I have a weird question, I started my new tank about 5 weeks ago, found a problem with the plumbing and had to buy a new overflow. I had to wait through the holidays to get the box. I got the new box a week ago. I left about 2/3rds of the original salt water in the tank for the 6 weeks with no flow, no light, no nothing, just sitting there in my living room. The tank developed a white gel like scum on all the water surfaces. I wondered if it was a bacteria slime. Fast forward to yesterday. I had the tank running all good to go. I used a net to get a lot of the slime out but some is still floating around. I poured in a bottle of Turbo Start nitrifying bacteria and measured out the proper amount of ammonia to bring it to 2-3ppm. I got no ammonia reading an hour later. I added more ammonia, about 1/2 dose more, tested this morning and got no ammonia reading. I came home from work and checked ammonia again, nothing. Is it possible the tank is full of bacteria and it gobbled up all of the ammonia?? Where do I go from here?
Cycling new tank and weirdness
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Yes it had cycling bacteria just from the submersion time alone, any extra added is incidental, the surface area already had buildup time. Even changes in temp won't harm the filter bac, nor salinity shifts within reason.
In our microbiology of cycling thread we talk about how submersion time is the #1 most important factor in cycling, above params and above testing as well... though those details can help you cycle -faster- than just waiting for known completion times from submersion alone.
In order for anyone completing 4-6 weeks submersion time to not have a functioning biofilter, they had to take direct antimicrobial steps at one point, such as medication, or boiling the water shortly before oxidation testing.
Change out all your water and remove the slime buildup, start clean. It's ok to verify it can oxidize a little ammonia but mainly clean it out, change any old water you can start with a light bioloading, no fish yet
In our microbiology of cycling thread we talk about how submersion time is the #1 most important factor in cycling, above params and above testing as well... though those details can help you cycle -faster- than just waiting for known completion times from submersion alone.
In order for anyone completing 4-6 weeks submersion time to not have a functioning biofilter, they had to take direct antimicrobial steps at one point, such as medication, or boiling the water shortly before oxidation testing.
Change out all your water and remove the slime buildup, start clean. It's ok to verify it can oxidize a little ammonia but mainly clean it out, change any old water you can start with a light bioloading, no fish yet
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slojmn
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Hi Brandon!!! I thought that might be the case. I threw in some pods tonight since they arrived. That's a light bioload, lol. How about snails? Is that a good addition over the next week? I'll need to make some water. I don't have enough room to make enough water for a complete change out, but about 70% water change, is that enough to start with?
Any % of water change is ok, the main goal is exporting things that are untidy or would feed algae. Adding pods with some form of water change before is great
beaslbob
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Both bacteria and plant life like macro and other algeas consume ammonia. In FW the planted tank cycle is actually no ammonia spike, an possible initial nitrate spike and a possible short nitrite spike. Then as bacteria build up the nitrates drop down.
After waiting a week, you could 'test' the system with a common cheapie male FW molly. Just don't add food for a week. Then start feeding a single flake per day after that. If you still get no ammonia with the molly in there the tank has sufficient bacteria and/algae to consume the ammonia. If nitrates drop down a few weeks later, that would indicate the planted tank type cycle is complete.
As usual tho add things slowly.
my .02
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slojmn
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Update: No fish in the tank yet, I had about a week and a half of cloudy brownish water with a brown dusting algae all over the rock and sand. It started to abate 2 days ago and is almost gone. The cloudiness is still there slightly and there is still a little bit of brown dusting algae on the rocks and sand. I added snails yesterday...poor things wont have much to eat now. Here are some numbers. I was going to get a fish into the tank later this week. Now I'm worried my cycle is doing something weird. I figured it was good to go but '0' reading on everything does not seem right.
1/22/19 Test kits read:
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 5 (so pretty high)
Nitrate 100+
1/25/19 Test kits read:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate: 25-50 range(closer to 25 than 50)
1/30/19 Test kits read:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate: 0
1/22/19 Test kits read:
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 5 (so pretty high)
Nitrate 100+
1/25/19 Test kits read:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate: 25-50 range(closer to 25 than 50)
1/30/19 Test kits read:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate: 0
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