New tank cloudy & dirty

[SeaHorseQueen]

Vermetid snails? On dry rock? In a week old aquarium? doubtful. More likely, the rocks that were allowed to dry for 2 weeks contain remnants of organisms that are now fueling the nitrogen cycle. And because of that, you’re seeing a bacterial bloom as bacteria tries to handle the decaying material.

op, your tank is new. You’re new. One of the biggest lessons you need to learn is that nothing good in this hobby happens quickly.

take a step back, don’t touch anything, and breathe. Your tank is going to look worse before it gets better. Much worse. That’s normal. Your tank is still sorting out the nitrogen cycle. And closely on its heels is the algae cycle.

It’s a result of organisms flourishing, exhausting whatever micronutrient are fueling them, then dying. Over time, this will stop happening. But for now, just stick to your maintenance plan and let it be. You’ll be rewarded for your patience.

I believe the algae is already here because I checked the poly pad (last night) I added last week and it has brown plastic like algae attached to it. Filter doesn’t have it but it’s a light brown shade over it. It’s been a new experience for me because my last tank (very first SW) didn’t act exactly like this. It just covered the rock and sand partially with brown algae and eventually left. But that tank was smaller though. But I also bought the rock from another reefer who tore his tank down and it was already seeded which I’m sure didn’t survive the drying process. First tank, I bought the rock from my LFS totally dry. It would have been in water but my salt wasn’t in yet and I couldn’t pass up a good deal.
How long does the algae cycle usually last? The tank has been up for almost two weeks tomorrow (Monday) but started the cycle 3 days later (Thursday) that week. I’m asking to learn more. My experience is in the freshwater tanks.

 

[brandon429]

all you have to do is change your water, clean the pads, and you're cycled. dont add animals to the dirty tank you're seeing, add them to the crystal clear tank we covered in chat you'd produce, via water change and cleaning off surfaces

the filter is set and left behind after your water change. your non digital ammonia tests have no bearing on the matter. you're three weeks past the ammonia drop date on a cycle chart after using speed cycle bac that works in 1-2 days, the number of days in wait is the most reliable timer for cycle completion



any ammonia reading taken here and converted to nh3 won't show toxic levels anyway, and that's in the filthy water before the change work due.

After change work, only perfect clean water will be in place above a functioning filter setup.