Woke up to cloudy tank with a white film on glass.

[Pauliex77x]

So my filter setup is the 2 sicce return pumps, an in tank media basket with floss and 5 packets of chemipure blue nano, an in tank floss holder on the other side, the Eshopps nano skimmer which is actually working well lately. Along with an in tank fuge basket with rubble rock in it. I do have a small HOB filter for a qt tank on the side as well as a sponge filter with a pump. The IM uv sterilizer is a bit too expensive at the moment.

 

[B7Joe]

Hi. You added a bottle of bacteria and it’s a newer tank - looks like a bacterial bloom to me. If your parameters are in check, livestock looks fine and you’re already oxygenating (sounds like you have a skimmer going and plenty of agitation) there’s not much for you to do but give it some time. Good luck with your new setup!

 

[Quietman]

It looks like you have a good sized tank minimally stocked and good surface agitation. And air stone doesn't increase the oxygen content by bubbles, it adds up flow. The water appears clear with just that film. If the fish appear healthy and no 'gasping' and are active, you're probably fine.

What do you mean by cycled stalled which caused you to add the bacteria in the first place? The cycle was complete or it wasn't. Perhaps you added something (former live rock that's dry with biologic debris on it) and caused a recycle.

Anyway, as long as ammonia is zero and you're producing nitrates the tank is cycled.

 

[Pauliex77x]

When i first started the tank i added the two fish and a bottle of fritz 900. It seemed to take forever like the bottle of bacteria was bad or dead. i eneded up with a nitrate reading of 100 ppm so i did a series of 3 five gallon water changes over 2 days. I didnt know that salifert nitrate kits give a false reading if nitrites are still present and they were at 2ppm. I think the water changes stalled my cycle and actually restarted it. After waiting about 3 weeks i added the bio spira to jump start things. Nitrites came down from 1ppm to .1ppm in 3 days

 

[Quietman]

Ah...so probably not optimum way to cycle and add fish. No worries, but next time add fish after cycle is complete. Nitrites aren't toxic in saltwater (they are in fresh), so mostly you're just concerned about ammonia.

Next, I doubt you stalled changing water...the bacteria are not in water column and the fish produced enough ammonia to prevent a stall.

In the future... you may want to reach out to this forum when you first notice something going wrong and before you take action - it's what I do when I'm not sure.

Product information isn't always as advertised and I guarantee someone on here has seen your situation before. At the minimum you'll get confirmation you're doing it right, at best you won't have to spend money.

Good luck!

 

[Pauliex77x]

I was trying to follow Mr saltwater tank's youtube video on how to fast cycle. When the fritz didnt work i tried to be patient and wait it out. Patience ran out thats why i added the bacteria lol. Was under the impression you couldnt overdose the bacteria otherwise i would have continued to wait. Only added the 2oz bottle for 30 gallons so it wasnt too crazy. It was really baffling me that 2 months in i was still getting a nitrite reading.

 

[tankstudy]

Was under the impression you couldnt overdose the bacteria otherwise i would have continued to wait.

You really can't overdose the bottled bacteria.

You can, however, overdose the initial ammonia source. If parameters reach certain ranges your cycle will stall/slow greatly. If you had 100 ppm nitrate, that means you probably had way too much initial ammonia.

Sometimes folks will get lucky and the bacterial blooms go away with water changes or as the tank matures and other bacterial strains possibly out competing it. However, from my own experience, it's best to get a UV sterilizer other wise, the blooms will come and go regularly on you. I know you stated you can't get one but if the blooms don't go away, your going to need one.

On my Nuvo 20 gallon, I was able to fit a green killing machine UV sterilizer sold from petsmart or petco in the back chambers and it was able to deal with the blooms easily. They are pretty budget friendly compared to the larger UV devices which range in the several hundred dollars. A 9W is about 50.00 and if you have petco or petsmart coupons or bucks you can make it even cheaper.

 

[Quietman]

Got it now. So, even fast cycle with bottles can only cut time in half (maybe). Depends on age of bottle, live rock, etc. So always need to make sure at a minimum, no ammonia and some nitrate before adding fish. I prefer to see 1 or 2 ppm ammonia removed in 24 hours with a corresponding nitrate increase.

Nitrite readings could be test kit. I don't sample it anymore for anything - cycling or normal testing. Just some cheap ammonia kit and a good nitrate kit (Red Sea here...there are several as you'll need that long term).

Also, you don't need to add anything and your tank will still cycle in 4 weeks (6 at the outside). All those bacteria are ubiquitous in nature. But adding doesn't hurt either. Wait a few days...things should get back to normal.

 

[Pauliex77x]

The only ammonia source ive ever introduced has been the clowns

 

[Pauliex77x]

Got it now. So, even fast cycle with bottles can only cut time in half (maybe). Depends on age of bottle, live rock, etc. So always need to make sure at a minimum, no ammonia and some nitrate before adding fish. I prefer to see 1 or 2 ppm ammonia removed in 24 hours with a corresponding nitrate increase.

Nitrite readings could be test kit. I don't sample it anymore for anything - cycling or normal testing. Just some cheap ammonia kit and a good nitrate kit (Red Sea here...there are several as you'll need that long term).

Also, you don't need to add anything and your tank will still cycle in 4 weeks (6 at the outside). All those bacteria are ubiquitous in nature. But adding doesn't hurt either. Wait a few days...things should get back to normal.

The rock was dry as i had it laying around for about 10 years in a garbage pail. I washed it good then cured it for about 3 months before adding it to the tank to start. Sand is also dry

 

[Quietman]

The only ammonia source ive ever introduced has been the clowns

Yeah...that's probably not the best source. Hard on fish to go through cycle as ammonia can damage gills, but they made it and you're there. Next time I suggest bottled ammonia or dead shrimp method.

 

[Pauliex77x]

Yea im gonna try the bottle to set up my qt tank

 

[miyags]

How about this? 27.99.9W UV Sterilizer w/ Submersible Pump Filter 75 gal Aquarium Fish Tank. sold by cll petsupplies on Ebay

 

[Pauliex77x]

Came home for lunch to check on my daughter and the tank. Fish dont seem stressed at all. Turned up both returns to double the surface aggitation. Skimmer is producing alot of foam at the moment as well.

 

[miyags]

Like I said,bacterial bloom never effected anything in my tank.But your nitrite will. Just keep doing your weekly water change.or bi weekly till your nitrites come down.

 

[Pauliex77x]

Did a battery of tests at lunch.

Temp 78.4
Salinity 35ppm
Ammonia <.15 (barely registered)
Nitrite .1 (lighter than the .1 on salifert kit)
Nitrate 5ppm.

Cleaned the glass and salt creep, turned both nozzles up higher for more surface agitation, and added a fluval sea powerhead that i had laying around. Precipitation came off the glass and was real stringy. Protein skimmer is working real well.

 

[Pauliex77x]

Thank you everyone who responded. Learned some stuff today and the bloom seems to be clearing up already. Skimmer is going crazy with bubbles and the added powerhead is really eliminating dead spots in the tank. Thanks again guys.