cycling help!

cabin7882

cabin7882

Member
I have a 46 gal saltwater tank and have had it up and running for 2 months, ammonia, nitrate and nitrite are all 0. I have brown algae growing on the live sand and some of the decorations. I only have 2 fish in the tank for the sake of not killing to many fish at high ammonia levals. Is it possible that it ahs cycled and I just haven't noticed? Should I be doing parial water changes? I have only added new water when the level goes down. Also should I move around the live sand to get the algae off and scrub the decorations or just wait to see what happens?
 
usinkit

usinkit

Member
How did you cycle the tank (liverock, uncooked shrimp)? Dont stir up the sand. The algae is most likely diatoms that come after the cycle. Normally after your ammonia and nitrites have come down to 0 you would do a 20 to 30% water change to bring the nitrates down. Have you tested for nitrates? You should do 5% water changes once a week. HTH
 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
Originally Posted by usinkit
How did you cycle the tank (liverock, uncooked shrimp)? Dont stir up the sand. The algae is most likely diatoms that come after the cycle. Normally after your ammonia and nitrites have come down to 0 you would do a 20 to 30% water change to bring the nitrates down. Have you tested for nitrates? You should do 5% water changes once a week. HTH
I agree
 
granny

granny

Member
If your tank has cycled, you should be seeing some nitrAtes, but you said they were 0. It would be unusual (never heard of it) to complete a cycle coming out with 0.
Did you do ammo and nitriIte readings while the tank was cycling? Did you ever show any of those?
The brown stuff is diatoms, most likely, not algae and they are normal during the cycling stage-or soon after-and usually disappear on their own as your tank matures.
You CAN take out 'decorations' if you have them in there and scrub them clean-just dont use soap, but dont remove any live rock or live sand. How deep is your sand bed?
 
cabin7882

cabin7882

Member
Well I just tested the water yesterday and found ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 2.5 up one level, PH 8.2, and Alk was high? What do I do about high alkilinity? My sand bed is around 1.5-2 inches deep is that ok? Also I cycled the tank using fish only and it has been up and running for 2 months. I think I just may have to do a partial water change which I really don't know how to attempt, if any one has a good idea. My tank is in an awkward spot. Thanks for everyone's help!
 
tinydove

tinydove

Member
OK, for a water change you will need a clean Rubbermaid or other pastic tub. Make sure you use RO?DI water! You could do about a 15-20% change. Put fresh RO water in a clean new tub ( do not clean with soap.) Some whit vineger is could and ro water rinse out tub.
Put your ro water in tub and a power head for circulation and a heater. let run for about a day and add salt according to instructions per gallon on salt.
let mix and circulate for 24 hours or so.
Check that the salinity and temp are the same as tank before putting it in. And you should be ok.
 
some1fishy

some1fishy

Member
Water changes are the easiest to do. Even if it is in a tight spot. Try siphoning it out into managable size buckets (i.e. 5 gallon pails ). One 5 gallon pail = 10 % water change.
 
cabin7882

cabin7882

Member
Thanks but I don't have an extra power head and heater to do this with, is it necessary to do all of that for a water change? And not to be dumb but what is RO DI water? Do you think the water change will lower the Alk?
 
tinydove

tinydove

Member
I know of people who have used a air tube and a pump to circulate the water so that might do. Also if you do not have a heater try to keep the new water you mix in a warm room in your house, the temp should be as close to the temp in your tank.
If you can get a small cheap heater from wal-mart or such. about $10. or so. they even sell PH for under $20...cheapos but should do in a pinch untill you can get a better 1.
RO?DI water is a special water that has been filterd, some LFS sell it for about .50 a gallon or you can use distilled water ...wal-mart has that too from what I have read.
 
some1fishy

some1fishy

Member
Does your LFS sell ready mixed saltwater? That is an easier way to do water changes. If not, that is the process to change the water. Sorry, but it was hit on the head. This hobby is nothing short of work, but the end result is worth it.
I suggest doing a lot more research for your own benefit. This hobby is also a growing plethora of knowledge. You will never know everything.
RO= Reverse osmosis
DI = Deionization
 
some1fishy

some1fishy

Member
In order to get RO/DI water you have to purchase special filtration equipment to mix household tap water directly. This is an RO/DI Filter. It does exactly that. Creates the RO/DI water which is perfectly pure water. This equipment is an expensive piece of equipment for the beginner.
Consider buying 1 gallon jugs from wal mart or a supermarket. It sells for apx 1.00 a gallon plus tax. If you can get from your LFS its usually around 75 to 95 cents per gallon. Ask around or do some searching, I am sure you will find it.
 
cabin7882

cabin7882

Member
I have added tap water in the past 2 gals at a time and I use the aqua plus conditioner for the water and red sea salt seems to work fine. Why RO & DI?
 
some1fishy

some1fishy

Member
To put it simple, tap water contains various minerals & pollutants. Iron, zinc, mineral deposits. Depending on where you live, they could add chlorine and other additives to purify it for human consumption. Unless you treat tap water it is no good for fish.
You will find out that this hobby is expensive and you dont want to start losing fish that cost in excess of 50-60 bucks because of 'your' mistakes or lack of detail. Keep reading these posts and dont be afraid to ask. There are so many people in this hobby that "have been there" and can steer you clear of trouble. Take all critisizm/advice in stride, we're all still learning.
 
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