Is it ready?

[ilikefish_]

Is my tank done cycling? My parameters are
Ph:8
Ammonia:0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:0
Everything spiked and went back down... I have Cyanobacteria and hair algae and a lot of it but I wanna know if I could add fish?

 

[Frankie_Garcia]

If you have both if those problems your tank parameters are not perfect. Get that cleaned up first before adding fish

 

[ilikefish_]

How should I do that?

 

[Frankie_Garcia]

Well I know you opened a topic on how to get rid of both, I have had a bio cube 14,

In my experience what I did was a 25% water change, siphoned out all the cyano and picked off the hair algae I could. I then threw in a bag of phosguard because cyano feeds of phosphates.


Another thing, what are you topping your tank off with?

 

[Frankie_Garcia]

I put it in the last chamber where the water is pumped back into the tank.

What are you using for filter
Media in the back bays?

 

[ilikefish_]

I'm haven't topped it off and I have the regular filter pad with the bio balls and in the 3 part where it gets pumped back in I have a bag of purigen

 

[Frankie_Garcia]

Do you have a place around that sells water that is distilled or reverse osmosed? And I would take out the bio balls, and use rubble rock with some chaeto in your second chamber, then keep the purigen and also throw in some phosguard

 

[ilikefish_]

I'm not sure what would I need distilled or reverse osmosis water for?

 

[Frankie_Garcia]

You're going to have to top your water off from evaporation and you cannot use salt water to top it off with. You have to use either one of those. You can't use drinking water because it has minerals and nutrients not good for your tank.

 

[ilikefish_]

Ohh okay

 

[Frankie_Garcia]

I take it you are new to the hobby?

 

[ilikefish_]

Yea I have a 20 gallon freshwater and wanted to try saltwater now I realize it's a lot harder and a lot more expensive

 

[Frankie_Garcia]

Haha a tad bit more. Just very tedious with the nutrients in the tank!

 

[ilikefish_]

Yeah...so is my cycle over? Or is it still going?

 

[Frankie_Garcia]

Have you seen orange on the sand bed?

 

[ilikefish_]

Umm no just red

 

[Frankie_Garcia]

It's not cycled yet if you haven't had a diatom bloom

 

[ilikefish_]

Ohhh the brownish algae?

 

[Frankie_Garcia]

Brownish orange.

 

[ilikefish_]

Yea I had that really bad for about a week or 2 and now it's gone