New Tank

[waterdrop]

If you're getting double-zeros at about 12 hours but from a reduced dose, such as 2 to 3ppm, instead of 4-5ppm, then you are not in your qualifying week yet. First, as you've now done, you need to "up" your dose to 4-5ppm and see if the bacteria can reduce that to double-zeros within 12 hours. Once they can reduce this larger amount of ammonia, you will be in your qualifying week. It may come very soon.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[szatek]

Hi All,

I noticed something strange in my tank today. First of all there are patches of some greyish stuff over decoration. Also there are really thin and small worms floating around. I can see them moving just like snakes. Is that normal ?

Best regards,

 

[waterdrop]

Yes,

Both things are normal. The grayish films you see on your decorations are bacterial biofilms. When a tank is new, often excessive amounts of these will form on decoration and equipment surfaces. Eventually it will break down, break off and go away. Or you can clean it off during a weekend cleaning session. For instance, I often clean the biofilm off of silicon suction cups by rinsing them under tap water and rubbing it off with my fingers - simple and quick. I believe some of these excess biofilms are formed by bacterial species that are not the same as our autotrophic species we want in the filter. After the tank has matured a few months we usually see less to none of these films even though the films inside the filter are more robust than ever.

The tiny white wormlike organisms you are seeing are probably Planaria. These are harmless and will go away on their own. If they were to survive the fishless cycle and still be present when you got fish, the fish would probably enjoy eating them!

Hope this helps!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[szatek]

That helps a lot waterdrop. Thank you very much.

I will wait until Nitrite is being processed within 12 hours and will do my first water change. I will take care of that greyish film .

 

[waterdrop]

Of course, don't forget that at this stage your tank is really a "bacterial growing soup," not a house decoration yet, lol. My own feeling is that you might as well just leave all the films there until you get fish as some of the films will be made by the two species of autotrophs we are trying to grow, right? And every little bit helps at this stage. At the point that fish go in (or later) it will be fine to perform these extra cleanups.

~~waterdrop~~
ps. On the other hand, if some of it is really bothering you then I'd just clean it whenever you want, since it might -not- really be noticably significant. See how wishy-washy I can be.

 

[szatek]

I think I choose the first option waterdrop. I noticed that being patient with fish tanks is a very good attribute. I can only see advantages of such behaviour so once again I will leave the films and wait for the results. I don't want to remove any beneficial bacteria. It took me too long to wait for them.

 

[szatek]

My first drastic drop in Nitrites level within 12 hours .

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, excellent, you want your dosing to be up at the 5ppm (lol, 4ppm plus that hint of extra I guess we hope for from the dosing calculator but of course its all a guess really) and to happen only once per 24hours at the same hour within the 24 if possible, as you've been doing. Then, when you see both ammonia and nitrite reach true zero ppm at 12 hours after dosing, and perhaps you see this twice, you know you are into your "qualifying week" during which you watch it repeat all this for a week or so. If it spikes on you (doesn't reach double zeros on one of the 12hour tests, then you have to start over, ugh!) When a biofilter is truly passing its qualification week it feels obvious because the double-zeros just keep happening day after day, rock solid. Usually a good filter never looks back after this and maintains double-zeros for years after this. (If it doesn't, then it might not have the full capacity or design for what its being asked to do or other maintenance habits (tank or filter cleaning) might not be happening with enough regularity.)

~~waterdrop~~

 

[szatek]

I might be in difficult situation soon in that case. I'm going on holiday on Thursday for two weeks and I can't imagine leaving both fish in the old tank as without at least two water changes per week Ammonia level will be unbearable. I just hope it will be enough time to cycle.

 

[szatek]

I don't think I will have a choice. Leaving my fish in the old tank for two weeks will definitely do more harm than putting them into tank which didn't go through the qualifying week. That's my theory anyway. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I started adding more Ammonia for last couple of days so I'm preparing it for more toxins.

I'm leaving on Thursday. On Wednesday I want to clean the glass of the tank with a scraper, remove about 90% of water, fill the tank up with new one and leave it running for couple of hours before adding fish. I'm also planning to put old filter inside new tank so I've got additional filtration. Please let me know if there is anything else I need to do. I know I planned it badly because I shouldn't be leaving in the middle of the cycle but I think that's the best solution.

 

[szatek]

I had quite a lot of fun catching both fish yesterday and putting them in the new tank. They were a bit confused in the beginning but after a while they started going through the gravel. I've got two happy fish now. Thank you for all the tips.

 

[OldMan47]

An almost cycled large tank is far better for fish that can't get any care than one where they will quickly be poisoned by the ammonia in their tank. It may not work out but is worth a try at least.

 

[szatek]

Hi All,

I came back home after two weeks holiday and to my surprise there is no Ammonia or Nitrite in the water. I didn't check for Nitrates but I bet it will be high so I'm planning to change about 50% of water. As far as I can see both fish love new tank and especially new hiding places. The only thing that worries me is the brown stuff (I think it's algea) that covers most of the decoration, internal filter, heater and some parts of the glass. Surprisingly it does not cover the gravel at all. Brown stuff is only in places where there is no shadow so it must be related with light. Is there anything I can do to get rid of it apart from using toothbrush ?

Best regards,

 

[OldMan47]

It sounds like black beard algae to me. It is fairly common in a new tank.

 

[waterdrop]

Black beard algae consists of little tufts of black hairs, not too long, that look like a very small clump of grass and appear out on the tips of things in higher current areas. Brown diatom algae coats all types of surfaces, starting first with leaves and glass, preferentially under brighter light but also often beginning in glass/gravel corners where water flow is reduced and tiny concentrations of ammonia can happen which trigger the spores to activate.

If its brown algae, it can be wiped clean rather easily (even via your hand on smoother surfaces, but usually with a mildly rough sponge on plants and other rougher surfaces, being very gentle) and the main focus of prevention will be in lowering the number of hours of light. For plants more complex than algae, light needs to come in periods of at least 4 hours, so that the photosynthetic machinery can crank to life and produce enough sugars to give the plant a minimal meal. So one 4 hour stretch is the first minimum that new planted tanks usually start with. Often a second 4 hour stretch (to total 8 hours) is tried, watching to see if algae begins to be a problem. Algae problems change over the lifetime of a tank. Different algae species respond to more complex chemistry, but light is always the largest factor.

Light plus ammonia triggers algae spores (which are universally present in fresh water.) The amount of ammonia needed is below what our test kits can detect, so you can't go by that. Water changes are one of the next biggest factors after light control. Frequent water changes will keep a tank more free of algae (because both algae plants and spores are removed) than a tank that has fewer water changes. Unfortunately, some actions you take in response to one type of algae may enhance the chances of a different species. When you increase the volume of your water changes, assuming you use fresh tap water, you may be causing the CO2 level to bounce up and down to a large enough extent to encourage black beard algae! All of this is just to say that algae abatement is an ongoing skill development in the hobby!

~~waterdrop~~