Quote:
Originally Posted by
fixpc http:///t/390377/new-saltwater-hobbyist/20#post_3456933
There are different stages to the cycle process, the nitrogen cycle is just one step in the cycle you're doing a soft cycle which consists of doing frequent water changes to get your ammonia down this is not an easy way of cycling but once see some Nitrate in your tank and no ammonia and no nitrite you cycle is complete for the amount of livestock you have in your tank right now.
Every time you add something to the tank will go through small cycle because the livestock will produce little more ammonia in your tank than the old livestock was doing. That's why you should add livestock slowly.
There is also another cycle that people talk about, most people concerned with the nitrogen cycle right after nitrogen cycle completes the going to see an outbreak of algae. The first will see a Brown Algae or Golden Diatom Algae. It is a harmless algae that will go away in time, a lot of people panic and by hundreds of snails to eat it. The best thing to do is let it ride out you can help it along by putting a phosphorus removing pad, the phosphorus removing pad will also remove silica, silica is the building block for this Brown algae. You also can put some snails in not too fix[strike]ed the problem but to help a little. I promise you it will go away on its own once it has no more silica to consume[strike] it will go away[/strike]. Your local fish store will make you spend hundreds of dollars to get rid of this algae and they know it'll go away on its own, be smart, save your money.
After Brown comes green, green algae can come in many forms but the one you see the most is hair algae algae It can get out of control if you're not careful. but[/strike] The cycle of the green algae will show up, as long as you do basic maintenance on the tank, it'll go away in time.
The green algae needs light, phosphate and nitrate to survive. Best way to remove the phosphate is the phosphate pads that have the tank already to help with the Brown algae, also if you put in another form of plant in your sump like microalgae or mangrove plants it will consume the nitrate and phosphorus that the algae needs.
The worst thing you can do is throw chemicals in to kill the algae it will just come back, and probably worse because the dead algae will mess up your water to make it better for algae growth. Don't get discouraged, this happens to everyone, the cleaning crew consisting of snails will help out a lot.
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Your job will be to make sure the water is free of phosphorus and nitrates. Scrape the walls of your tank and pull the big pieces of algae off the rocks, in time it'll settle down and you tank look beautiful.
[strike]Every If you ever are going to get coral for your tank, please resist until the algae cycle stops or slows down. It's a lot easier to clean rocks in your tank if there is no coral hanging off of it. LOL.
There's a lot of things you can [strike]bring place in the tank now, that'll make it cool to watch. During the algae cycle I would recommend only putting in some really small fish, some shrimp, [strike]and crabs, and snails.
One more thing, a dead fish in your tank can be disastrous. One rule I live by, if you the[/strike] don't see the fish, it's dead. and[/strike] You need to get it out as soon as you can. A dead fish will destroy your tank, it will decay and cause an enormous ammonia spike. That ammonia spike can kill more fish and snails, and that will cause an even bigger ammonia spike. Within days the whole tank could be completely dead. So I'm[/strike] if you are buying a fish at this point, make sure the fish aren't the kind of fish that like to hide.
Hi,
Please, please, don't get mad at me for saying this. I know you want to help and be taken seriously.
There is just so much information a person can absorb at any given time. You can't dump 6 months worth of information on somebody who is just getting a grasp of what a nitrogen cycle is. Not to mention I personally never had a "cycle of green algae". Hair algae is not the most common form of such a "cycle". If a two year old asked you where they came from, would you dump the entire cycle of life from conception to death on them, with the details of the worms working in the dead body? That's sort of what you did.
I am not the grammer police, spelling police or any other mean spirited person insisting on perfect sentences. HOWEVER....the run on sentences you use, and the one huge paragraph makes for very difficult reading. Then add on the small mistakes we all make (that I crossed off for you in my "fix") and you have an unreadable mess. If you want folks to read what you write, you have to at least split the paragraphs so we won't develope a headache. I think Slice already told you about that.
The way to split the paragraph is to start a new one with each new thought. So as soon as you make your point on one thing, and move to the next....begin another paragraph.
The way to prevent run on sentences is to reread what you wrote outloud. When you take a breath, a comma goes there. When a short point, or question is made, a period or question mark goes there. When you begin the new sentence, a capital letter is attached to the first word of the sentence.
I'm not even sure I have it correct, but it's the way I always write. I have not had a complaint yet. This is the only "English lesson" I plan to give EVER..... I feel really bad for doing it this time, but I felt I had to say something.
and i really enjoy it ive wanted to do it for so long. and again thank you for your advice Flower! i will keep a close eye on it and do daily water changes. How long am i looking at for a my tank to fully cycle? 2 weeks or a 2 months..? Rough estimate so to say?
