Cycling / Algae

statto

statto

Member
Hello all
Just trying to cycle my 90Gal tank
I put 65Lb of live sand in the tank on 19th Sept
My first batch of 45Lb Live Rock went in on 24th Sept
My second batch of 45Lb Live Rock went in on 29th Sept
Here are my test results
Day Date

[hr]
Salinity--Temp--PH----ALK

[hr]
Total Amonia

[hr]
Toxic Amonia---NitRITE---NitRATE
Wed 24th

[hr]
1.024

[hr]
26---7.8----1.7

[hr]
0.25

[hr]
0.009

[hr]
0.1

[hr]
Not Tested
Sat 27th

[hr]
1.024

[hr]
26---8.0----2.0

[hr]
0.25

[hr]
0.014

[hr]
1.0

[hr]
20 ---(did 16% W.C. after this test)
Sun 28th

[hr]
1.025

[hr]
26---8.1----2.0

[hr]
0.25

[hr]
0.018

[hr]
0.5

[hr]
10 ---(did 16% W.C. after this test)
Mon 29th

[hr]
1.025

[hr]
26---8.0----2.0

[hr]
0.20

[hr]
0.010

[hr]
0.2

[hr]
5 ---(did 16% W.C. after this test)
Tue 30th

[hr]
1.025

[hr]
26---8.0----2.0

[hr]
0.25

[hr]
0.013

[hr]
0.05

[hr]
5
Wed 1st

[hr]
1.025

[hr]
26---8.0----2.2

[hr]
0.20

[hr]
0.010

[hr]
0.05

[hr]
5
As can be seen I have not seen an ammonia 'spike' unless I missed it either after the live sand went in or after the first batch of LR went in
Also it would appear that my total ammonia is at a pretty constant level of approx 0.25ppm, is this normal? or is it a crap testing kit (im using the Red Sea Marine kit)
Also of note is that I had high NitRATEs (which would indicate cyclng) which have come down due to the 3 x 16% water changes.
I have a (baby) blue legged hermit and a VERY small and very white crab in the tank, which must have come with the rock, these seem to be doing ok.
I also have quite a few other living things on the rock, like tube worms, these also appear to be doing ok
I also now have quite a lot of brown algae on my rocks and some on my sand
My questions are thus:-
1) What could be the reason for a constant level of total ammonia?
2) Has my tank finished cycling? (its only been a week)
3) Is it recomended that I should put in a couple of snails to deal with the brown algae? or is it safe to let it grow?
Cheers
Statto
 
maxalmon

maxalmon

Active Member
Was the LR fully cured, or did it come out of a box and into the tank? Usually not a good idea to do a waterchange while cycling a tank unless the AM readings are off the chart and you have cured LR. I'm going to guess that the tank has not cycled or has only gone thru a mini cycle due to the LS and low bio-load. Also what test kits are you using.
 
prime311

prime311

Active Member
1> You're tank is still cycling. The live rock obviously has dieoff which is shown by the small ammonia spike on the 30th. The dieoff is keeping ammonia at a steady level.
2> See #1
3> Let it grow
Also, as max said don't do a water change at this point.
 
statto

statto

Member
Originally Posted by prime311
http:///forum/post/2776788
1> You're tank is still cycling. The live rock obviously has dieoff which is shown by the small ammonia spike on the 30th. The dieoff is keeping ammonia at a steady level.
2> See #1
3> Let it grow
Also, as max said don't do a water change at this point.
High there
Should i not do water changes even if the NitRATES get high? (This is why I did them as the NitRATES got to 20ppm)
(I thought you were supposed to do the water changes to keep the NitRATES low)
Cheers
Statto
 
statto

statto

Member
Originally Posted by maxalmon
http:///forum/post/2776778
Was the LR fully cured, or did it come out of a box and into the tank? Usually not a good idea to do a waterchange while cycling a tank unless the AM readings are off the chart and you have cured LR. I'm going to guess that the tank has not cycled or has only gone thru a mini cycle due to the LS and low bio-load. Also what test kits are you using.
Im using a Red Sea Marine test kit
I must say that I find comparing colours against charts to leave a little to interpreation.
What test kit do you use?
 
prime311

prime311

Active Member
Originally Posted by Statto
http:///forum/post/2776795
(I thought you were supposed to do the water changes to keep the NitRATES low)

You are, but theres no point in doing them while your cycling. Some of the beneficial bacteria that is the primary component of cycling is forming in the water column and by removing water you are slowing down the cycle process. Now if you want to keep nitrates low to give your hitchhikers a better chance of survival then this is fine, but you will be slowing down your cycle.
 
statto

statto

Member
Originally Posted by prime311
http:///forum/post/2776801
You are, but theres no point in doing them while your cycling. Some of the beneficial bacteria that is the primary component of cycling is forming in the water column and by removing water you are slowing down the cycle process. Now if you want to keep nitrates low to give your hitchhikers a better chance of survival then this is fine, but you will be slowing down your cycle.
Thanks for clearing this up for me
Am I correct in assuming that my cycle is complete when Total Ammonia and NitRITES are at zero
Cheers
Statto
 
maxalmon

maxalmon

Active Member
Originally Posted by prime311
http:///forum/post/2776801
Some of the beneficial bacteria that is the primary component of cycling is forming in the water column and by removing water you are slowing down the cycle process.
This is one of the great myths of keeping saltwater tanks. It's all about the surface area in the tank, which means the walls, sandbed and most importantly the surface area of the live rock. the water column really has nothing to do with beneficial bacteria, it simply holds the food (ammonia) that starts the process. By doing a water change you are removing the food source that the bacteria need in order to finish the cycle process.
This is why live rock is so important, if you were to cut a piece of live rock open you would find it to be incredibly porous, this equate to huge amounts of surface area, the larger the surface area, the better the tanks is able to convert it's bioload. This is why you could take 2 40g tanks that are exact duplicates in all aspects including live inhabitants and feeding volume, but tank "A" has 80lbs of Live Rock and tank "B" has no live rock. Tank A will always have better water quality due to the increased surface area, tank B will always have problems.
 
prime311

prime311

Active Member
What I said is not a myth at all. Bacteria forms in the water column as well as on the rock. The bacteria collects on the surface area of rock, the tank, sand, etc.. and this is where the majority of it lives. I never suggested that it didnt. There still is bacteria that forms in the water column though. You seem to be confusing what I said with the suggestion that 100% water change would leave a tank bacteria free.
 
maxalmon

maxalmon

Active Member
Beneficial bacteria that breaks down ammonia and nitrite live on the surface area within the tank and filtration system, it does not live in the water column. Thats why a lot of filtration systems have surface areas for biological filtration, like bio-wheels or bio-balls and it's also why you should never rinse or clean these items with freshwater or tapwater as it kills the bacteria, you should always used siphoned tank water to clean filters/songes etc.... Think of it this way, if the bacteria lived in the water column and you did a 25% water change, then you would remove a huge portion of the bacteria from the tank which would lead to water quality issues.
Once again, it's a very common myth and if you do enough digging around on the web you'll find a wealth of information on the subject.
 
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