Info on new tank cycles.

[Lostmind]

So far, all my reading and perusal of websites has told me I could expect my cycle to start after adding live rock - it did.

They told me ammonia would spike fairly quickly - it did.

Told me that ammonia would die down and nitrite spike - it did.

Told me nitrite would die down and nitrate come up - it did.

Eventually, they said, nitrate would come down and I would see a diatom bloom - I did... after that, possibly some hair algaes and such - it happened.

But now I am getting a second diatom lookin bloom on the sand and rocks. This is in a tank 2 months old. Plus, the hair algae hasnt died off yet.

Everytime I ask about it at the lfs, they say its part of the cycle... and that the cycle lasts about 4 months or more. Every book I have read and all the sites say the cycle lasts about a month. And essentially, the cycle of ammonia thru to nitrates gone took a month. But this algae succession... where can I find something to read on it?

Or personal experiences would be helpful too!

TIA.

 

[Anonymous]

What are you using for make-up water?

Regards, Eric

 

[ChrisRD]

Probably cyanobacteria (aka red slime algae) and it's common at this stage. As Eric is suggesting, make sure your source water is pure. Good circulation and skimming also help. It will pass in time if you keep water quality high.

 

[Lostmind]

Hey all.

Using ro/di unit - getting close to time to change some filters (only around 2 months old, but summer water is a little dirty).

Kent for salt..

I actually have brown algae (golden carpet fuzz) and some hair algae (2" of stringy green fuzz).

I had the brown algae before, about 3 weeks ago. It came and went in just a few days (literally, 3). Then the hair algae came and has stayed. It started to recede and I thought all was good, but then the brown carpet fuzz returned.

I have two small (nickel sized and a quarter sized) patches of purple coating on the brown carpet fuzz on the sand. Its been there for about 3 days and isnt growing.

The water param's have stayed at:

80-81.5 temp
1.025 salinity
0 ammonia
0 nitrite
0 nitrate (or sooo close that even with the sideways measurement on the color chart I cant really tell if it is there).

I have a half dozen various snails and 3 blue legged hermit crabs in my tank - nothing else. I am not feeding yet either...

So, I am unsure what I can do besides wait. I had originally thought to have a fish or two by now, but it looks like I will be waiting longer. So, while I am waiting, I would like to figure out why this algae comes and goes the way it does.

Heh, I thought I had it figured out, turns out the book authors just like to oversimplify things for us newb's... I think ;0

 

[kparton]

I'm in the same situation, except my last brown algae is going away. It will pass. I actually did feed the tank a bit during the cycle as well, just stayed on schedule with water changes and skimmed the heck out of it. It should pass.

 

[Lostmind]

Hmmm...

 

[Anonymous]

mine is only 15 days old, the cyano has disappeared and i'm in the hair algae stage. i have been testing the water and watched the spikes come and go. i have a pretty decent RO unit.

 

[Lostmind]

Yah, your tank is making me jealous

I thought my rock was pretty nice, after seeing what other people got. Then I saw your rock... now mine sucks.

I have a 4 stage ro/di unit. Supposedly a good unit. I dont have a tds meter tho so I dunno for sure.

Oh well. guess I will wait longer (already waiting for over 60 days! patience, I barely have any left!)

 

[ggoodrich]

I thought that once the nitrate level had dropped it was okay to start adding livestock? What I'm reading in this thread is seeming to tell me that I need to wait for algae blooms and then the algae receding first? Why would one have to wait for the algae to recede? I wouldn't think this would hurt the livestock. I don't plan on (at least not yet) having a reef system, but rather a FOWLR, and maybe one day trying some of the easier soft corals.

 

[Anonymous]

I never went through a hair algae faze does that mean I am weird??

 

[Lofus]

I had the same problem with Cyno and hair algae. It cleared up after three or four months. I also cut back a bit on feeding. The fish get as much as they can eat in a minute once a day. The cyno is pretty much gone.

 

[Lostmind]

hey ggoodrich.

I dont think you MUST wait until the algae blooms are finished. I have been told repeatedly that you can add fish once the nitrates are fairly low. I just dont want to add livestock to my tank until the critters and such have had sufficient time to get established I spose.

Lofus - I am sure you are right, if I was feeding I would be adding nutrients to the tank and cutting that back would cut back on the algae... but I am not feeding yet

 

[Anonymous]

A good early investment is a TDS meter. You can test your filters condition after each stage. Brown algae just loves silica. Silica is mainly removed by the DI unit. The brown algae is quick to utilize the available silica, causing the bloom to crash. If you do a water change and the brown returns, that would indicate to me that it could be high silica. To prove it to yourself, skip a regular water change and see if it stays gone. If you don't have anything in your tank that needs light yet, leave them off for a bit, or cut down on their hours. In the mean time, feel free to fret.

Regards, Eric

 

[Aneille]

Well my tanks is only 2 weeks old and I already have hair algae & cyano! I am glad you guys are telling me it will go away.

I use RO/DI water with IO salt. My RO/DI unit is brand new and I have a TDS meter which proves my membranes aren't bad because it reads my water as 0.

My lights are on 10-12 hours a day, but I've been cutting back since the algae showed up. The only thing is I dont have a skimmer. But my AquaC urchin is showing up today. Once I get the skimmer up and running, anyone have any idea how long it will take to clear out all the built up yuckies in my tank? The tank is a 30 gallon with a 20 gallon sump.

I got partially cured LR from Dr. Mac and I suspect it had very little die off because I got in my tank in less than 24 hours.

Unfortunately for me my test kits are really bad ones and I don't know for sure where I am in my cycle. I have a feeling I am finished already. With all the algae and coralline growing on the rock.

I need to invest in some kits.

Sorry for jumping in. The cyano is really pissing me off!

 

[kparton]

You may be done with your cycle, but you really need to be checking for ammonia, nitrites, and Nitrates to find out. The algae will grow before your tank is well cycled.

My tank has been going through these phases for 3 months since I started it. My diatoms (brown stuff) went away quickly, but the hair algae has really persisted. it has backed off recently and seems to not be growing anymore, so I take it out with my water changes. My cyano started at the end of my hair algae and really isn't catching on very much. it's on some of the sandbed, but is already starting to decline. I went ahead and added a couple of fish to the system last week.

The skimmer will help as will frequent water changes. I also greatly reduced the time my lights were on so that some of the algae would die off more quickly.

Good luck!

 

[hillbilly]

Keep in mind color temp. and intensity of lighting will affect algae
growth also.

 

[Anonymous]

cycles don't always follow the developement timeline of the table in a book :wink:

for the most part, it usually takes a reef tank a year + to really 'stabilize' into the unique ecosystem it represents and is

things can change quite abit during this time, and often do

just because a tank goes through any particular 'cycle', doesn't mean it can't ever happen again, either

:wink:


hth