Ok...I ran off to take a picture...which is really, really hard because they are fast buggers!!!

You can see the spot at the bottom of the fin there...not a great pic but the spot is fluffy...you can't really see that in the pic though. It is tiny as I say...but I wanted to nip it in the bud before it got bigger or before any other fish caught it.



Anyway...yes, I suppose its good that I'm finally seeing the nitrite. Its one step further anyway.

So,this morning results were:
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite:0ppm
Nitrate:0ppm
But I suppose thats because I did a water change yesterday...I'll see what happens in a few days time.

The fish with the bit of fluff on his tail looks the same, no change...it'll take a few days for that medicine to kick in.

Anyway, thats the update for today.

Todays results were:
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: Nearly 5ppm...but not quite.

So tempted to buy shrimp or an oto to help with this algae problem!!!! Don't worry I won't though!

....all my gravel is covered again....Its out of direct sunlight, and I covered one side of the tank just in case....but it simply going nuts again.

I think my mopani wood is covered too, but I can't really see it properly as its so dark, if you know what I mean. The algae is creeping onto the glass again, and the silk plants.

Any suggestions as to how to stop this rapid algae production....can I buy something to help keep it under control?

controlling algae isn't a case of just dumping a chemical into the tank, you can buy products to do this and they will work, but the algae will just come back a few days later so it's not fixing the problem.

There's 3 things which cause algae - light, ammonia and unstable CO2

Now light you can obviously change by adjusting your timers for your lights, CO2 is not something I'd advise tinkering with at the moment as if you get it wrong you'll just make the problem worse, the last one, ammonia, is obviously what you're trying to control with cycling anyway.

Personally I would just keep cleaning it up every few days while you're cycling. once the cycle is done then see if the problem is still occuring or if it goes by itself. Quite a lot of the time people have algae problems in new tanks but it goes once it's cycled.

Ok, Thanks.

Perhaps light is my problem, I have a sky light in my kitchen, and I noticed that the sun has risen over head now that its nearing the end of the summer and its shining in on the tank for about hour in the morning.

I'm going to have to put a covering on it or something. In the winter I don't seem to have the same overhead light.

I'll need to clean all my stuff again later when I get a chance too....

My stats this morning are:
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0ppm

Hi all,

Well, no real updates on this tank since I last posted.

I haven't done a water change since the morning of July 25th so thats a full week ago now at this stage...I cleaned all the algae again of the decorations the other day like I said I would.

Now it wasn't as much as the last time, but it was creeping into the tank all the same...so I've kept the algae in check so that there is no sneaky 'silent cycle' going on and my results today and the past few mornings are:

Ammonia:0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: Ranging from Trace - 5ppm, today its definately a clear 5ppm.

So things are finally looking good for me!


Also....my guy with the spot of fluff on his tail has shown no improvement....in that he's fine in himself, but the tiny spot is still there on his fin, even after medicating. I wonder should I give a second dose of Interpet No.8? I might pop over to the other thread on illness's and ask there.

Haven't looked into 'real' plants yet. That'll be another days work!!

A trip to the fish shop is imminent! I'm still dreaming of what other fish to put in this tank.