docta09
Reefing newb
I got about 35 lbs
Algae in a cycling tank
- Thread starter docta09
- Start date
docta09
Reefing newb
Doesnt the diatoms mean im in the cycle
Sir Alex
Dragon the eel (below)
Diatoms feed off of the nutrients that are present in a cycle.
docta09
Reefing newb
So I am in a cycle... I guess
little_fish
Reef pro
No, diatoms feed off of silicates and nitrates. You will always have nitrates as they are the final end of the nitrate cycle.
If you have diatoms, all it means is that you have silicates. They most often show up at the end of your cycle because it is finally habitable for life and they are feeding on the higher silicates that are present in new rocks and sand. When that is used up in a few weeks, they go away. If you are using tap water you many never see them go away because many tap water sources contain silicates.
Seeing diatoms is handy indicator that your cycle is over, but it is not a positive indication that your tank is cycling or has cycled.
So, you should put some food, either flaked or frozen, into your tank to see if it is cycled or not. That is the only way to tell. If you see no spikes in level, tank is cycled, if you do see levels of ammonia or nitrite, you arent done cycling yet
If you have diatoms, all it means is that you have silicates. They most often show up at the end of your cycle because it is finally habitable for life and they are feeding on the higher silicates that are present in new rocks and sand. When that is used up in a few weeks, they go away. If you are using tap water you many never see them go away because many tap water sources contain silicates.
Seeing diatoms is handy indicator that your cycle is over, but it is not a positive indication that your tank is cycling or has cycled.
So, you should put some food, either flaked or frozen, into your tank to see if it is cycled or not. That is the only way to tell. If you see no spikes in level, tank is cycled, if you do see levels of ammonia or nitrite, you arent done cycling yet
docta09
Reefing newb
Ok thanks... I put some food in and Ill check it out tommorow
docta09
Reefing newb
Ok so I tested the nitrite today after the fish fooD and its at 0. So im ready to go?
little_fish
Reef pro
How long after the fish food? You should wait at least 12 hours.
docta09
Reefing newb
Yesterday at 7. And I checked today at 6
little_fish
Reef pro
Then i think you are good to add your first fish!
docta09
Reefing newb
Cool well im going to wait until the diatoms die off.
coolhandgoose
Reef enthusiast
You don't need to wait for them to die off, they'll disappear on their own.
So couple of questions for you, are you using ro/di water? What kind of lights are you using, I noticed on your other thread you had a canopy so it got me wondering if you were using freshwater lights.
So couple of questions for you, are you using ro/di water? What kind of lights are you using, I noticed on your other thread you had a canopy so it got me wondering if you were using freshwater lights.
docta09
Reefing newb
I have no idea wat a ro/Di water is. Please explain. Im using tap water with the water conditioner. As for lights im just using standard lights it came with. I dont need special lights for a fish only tank do I? I plan on up grading later on
coolhandgoose
Reef enthusiast
Well here's the thing, almost all succesful reef tanks use ro/di water which means reverse osmosis/de-ionized water. You get from a special filtration device, I got mine from www.filterdirect.com
The problem with tap water is that you'll have water quality issues down the road which will lead to algae problems. The alkalinity of the water may be really high and there may be other problems with the tap water.
As for lights depending on the K value you'll get bad algae problems. Lights for FW promote growth of plants at a certain light value, for SW tanks we want powerful lights that are good for corals but don't promote algae growth.
The problem with tap water is that you'll have water quality issues down the road which will lead to algae problems. The alkalinity of the water may be really high and there may be other problems with the tap water.
As for lights depending on the K value you'll get bad algae problems. Lights for FW promote growth of plants at a certain light value, for SW tanks we want powerful lights that are good for corals but don't promote algae growth.
docta09
Reefing newb
i looked at the site under aquarium. will any of those filters work?
coolhandgoose
Reef enthusiast
I've got the 6 stage 100gpd one, I think model 102
docta09
Reefing newb
o was looking around , will any of these work?
Aqua Reef RO DI Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration System | eBay
0PPM Portable 100GPD Reverse Osmosis RO+DI Filtration | eBay
Aqua Reef RO DI Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration System | eBay
0PPM Portable 100GPD Reverse Osmosis RO+DI Filtration | eBay
coolhandgoose
Reef enthusiast
I'd get the first one.
