Question(s) regarding unfinished new tank

[NERVOUS]

I setup a 150 gallon freshwater tank about 3-4 months ago, but before I had a chance to complete the tank I got distracted and never finished. Now I have a tank that has been running for several months and I am not sure how to proceed.

The tanks current condition does not appear to be that bad all things considered. There a thin coat of dark brown algae covering the gravel and drift wood, but otherwise the tank seems to be in good woring order. I conducted some water parameter tests to help determine how to proceed; please see below for results.

Deluxe Fresh Lab (Red Sea):
pH (8.0)
Cl2 (0 ppm)
General Hardness - GH ("Medium Hard")

Salifert:
NH4 (<0.25 ppm)
NO2 (<0.01 ppm)
NO3 (2.5 ppm)

Just FYI, I intend on making this a freshwater planted community tank. Also, I have one dose of Marineland Bio-Spira in the refrigerator that I planned on using during the initial setup of this tank.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this post. Any advise and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Welcome to AA Nervous!

So far, what is in the tank? Are any fish in it? Read up on the Nitrogen cycle and Fishless cycling . The tank will need to be cycled before adding fish.

What kind of filter is on the tank?

 

[Macrosill]

Welcome to AA, This is a great place.

You may want to reconsider your substrate. Gravel is not the most desirable substrate for a planted tank. It can be used but there are better choices out there. I personally use pool filter sand and some would suggest that is nat a great way to go. It is your decision and use what you like to look at, it will be there for a while. Read the sticky's in the planted tank forum. I would be a little leary about using the water that has been in there for a few months. It is probably best to start over, I would.

 

[NERVOUS]

Welcome to AA Nervous!

So far, what is in the tank? Are any fish in it? Read up on the Nitrogen cycle and Fishless cycling . The tank will need to be cycled before adding fish.

What kind of filter is on the tank?

There are no fish or plants (besides the brown algae) in this tank. I used the fishless cycling method once before to setup this tank in a previous home. However, I do not know where to begin given the amount of time the tank has been sitting idle.

As for filters, I have three Eheim canisters:
2x 2128 (w/ built in heater) - Professional II (for physical filtration)
1x 2229 - Professional Wet/Dry (for biological filtration)

I also have two UV filters - One attached inline to each of the 2128's. Both of these filters have been turned off the entire time the tank has been running.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I would drain the water and start over from scratch. There is no use in using the same water. You will have to recycle the tank since there was nothing keeping the bacteria alive. Also, I would clean the filters out and start fresh.

 

[NERVOUS]

I was afraid of this... Just out of curiousity, what beneficial bacteria will standard tap water contain? Is this the same type of bacteria that would be introduced by a product like Bio-Spira? Is the primary reason for starting over to get rid of the dark brown algae?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Tap water will not contain any kind of substantial bacteria. You will have to re-cycle no matter what.

I suggested to drain the water and clean the filters because the water has been running in the tank for quite some time now without a water change. Just to be safe I'd drain it.