Ugly Stage

corey.nolta · Mar 1, 2017

So I started a second tank (55 gallon) cycling and it's all ready to go. I'm definitely at the "not so pretty" stage, but I don't ever recall my first tank being THIS bad. I know each and every tank is slightly different, but I have to clean the glass every 24 hours. And I don't mean that the glass is just slightly dirty. It's DIRTY! It looks like I have gone months without cleaning the glass. Granted it's an easy clean - comes right off with a sponge....but man, every 24 hours?? Is that normal???
As of right now parameters are: Ammonia - 0. Nitrite - 0. Nitrate 5. Haven't wasted product testing other parameters just yet...

wkscott · Mar 1, 2017

Normal. When I started my first tank, the diatoms were so thick that 4 hours after cleaning the glass I couldn't see through it again. Do you have diatoms?

corey.nolta · Mar 2, 2017

Yeppers! At what point can I safely put some sticks in? I don't want to move some of my sps over if they are just going to get covered with the same "haze" as my glass....

wkscott · Mar 2, 2017

Diatoms usually go away in one to three weeks or so. Your tank may have finished the nitrogen cycle but it's probably not yet mature enough for SPS coral. After the diatoms leave you will mostly likely have bouts with various green algae, and some cyanobacteria. Technically you could put in SPS now, but if you are holding them in another tank, you may want to wait to get through some of the algae issues first. A CUC and fish could go in first.