Water change

[leilani908]

Hi! I've had my tank for almost 2 weeks just let it cycle before I get fish. It's a 15 gal and I have 2 corals in the tank already.

I was wondering, should I do a water change before I get my fish or after? There's algae spots already appearing on the glass and my sand is dark brown now with algae. So should I still wait or clean it? Thank you!

 

[Jon Fishman]

If your water parameters are fine, I wouldn’t. Water Change is to remove toxins and replace trace elements. Your corals aren’t consuming enough trace elements to make a change necessary in my opinion.

 

[leilani908]

If your water parameters are fine, I wouldn’t. Water Change is to remove toxins and replace trace elements. Your corals aren’t consuming enough trace elements to make a change necessary in my opinion.

Okay so even with the algae growth I should still leave it and not clean it until after the fish are established and I need to?

 

[Sashaka]

Welcome to the reefing world. I know it's tempting to want to get your tank filled right away with coral, but as you already know, your tank is not fully cycled yet. I wouldn't add any more corals or fish until ammonia testing reads 0 for at least three days in a row and the nitrate levels are elevated. Once you have high nitrate readings, then do a large water change. Your tank needs to build the right bacteria to be fully cycled. Even then it will be a very young tank so go slow when adding new coral or fish. If you do a water change before that happens, you will slow down the cycle by removing the nitrite bacteria necessary to feed the nitrate colony. Most of the bacteria will be attached to surfaces, but a water change will still disrupt things. The problem right now is the coral will be stressed in an uncycled environment and may not make it. It looks like you have a hardy coral, but in an uncycled tank, any coral can die. You can add bacteria in a bottle to speed up the cycle and help protect the coral a bit, but be patient and do the proper testing before adding any more to the tank. The cycle will happen.

 

[Jon Fishman]

Not sure you “need” to. But you want as much beneficial bacteria as possible


I’ve never really cycled a tank, so I am by no means an authority on this

 

[leilani908]

Not sure you “need” to. But you want as much beneficial bacteria as possible


I’ve never really cycled a tank, so I am by no means an authority on this

Okay. Thank you!

 

[leilani908]

Welcome to the reefing world. I know it's tempting to want to get your tank filled right away with coral, but as you already know, your tank is not fully cycled yet. I wouldn't add any more corals or fish until ammonia testing reads 0 for at least three days in a row and the nitrate levels are elevated. Once you have high nitrate readings, then do a large water change. Your tank needs to build the right bacteria to be fully cycled. Even then it will be a very young tank so go slow when adding new coral or fish. If you do a water change before that happens, you will slow down the cycle by removing the nitrite bacteria necessary to feed the nitrate colony. The problem right now is the coral will be stressed in an uncycled environment and may not make it. It looks like you have a hardy coral, but in an uncycled tank, any coral can die. You can add bacteria in a bottle to speed up the cycle and help protect the coral a bit, but be patient and do the proper testing before adding any more to the tank. The cycle will happen.

I'm not adding anymore coral. Just have the one and letting it cycle.

So should I not worry about the algae then? That's my only issue. Everything else is fine! What bacteria in a bottle to speed it up do you recommend and how does it work? How fast does it speed it up and how long do I have to wait after I apply it? I'm not in a rush, just worried about the algae

 

[Sashaka]

I'm not adding anymore coral. Just have the one and letting it cycle.

So should I not worry about the algae then? That's my only issue. Everything else is fine! What bacteria in a bottle to speed it up do you recommend and how does it work? How fast does it speed it up and how long do I have to wait after I apply it? I'm not in a rush, just worried about the algae

There are some typical stages a new tank will go through. The brown diatoms you're seeing on the sand is one of them. A dirty looking tank during and after a cycle is normal. A clean up crew (snails, crabs, etc., is usually the first life added after a cycle to help with the algae that grows during the cycle. Check out this thread for more information:

A Beginner's Guide to Understanding the Nitrogen Cycle

You recently found out about “reefing”, probably through a reefer friend, and totally fell in love with the hobby. The next day, you visit your LFS (local fish store) and buy your own tank. You probably feel tempted to get some corals and saltwater fish on the same trip, but that’s actually a...

www.reef2reef.com

Diatoms?

Hello everyone! Hope everyone had an awesome weekend! I sure did, I visited Reef-A-palooza and came up with a lot of great products. I am now on week 2 with my 40 gallon tank. And I started getting brown algae all over the tank. My lights are on a schedule. I am running a Current USA orbit...

www.reef2reef.com

As far a getting bacteria in a bottle to speed up the cycle, it is not a once added to the tank - the tank will be cycled kind of thing...even if the bottle says so. It does get the right bacteria in the tank started though. How much it shortens the cycle depends on a number of factors and can be different for each tank. Just continue to monitor with testing and be patient.
I have used API Quick Start, Seachem Stability, and Instant Ociean's Bio Spira. I also like Dr. Tim's One and Only (but by far the most expensive). I tend to buy One and Only first and then Stability second, but they all seemed to work about the same for me. I do continue to dose once every week or two with NO3 : PO4-X NOPOX bacteria (after the cycle) or Micro Bacter7 because I run a bio pellet reactor and I have used the last one to help jump start a cycle as well. The last two have a longer shelf life once opened.

 

[leilani908]

There are some typical stages a new tank will go through. The brown diatoms you're seeing on the sand is one of them. A dirty looking tank during and after a cycle is normal. A clean up crew (snails, crabs, etc., is usually the first life added after a cycle to help with the algae that grows during the cycle. Check out this thread for more information:

A Beginner's Guide to Understanding the Nitrogen Cycle

You recently found out about “reefing”, probably through a reefer friend, and totally fell in love with the hobby. The next day, you visit your LFS (local fish store) and buy your own tank. You probably feel tempted to get some corals and saltwater fish on the same trip, but that’s actually a...

www.reef2reef.com

Diatoms?

Hello everyone! Hope everyone had an awesome weekend! I sure did, I visited Reef-A-palooza and came up with a lot of great products. I am now on week 2 with my 40 gallon tank. And I started getting brown algae all over the tank. My lights are on a schedule. I am running a Current USA orbit...

www.reef2reef.com

As far a getting bacteria in a bottle to speed up the cycle, it is not a once added to the tank - the tank will be cycled kind of thing...even if the bottle says so. It does get the right bacteria in the tank started though. How much it shortens the cycle depends on a number of factors and can be different for each tank. Just continue to monitor with testing and be patient.
I have used API Quick Start, Seachem Stability, and Instant Ociean's Bio Spira. I also like Dr. Tim's One and Only (but by far the most expensive). I tend to buy One and Only first and then Stability second, but they all seemed to work about the same for me. I do continue to dose once every week or two with NO3 : PO4-X NOPOX bacteria (after the cycle) or Micro Bacter7 because I run a bio pellet reactor and I have used the last one to help jump start a cycle as well. The last two have a longer shelf life once opened.

Okay awesome! Thank you so much for your help!!! I really appreciate it especially being new to the hobby, it's great to have people be so open and helpful thank you so much!

 

[BeejReef]

We all tend to use the word "cycle" differently. Most commonly, it means that your tank can process ammonia and nitrite. Ammonia can kill fish and corals. No one will advise you to add anything to a tank that can't process ammonia.

Other times, people talk generally about the cycle of maturation of a new tank. The nitrogen cycle (ammonia processing) is seen as the first step, followed by diatoms, algae, rocks turning color, coraline.... etc, etc. All part of the cycle of getting a system established enough for intermediate coral and beyond.

At two weeks, you're most likely still in the ammonia processing portion of your cycle.
Have you dosed ammonia or been feeding the tank? At this point, I'd not dose pure ammonia, you have a live creature in there. It might take some time ghost feeding.

 

[leilani908]

We all tend to use the word "cycle" differently. Most commonly, it means that your tank can process ammonia and nitrite. Ammonia can kill fish and corals. No one will advise you to add anything to a tank that can't process ammonia.

Other times, people talk generally about the cycle of maturation of a new tank. The nitrogen cycle (ammonia processing) is seen as the first step, followed by diatoms, algae, rocks turning color, coraline.... etc, etc. All part of the cycle of getting a system established enough for intermediate coral and beyond.

At two weeks, you're most likely still in the ammonia processing portion of your cycle.
Have you dosed ammonia or been feeding the tank? At this point, I'd not dose pure ammonia, you have a live creature in there. It might take some time ghost feeding.

I haven't dosed anything into the tank. And I'm not feeding my coral as my fish store said they just need light. My tank has live rock, live sand, and premade saltwater.

 

[CasaReefer]

Welcome to R2R and to reefing. This is a Great Place For Information and you have NO IDEA how smart you are being just by asking questions like these.... Great Job.