Cycle...does It Inclue A Tank Complete Of Algea?

[tamara]

This isn't my first tank..it's my seconde, i have a new filter, old water [but bacteria isn't really in the water--mostly filter]
So i pretty much had to filter from the very start my new 10 gallpon tank, and i was wondering if it was normal to have the tank
COMPLETLY full of algea? it's just the green algea that is all over the tank&it's walls&the few decorations thats in it.
so is it normal or what have i done?

aswell it's already had it's nitrIte spike [it's only been 2 weeks--first week i had fish in then took them out so they wouldn't die]
but it never had an ammonia spike...so i don't know if it still has to happen or not--unless if i missed it?
i've been kind of busy though so i've only done 2 water changes [25-50%] in the past two weeks...
so yah, i'm pretty bad at this stuff but oh well--any suggestions?

 

[celaeno]

turn off the light and the algae should go away.

 

[lilfishie]

just scrape it off and drop the number of hours the light is on

 

[rdd1952]

How long do you have the lights on each day? Is the tank near a window so that it get direct sunlight? Too much light is main cause of green algae and it is almost impossible to get rid of. If you don't have fish yet, I would suggest turning the lights off and covering the tank with a dark cloth for 3 or 4 days to kill it all off.

As for the filter, you say you haven't seen an ammonia spike yet. Have you been adding ammonia since you took the fish out? If not, then you aren't cycling the tank as there has to be an ammonia source to feed the bacteria and build the colony.

 

[tamara]

Actually, it's on my desk in front of my window---curtains are down all the time [but they're not turned so light still comes in..just not as much.]
i don't have the lights on at all..
and i put flakes and stuff in the tank every day or other day.

 

[piratedninja]

if you are cycling you dont need to put anything into the water except ammonia
putting flakes in the water will just pollute it like crazy

 

[tamara]

Well i don't have any money at the moment..so i won't be buying any ammonia.
Would it do if i put my bristlenosepleco in there?

 

[mark.w.jones]

I wouldn't risk him the water quality is obviously not good in there.

Ammonia only costs £2.00 in the UK so I don't see how cost comes into it unless it's much more expensive in Canada. Maybe it's more difficult to find.

For an easy and successful fishless cycle you really only need ammonia and a test kit for nitrite, nitrate and ammonia. Shouldn't take more than 3 - 5 weeks in a 10 gallon. If you can add some mature sponge and ceramic media from an established tank then it's even quicker.

The adding food method is just not accurate enough as you really don't know how much ammonia you are adding on a daily basis. The bacteria that grow from feeding on this are quite fragile and don't cope well with fluctuations in their food source.

 

[tamara]

I can't find it anywhere pure ammonia...i've checked zellars [for cleaning ammonia stuff] and petcetera for it in the fish section--nothing. i have found a bottle of my cleaning stuff...it says "ammonia added" would that work? or would all the other chemicals be horrible to add in as well? Also, at the moment nitrIte, and ammonia are both at zero, so since they're both at zero--could i just put the pleco in for the day, then tonight put him back? just so taht he could poo and make a mess in there for a day as well as have a feast on the algea that was left over when i scrubbed most the rest out.

 

[tamara]

i checked a different zellars where they have fish stuff, and they didn't have pure ammonia there either.

 

[rdd1952]

The old thread on ammonia sources said a place called Canadian Tire sold it. That post was from August of 2006.