2 Questions on Tank Cycling

[toddwess]

Good afternoon! New guy here with two questions, but first a brief description of my setup.

I have a 40 gallon tank with 45 lbs of live rock and have been cycling for about 10 days. Amonia spiked and went back to zero, and my nitrites are on the rise.

I just started my tank on Saturday the 5th. A chart of my cycling process can be viewed here . . .

http://www.toddwess.com/chart.jpg

I am pleased with how things are going, but I have just started getting a LARGE quantity of hair algae. It started out dark green, and now it is brown. Is this a problem? Will it eventually go away? The hair algae can be seen here . . . (large file for clarity)

http://www.toddwess.com/new1_big.jpg

This only part of it - I have it in several sections of the tank.

Second question - Is there a rule of thumb to follow for the first livestock to place in the tank? Should it be snails/crabs/shrimps only? Can I stick an anomene (sp?) in there with the snails/crabs/shrimps? How many of each should I buy for a 40 gallon tank with 45 lbs of LR and TONS of brown algae?

Thanks so much for any help y'all can offer.

Todd Wessendorf

 

[fishfreek]

Welcome,

From your chart I would expect the nitrite to start to drop off. In fact I would have acutally expected it start to drop off at this point.

Where did you get your rock? Did you get it mail order or local? From the ammonia and nitrite Im guessing mailorder or if you did get it local it was not cured.

THe algae is there as a result of the cycle process. Your tank is at a level where it can support algae life and the algae is flurshing in an enviorment with lots of nutruents from the cycle. This should dieback to some extent as your nitrite and nitrate begin to be taken care of.
If you want you can remove as much of it now as you can and that will help control it.

Dont add anything living to the tank till your ammonia and nitrite are 0.00 I know it feels like its been a long time since you first set the tank up but its going to be worth it. Rushing a saltwater tank will only give bad results later on.

I would not do an anenome for many reasons. You can find alot of discussions on this site about them and care info.

 

[toddwess]

Thanks for the speedy response!!

I got the live rock from a local store here in Alexandria called "Wally's Aquarium". Great place with a great staff. I was told that the rock I got just came in from Fiji. I do not know if it was cured or not. I only have 45lbs in a 40 gallon tank. Is that enough?

I have been blessed (so far) with no presence of mantis shrimp or those worm thingy-s showing up in the rock. I plan on doing a "night check" some morning around 3am or so just to be sure.

The nitrite test I use only tests up to 5ppm, so the last few values on my chart are interpolations. It man indeed be on the decline right now.

Thanks again for the advice!

Todd

 

[fishfreek]

I dont think you have to worry about mantis with fiji rock. Usually they come more from the carabiean rock.

The worm thingy-s im gussing your talking about bristleworms. If they are in the rock im sure the nitrite level your at is going to be putting a serious hurt in their population. But I really dont think they are all that bad in the first place.

If you dilute the test by using only about 1/2 of the recommended tank water and use fresh RO or distilled water for the rest of the water you can test your results. What ever result you get double it and thats going to be about where your at since your testing above what your kit will read.

 

[fishfreek]

Oh also, if the rock just arrived then it would be classified as uncured.