't see it, but don't want to jump the gun.

Background:
My BF gave me an Ecosphere two Christmases ago. After a little more than a year, the shrimp started dying, so I started looking online to figure out what was happening, and found this site.
Needless to say, I wanted to figure out how to give them a better home than the sealed system.

I got a new ~.75 gallon tank this last Christmas and started cycling it on Dec 27. However, as of April 2, there is still no algae, and I can't figure out why.
I have a sliding glass door window on the other side of the room and between the kitchen light and natural light, figured that would be good enough since my houseplants are ok, but suspect that is not enough.
The only thing I haven't had until now is a dedicated light to use on the tank, so I bought a small fish tank light and it is on its way here now.

Timeline:
Dec 27 - Started tank (added substrate, rocks, water)
Jan 8 - Macro Algae arrived, added to tank
Jan 21 - Increased salinity after getting a refractometer to test. Now it is within the range Mustafa recommended in the "Getting Started" checklist
Jan 21 - Purchased snails to hopefully get some bacteria building up and more rocks
Jan 26 - Moved one (only remaining) Ecosphere shrimp to the tank (cats almost knocked ecosphere off the counter a few times. Tank is bigger and safer). Added the water and substrate from Ecosphere to the new tank along with the shrimp since the substrate had algae on it.
Jan 28 - Snails have eaten all of the algae from the Ecosphere substrate.
Feb ?? - Purchased another macro algae and two moss balls from petshrimp.com hoping to provide more help with growing algae.
March 31 - purchased LED fishtank light, waiting for it to arrive
April 2 - still no algae, but maybe biofilm on the top of the water? (photo below)

The lone shrimp alternates between red and white coloring, but seems ok so far.
I'd appreciate any advice you can give on what to do about growing algae!
(Photos attached below)

[Varanus]

It may be that with the snails and shrimp eating whatever starts growing, and the macroalgae and moss balls competing with regular algae, the regular algae just doesn't build up enough to be visible. It doesn't mean your tank is unhealthy, indeed having low available nutrients is good for these shrimp. Basically there is a lot more to the biofilm than just visible algae, a lot of what the shrimp eat is coating any mature tank but isn't readily visible to the eye.

Keep in mind that the macroalgae and moss balls are eating the same stuff that the regular algae does, and like any living thing they are competing for a finite number of nutrients. Introducing them may introduce regular algae that clings to them, but their mere presence doesn't necessarily encourage the growth of competing algae.

Now this lack of visible algae does mean you can justify feeding the tank on occasion, though you need to be extra careful with the amount given you have less than a gallon of water.

[faithgbsn]

Oh gosh! I thought that the macro algae would help, not compete! Thanks for the info!

Would it be better to take most of the macro algae and snails out for a while, if not permanently? I could put them in another tank, so I think they would be fine there.
It is interesting to learn how to make the mental switch from a standard fish tank to a shrimp tank. I'm determined to get the hang of this!
Thanks again!

[Varanus]

The macroalgae won't prevent other algae growth, it may just limit it in a low nutrient setting (which is what you want to maintain). Believe me, you don't need to worry about the shrimp starving, they require very little food. If they are scrubbing away at surfaces then they are finding bacteria, algae, etc. even if the amounts are too small to see with the naked eye. No visible algae also means you get to experience actually feeding the shrimp on occasion (whereas with a algae covered tank its arguably better to not feed them).

Especially since your tank is open on the top, it likely gets new algae spores floating in on a regular basis for the shrimp to eat.

[faithgbsn]

Ok, good to know.
I did break off a tiny chunk of bottom feeder wafer (maybe a 1/8" square or smaller, seriously a crumb) and the snails were literally all over it and it was gone within a day.
Not sure if the lone shrimp got any that day, but over the next few days I saw it feeding in that area a couple of times, so I suspect it got some leftovers.
I don't plan to do this more than once every two months at most, unless I find any information to the contrary.
I'll probably wait at least another week or two to purchase any shrimp, just in case (this one little guy is all that I have left from the EcoSphere).
Thanks for your help, I appreciate it!