Tank cycle questions

[Hunter399]

I am on week five of my new tank setup. I cycled with live rock and live sand. The beneficial bacteria etc. I went through the Diatom bloom. Well two because I stirred up the sand too much cleaning and it bloomed again. Clean up crew added and for a solid two weeks my levels have been great. One week ago added a clown. I am getting a light green dusting that i clean off the glass frequently. I am doing frequent water changes and turned down my led settings. Is this part of the cycle?

Setup:
24 gallon cube with 8 gallon sump.
Protein skimmer
marine pure block in sump
Seachem Purigen and Chemi pure blue in filter sock
AI Prime HD light

 

[Hunter399]

Forgot to mention testing daily.
Ammonio 0, Nitrites 0, and Nitrates and phosphates showing zero.
confirmed by local reef store twice this week.

 

[brandon429]

Algae presence isnt for cycling. That's only to establish bacteria, and the live rock brought the full needs already in place day 1

Though you can find cycling articles that tell you to leave algae in place and hope it goes away, we have two hundred pages of tank rescue threads and each person did that method. People who run large tank rescue threads depend on people to keep purposefully growing mess in their tank so that their rescue threads can grow year after year

Be different
don't choose an algae approach where you aren't at the helm, get there pretty quick. Clean out the algae as often as your investment requires, farm not unless a pure natural method is the only goal. Many have attained that w trial and error

any algae challenge thread on the web = the keeper was reacting after weeks of hesitation. They grew it on purpose vs a quick initial kill. They were told not to kill it by hand, that water starving was the only way to kill it

And it grew even still during their water starving attempts

Those who are perpetually algae free simply remove or kill it by hand, it never comes and goes. The vast majority you will ever read about choose to take their chances

Many people are algae free after following contemporary rules that have us grow it on purpose then hope it phases out, so the method will continue. They're not perpetually algae free, they're lucky, being in total command of the tank is only for 1% who take it.

The reason algae and cyano aren't part of cycling is because any age tank can get them. Why seed it early and hedge in their favor?


The number one cause of algae problems in reef tanks isn't nutrients, it's purposeful growing of the very thing they want gone. Irony causes algae in reef tanks.

Always set your water params around what corals want, use animals and a few good cheats we know to keep algae under control.

 

[Hunter399]

Thanks for taking the time to respond. So far, everyday I have been scrapping off the lite dusting on the glass and frequent small water changes. I agree that taking action now is best and to be honest probably too OCD not too lol.

 

[bpinkstaff]

Algae presence isnt for cycling. That's only to establish bacteria, and the live rock brought the full needs already in place day 1

Though you can find cycling articles that tell you to leave algae in place and hope it goes away, we have two hundred pages of tank rescue threads and each person did that method. People who run large tank rescue threads depend on people to keep purposefully growing mess in their tank so that their rescue threads can grow year after year

Be different
don't choose an algae approach where you aren't at the helm, get there pretty quick. Clean out the algae as often as your investment requires, farm not unless a pure natural method is the only goal. Many have attained that w trial and error

any algae challenge thread on the web = the keeper was reacting after weeks of hesitation. They grew it on purpose vs a quick initial kill. They were told not to kill it by hand, that water starving was the only way to kill it

And it grew even still during their water starving attempts

Those who are perpetually algae free simply remove or kill it by hand, it never comes and goes. The vast majority you will ever read about choose to take their chances

Many people are algae free after following contemporary rules that have us grow it on purpose then hope it phases out, so the method will continue. They're not perpetually algae free, they're lucky, being in total command of the tank is only for 1% who take it.

The reason algae and cyano aren't part of cycling is because any age tank can get them. Why seed it early and hedge in their favor?


The number one cause of algae problems in reef tanks isn't nutrients, it's purposeful growing of the very thing they want gone. Irony causes algae in reef tanks.

Always set your water params around what corals want, use animals and a few good cheats we know to keep algae under control.

Great advise the best I have seen!

 

[brandon429]

thanks tons

not everyone agrees with it especially people with multi hundred gallon tanks who don't have to scrape out algae/do surgery on the rocks like normal folks will require.

they thing we're crazy taking apart tanks, rinsing sandbeds, taking rocks outside the water to purposefully kill off algae. I was driven there; I didn't ask to be that busy of a reefer.

The only thing it took to be driven there was losing my previous reef to invasive red algae after 4 yrs very hard work and cost, and following the masses on their algae paradigm.

I became angry and swore Id Jason/Freddy/Jack the ripper it out if I ever saw its scallywagging tail around my parts again.

only loss will drive one to quit farming algae, trying to save you that loss in 2020.

getting lucky will have us telling everyone to farm it, we think that what works in our tank can be upscaled to regular unlucky folks. Surgical action does not fail though it takes work and its unnatural, that wont work for some.

I found a mid ground now in pico reefing... we guide and farm early on until coralline and coral flesh takes up all surfaces, then we can quit farming. I haven't treated my tank for invasive algae on the rocks or sand in seven years cuz on round two I didn't allow algae, I never will again.

we don't mess with nutrient controls. we set them to what corals want, we murder algae simply put wo asking permission. the smaller the tank you have, the easier that method is and the larger the tank, the more we need water controls to hopefully starve it.

Grazing is what nature uses. algae cannot grow where a hawksbill or parrotfish bit it off the reef then pooped the sand clean. When we use knives and peroxide and harsh rasping/sandbed rinsing to force algae out, we're really just mimicking the mean nature of the reef anyway, through unnatural accomodations.


My tank cannot be invaded by algae its not possible, I sleep better that way though Im willing to bio cheat to force it that way.


skim these links. look at the hesitation constant. I know you are already scraping and doing good work which is perfect...just wanted you to see the method doesn't end even when your tank ages.

we are importing much rougher tougher invaders with the frags and things we buy than you are facing now, act early as a for sure way of control and these show some might fine cheat options too. Im not saying every likes or should use peroxide to cheat a tank clean, these links simply show how people presented who were already managing nutrients quite well and still needed to simply stop farming.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2082359
https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/268706-peroxide-saves-my-tank-with-pics-to-prove-it/?page=65


anyone who likes algae scrubbers disagrees with literally everything I typed ~

 

[CodyRVA]

.

 

[Hunter399]

As an update I bought another test kit by Red Sea. The pro algae kit. I bought this to get more exact results. I also bought the Red Sea algae additive which I have not used. I am stumped. I am testing phosphate at 0.01 and nitrates are zero. I have even added more fish the last week. Rock and sand is clear as well as the water. But I do get that slight film on the glass I clean daily. It's slightly brownish. I hear that phosphates and nitrates this low are bad. I have a couple acan's and Zoa's that look perfectly fine. I guess I am more blown away my levels are this low and I do feed a good amount. Any input or advice on this? And thanks for the previous responses

 

[Big G]

Welcome to R2R! Do you have some chaeto in that sump? Copepods?

 

[Hunter399]

Welcome to R2R! Do you have some chaeto in that sump? Copepods?

I don't have either of those yet. It's a 24 gallon cube and the sump is an 8 gallon two stage. Thought about adding chaeto and a light. I just need to find a way to block the chaeto from potentially clogging my return pump.

 

[Big G]

I don't have either of those yet. It's a 24 gallon cube and the sump is an 8 gallon two stage. Thought about adding chaeto and a light. I just need to find a way to block the chaeto from potentially clogging my return pump.

A piece cut from a 2'x4'of plastic egg crate panel with a 1/4" plastic insect mesh zip-tied to the panel could work real nice. You don't have to glue the egg crate into place. Lots of folks use coated magnets placed on each side of the panel to hold it in place.