New tank help!!

[Mclovin36]

So I acquired a new 55gal tank and stand and we started a saltwater fish tank. I bought the fluval 306, 25lbs of live rock and plenty of live sand. After a few days the algae was flourishing across the rocks and I took my own samples that read great and I then took my water to be tested at the LFS. They said the water was looking good so I went home and told my wife. I come home today to find 2 new clownfish swimming around because my wife heard the water tested good and assumed it was good for fish!! I'm scared that it hasn't completely cycled yet. The water is still testing fine and the fish seem to have already bonded and are happy. Should I be worried?

[Sniperhank]

If the rock was truly live rock then you shouldn't have to worry about the cycle itself with the livestock you added.
Algae feeds off of nutrients in the water column, aka nitrates and phosphates. You won't get a reading off of them most of the time after the algae growth has taken hold because it is all consuming it.
Fighting algae can be a long drawn out battle, but isn't too hard to control. Minimize feeding, do weekly water changes with ro/di water, and so on. There are articles about it in our article section and in my signature.

[PB_Smith]

You don't mention how long the tank has been set up or if you used any ammonia source to cycle it.
If it hasn't been up for a month or longer AND/OR you didn't use an ammonia source to start cycling, you can expect to see elevated levels of ammonia, nitrite, nitrate now because the fish are providing a source of ammonia.

Don't worry, a fish-in cycle can be done (only way I've ever done it), you just need to test parameters daily (at least, 12 hour intervals are better at first) and be ready to do water changes if needed (have mixed water on hand ) and be very judicious with feeding and it should be ok.

[bribo12]

If go get your own test kit if I were you. The main things you will want to test for are ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

If the tank is cycling the algae is actually beneficial as it will help break down nasties in the water.


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