Cycle Issue

Rangens32466

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 15, 2021
Messages
31
Reaction score
51
Location
Fishkill
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hi,

Started my Cycle on Saturday. Added 10 lbs of live sand- 10 ibs of Life Rock, the one from Caribsea and Dr. Tims One and only, a few capfuls into my 13.5 Evo. I added MarinePrue Bio balls in the back chamber to create more surface area for the bacteria.

I am already seeing the rocks turn brown.

Questions:

Should I leave my lights on during cycling?

Should I put carbon in the back chamber while cycling?

Any other advice?
 

brandon429

why did you put a reef in that
View Badges
Joined
Dec 9, 2014
Messages
29,493
Reaction score
23,573
Location
tejas
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
nice cycle. wait to day ten, change water its all done and you can begin however you planned. light vs no light doesn't matter. carbon doesn't matter one way or another, simply do a water change on day ten and you've met the date on the label/safe start. that you have early growth this fast is rare, did you add anything to the tank that was already wet
 

Azedenkae

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 26, 2021
Messages
2,448
Reaction score
2,317
Location
Seattle
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hi,

Started my Cycle on Saturday. Added 10 lbs of live sand- 10 ibs of Life Rock, the one from Caribsea and Dr. Tims One and only, a few capfuls into my 13.5 Evo. I added MarinePrue Bio balls in the back chamber to create more surface area for the bacteria.

I am already seeing the rocks turn brown.

Questions:

Should I leave my lights on during cycling?

Should I put carbon in the back chamber while cycling?

Any other advice?
Lights: Either/or. Lights will start causing algae to grow, not necessarily a bad thing.
Carbon: Either/or, does not actually impact ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate.

Any other advice? What's your method of adding ammonia?
 

vetteguy53081

Well known Member and monster tank lover
View Badges
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Messages
90,847
Reaction score
200,115
Location
Wisconsin -
Rating - 100%
13   0   0
Brown diatoms are often seen in new aquariums that have just completed their biological cycling process. Brown Diatom Algae is not an algae, but a single-celled organism that appears in an aquarium when there is an abundance of Silicate. It will usually appear in the first few months of setting up a reef aquarium. Time, and also Nerite Snails, Cerith Snails, and Margarita Snails and astrea can all help to control or remove Diatoms.
Other reasons you get this are use of tap water instead of recommended RODI water and it could also be a sign that either your lights are too strong or you are leaving your light on in your tank for too long. IF you are having algae problems in your tank you should leave lights off for a couple of days and you will see no more green or brown algae on your rocks and sand. . . . . but that only fixes your problem temporarily it is good to fix the problem from the source.
 

brandon429

why did you put a reef in that
View Badges
Joined
Dec 9, 2014
Messages
29,493
Reaction score
23,573
Location
tejas
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
did you bring anything wet into the tank, wet rocks
or was the whole tank dry started
 
OP
OP
Rangens32466

Rangens32466

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 15, 2021
Messages
31
Reaction score
51
Location
Fishkill
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Yes three pieces of Tonga from a pet store but I left it out in it's bag for several days before adding it into the tank. The only thing I can say is the Brown algae did not start until I poured in the Dr. Tim's one and only yesterday. I have the lights on for 12 hours a day. Think I might scale back on the lights
 
OP
OP
Rangens32466

Rangens32466

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 15, 2021
Messages
31
Reaction score
51
Location
Fishkill
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Tidal Gardens does this, and also complements it with detailed videos on most of their coral species. They are like the BRS for corals. Usually covers lighting, flow, feeding, agression with some stunning Coral videography. I have not seen any other vendor speak so knowledgeably about corals. I am sure that they are all knowledgeable, but no else takes the BRS-route to make detailed videos of the products that they sell - hence I have not seen them. Check videos for "Tidal Gardens" on youtube, and you will know what I mean.

ACI Aquaculture also makes detailed youtube videos on marine live animals products, which are also pretty good - however they are wholesellers.

You can't go wrong with either source for knowledge about what you are going to buy, what's easy, what's slow growing, what is aggressive etc, expected pests etc.

As an example, i love nassarius snails - so i likely have to make a hard choice before getting an Elegance Coral ... that looks an anemone, but unlike an anemone it doesn't eat fishes ... but it does eat snails!!!!!

On the other hand , my fishes are $90 and my snails are $3 - $4. So, if I ever had the anemone-itch, maybe i am better off getting an Elegance Coral instead of anemone, to contain my potential loss.

stuff like that. But understandably more detailed. They don't sugar coat the bad or deadly aspects of the live creatures.

Brown diatoms are often seen in new aquariums that have just completed their biological cycling process. Brown Diatom Algae is not an algae, but a single-celled organism that appears in an aquarium when there is an abundance of Silicate. It will usually appear in the first few months of setting up a reef aquarium. Time, and also Nerite Snails, Cerith Snails, and Margarita Snails and astrea can all help to control or remove Diatoms.
Other reasons you get this are use of tap water instead of recommended RODI water and it could also be a sign that either your lights are too strong or you are leaving your light on in your tank for too long. IF you are having algae problems in your tank you should leave lights off for a couple of days and you will see no more green or brown algae on your rocks and sand. . . . . but that only fixes your problem temporarily it is good to fix the problem from the source.
So the lights on for 12 hours a day plus the **** butt Tonga branch are or could be the issue? So shut off the lights remove the branch and let this thing cycle for a few weeks

Yes or No?
 

vetteguy53081

Well known Member and monster tank lover
View Badges
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Messages
90,847
Reaction score
200,115
Location
Wisconsin -
Rating - 100%
13   0   0
So the lights on for 12 hours a day plus the **** butt Tonga branch are or could be the issue? So shut off the lights remove the branch and let this thing cycle for a few weeks

Yes or No?
No need to remove anything. Light reduction a few days or lights off a couple of days. It’s harmless and will dissipate in time but if unsightly, you can siphon up
 
OP
OP
Rangens32466

Rangens32466

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 15, 2021
Messages
31
Reaction score
51
Location
Fishkill
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Ok I'll listen you have enough banners under your name to supply the entire website--LOL Thanks for your help.

Can't siphon off rock though It is on the tonga branch closest to the light
 

brandon429

why did you put a reef in that
View Badges
Joined
Dec 9, 2014
Messages
29,493
Reaction score
23,573
Location
tejas
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Your rock is skip cycled it's done already. The growths happen because your cycle is done, the bag time didn't hurt
 

brandon429

why did you put a reef in that
View Badges
Joined
Dec 9, 2014
Messages
29,493
Reaction score
23,573
Location
tejas
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
No bottle bac was needed here. These are your type skip cycle


In that small of a tank the wet rock moved over skips the cycle, the dr tims was merely extra, not required. Same as adding it to an already running reef tank, neutral impact. Your cycle is done the day you set live rock in the tank

Leaving in the bag three days is still wet, merely coincidental with the timing of adding dr tims. Even if the rocks were out of water three days it still doesn't dry out the inside, the rock bacteria weren't killed.
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
Rangens32466

Rangens32466

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 15, 2021
Messages
31
Reaction score
51
Location
Fishkill
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
No bottle bac was needed here. These are your type skip cycle


In that small of a tank the wet rock moved over skips the cycle, the dr tims was merely extra, not required. Same as adding it to an already running reef tank, neutral impact. Your cycle is done the day you set live rock in the tank

Leaving in the bag three days is still wet, merely coincidental with the timing of adding dr tims. Even if the rocks were out of water three days it still doesn't dry out the inside, the rock bacteria weren't killed.
Wow a complete cycle in four days cool. My parameters we all zero for amm, trate and triate. Yesterday. I'll give it a week watch the parms and then slowly start adding coral. I'll start my thread now on my build.

Thanks
 
OP
OP
Rangens32466

Rangens32466

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 15, 2021
Messages
31
Reaction score
51
Location
Fishkill
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
update for me. Please chime in.

Evo 13.5 two weeks old today.

I have the following:

Sicce Silent 1.0 pump
VCA - RFG
InTank Media basket Chamber 1 and 2
Chamber 1 Floss, Chemipure Élite, MediaPrue Bio
Chamber 2 Floss - Soon to be Cheato

Live stock- 2 small clownfish - Lighting Maroon
Cleaner Crew - 2 Cernith and 2 turbo


Parms​


Ammo - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 10 ppm
Sal - 1.027

Big Algae bloom hoping cleaning crew can do their job.
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

    Votes: 50 48.5%
  • Gate valves.

    Votes: 57 55.3%
  • Check valves.

    Votes: 25 24.3%
  • None.

    Votes: 26 25.2%
  • Other.

    Votes: 9 8.7%
Back
Top