Should I see an algae bloom when cycling?

[midlife-reefer]

Hey everyone. I started my cycle a week ago. I used Dr. Tim's and added ammonia based on how much water in my tank. Ammonia spiked to 6 ppm on day 2 with nitrites at 0 and nitrates at 5 ppm. Day 3 saw ammonia remain at 6, nitrite still at 0 and nitrate up to 25. Day 4 the same as before. I decided to buy a more up to date nitrite test kit and on day 5, ammonia dropped to 1 ppm, nitrite up to .25, and nitrate still at 25. Day 6, ammonia is 0, nitrite at 2 ppm and nitrate down to 10 ppm. Today, ammonia still 0, nitrite climbed to 4 and nitrate remained at 10 ppm. I am seeing zero algae, but I'm also not turning on any of the lights to the aquarium. The aquarium is in my den so it stays in the shade with the shutters closed and gets light when I flip the light switch on for the room. I was reading in the cycling thread that I should add some ammonia back in to get it up to 2 ppm and see if it goes back down to 0 in a day, which means the tank is cycled. Is this correct, or should I wait for the nitrite to drop back down, as well as the nitrate? I was under the impression that the nitrite was supposed to spike before the nitrate, but this was reversed. Could it be my older nitrite test kit that jacked up my readings? Where do I go from here? I'll update my test readings in the morning.

 

[ScottR]

Hey everyone. I started my cycle a week ago. I used Dr. Tim's and added ammonia based on how much water in my tank. Ammonia spiked to 6 ppm on day 2 with nitrites at 0 and nitrates at 5 ppm. Day 3 saw ammonia remain at 6, nitrite still at 0 and nitrate up to 25. Day 4 the same as before. I decided to buy a more up to date nitrite test kit and on day 5, ammonia dropped to 1 ppm, nitrite up to .25, and nitrate still at 25. Day 6, ammonia is 0, nitrite at 2 ppm and nitrate down to 10 ppm. Today, ammonia still 0, nitrite climbed to 4 and nitrate remained at 10 ppm. I am seeing zero algae, but I'm also not turning on any of the lights to the aquarium. The aquarium is in my den so it stays in the shade with the shutters closed and gets light when I flip the light switch on for the room. I was reading in the cycling thread that I should add some ammonia back in to get it up to 2 ppm and see if it goes back down to 0 in a day, which means the tank is cycled. Is this correct, or should I wait for the nitrite to drop back down, as well as the nitrate? I was under the impression that the nitrite was supposed to spike before the nitrate, but this was reversed. Could it be my older nitrite test kit that jacked up my readings? Where do I go from here? I'll update my test readings in the morning.

Which test kit are you using?

The idea behind adding in more ammonia is that ammonia and nitrites should zero out. Nitrates may still be present which is ok. You’re basically checking that your bacteria can handle the bioload once you add fish.

I see the thread title is - should you see an algae bloom when cycling. Usually the tank stays quite clean during the cycle. If you have sand, you’ll probably see a diatom bloom, which is normal. I like to run a few hours of light during the cycle to prep the tank for going live. This helps to move along the diatom phase as well as help to build the algae that is bound to show up anyway.

 

[Lorenzo Angotti]

Hi, can’t say much more then what Scott as said above and looks like you doing the right things, start introducing light and get your Nitrates down a little, some people like a little Nitrate, especially like mushrooms and zoa’s, as long as you can keep it under 10ppm, you should be fine. Good luck.

 

[midlife-reefer]

Which test kit are you using?

The idea behind adding in more ammonia is that ammonia and nitrites should zero out. Nitrates may still be present which is ok. You’re basically checking that your bacteria can handle the bioload once you add fish.

I see the thread title is - should you see an algae bloom when cycling. Usually the tank stays quite clean during the cycle. If you have sand, you’ll probably see a diatom bloom, which is normal. I like to run a few hours of light during the cycle to prep the tank for going live. This helps to move along the diatom phase as well as help to build the algae that is bound to show up anyway.

I’m using Salifert for nitrites and nitrates and test strips for ammonia. I forgot to mention it’s bare bottom, so probably another reason I’m not seeing the bloom. I’ll check the parameters today and post those here. Thanks for the help.

 

[ScottR]

I’m using Salifert for nitrites and nitrates and test strips for ammonia. I forgot to mention it’s bare bottom, so probably another reason I’m not seeing the bloom. I’ll check the parameters today and post those here. Thanks for the help.

I have never used test strips for ammonia so don’t know how they work. Seachem makes a badge that works well. Salifert kits are dependable. If bare bottom, you shouldn’t see diatoms as long as your rock is free of silicates. Usually your tank stays crystal clear during the cycle and the initial phase of your tank then it goes through its “uglies” phase. It’s normal and nothing to freak out over. If your tank doesn’t get algae, then that’s something to be concerned about.

 

[BeejReef]

You won't see an algae bloom without lights.
It's a garden metaphor. You've mixed in all of the miracle grow, but there's no sun.

You probably read the expansive sticky on the aquarium cycle where they're talking about the first 4-6 months. That's more of a long-view, what to expect as your tank goes through the initial phase of maturing. The nitrogen cycle (what most refer to as "the cycle") is usually 3-5 weeks and fairly sterile.

If you follow conventional wisdom and turn on your lights after your rocks are processing ammonia and nitrite the way you like, you'll get your algae

 

[midlife-reefer]

You won't see an algae bloom without lights.
It's a garden metaphor. You've mixed in all of the miracle grow, but there's no sun.

You probably read the expansive sticky on the aquarium cycle where they're talking about the first 4-6 months. That's more of a long-view, what to expect as your tank goes through the initial phase of maturing. The nitrogen cycle (what most refer to as "the cycle") is usually 3-5 weeks and fairly sterile.

If you follow conventional wisdom and turn on your lights after your rocks are processing ammonia and nitrite the way you like, you'll get your algae

Thanks for the info. I didn't see any point to running the lights with nothing in the tank. I figured the indirect sunlight and overhead lights in the evening are appropriate at the moment. I just wanted to be sure I'm not jacking up the cycle. I want to get some livestock in the tank!