Hi! I am an aquarium newbie and recently joined because my anonymous information gathering lead me to believe this site was worth joining! I found some good information that may relate to my problem, but wanted to post with my specific details. I belong to some other forums and know some get frustrated when new people post with questions that probably have been covered. So if this has been covered in detail and I missed it in my search, please excuse me and just point me in the right direction.
I started my 45 gal AGA tank at the end of November. My plan now is to just have a FO tank, and possibly move to a FOWLR tank later, knowing there are changes to lighting etc. that I'll need then. I am having trouble with the nitrites going back down and significant brown algae. Right now my ammonia is zero, nitrites around 5.0, and nitrates around 15. Below, I have outlined (as best as I remember) what I have down to this point. My setup looks like this:
45 gal AGA
Regular florescent hood
Fluval 304
Sand substrate
3 Tufta (sp?) rocks
Following my LFS advice, which I know is contrary to many opinions here, I added two damsels (1 blue and 1 blue w/ yellow tail) after the tank had been running for about a week with 1 or 2 doses of Cycle. It took 3-4 weeks, as I recall, to finally see the ammonia reach 2.0. About a week later I saw the nitrites increase to as high as 5.0 and then taper off. The nitrates had also increased over that time. In the last 2 weeks or so, I saw the nitrites fall to around 2.0, but have fluctuated between 2.0 and 5.0 since then. About a week and a half ago my LFS suggested a water change since I hadn't done one yet. At that time I vacuumed the brown algae off the sand and rocks. Now the brown algae is back with a vengeance! Also, during the early nitrite spike, the PH started dropping, so the LFS suggested using baking soda to adjust it, which I did successfully an additional time.
I am trying to be a very patient person, but also worry about the stress the continued high nitrites are having on the fish. So far they seem energetic and hungry. After reading some additional posts earlier, I realize that I should mix their diet more than I am and watch closely the amount of food that I give them. Right now it is mostly Tetra flakes.
Thank you in advance for your help. I look forward to receiving, and someday providing, more information from this forum.
Thank you,
Jeff
I started my 45 gal AGA tank at the end of November. My plan now is to just have a FO tank, and possibly move to a FOWLR tank later, knowing there are changes to lighting etc. that I'll need then. I am having trouble with the nitrites going back down and significant brown algae. Right now my ammonia is zero, nitrites around 5.0, and nitrates around 15. Below, I have outlined (as best as I remember) what I have down to this point. My setup looks like this:
45 gal AGA
Regular florescent hood
Fluval 304
Sand substrate
3 Tufta (sp?) rocks
Following my LFS advice, which I know is contrary to many opinions here, I added two damsels (1 blue and 1 blue w/ yellow tail) after the tank had been running for about a week with 1 or 2 doses of Cycle. It took 3-4 weeks, as I recall, to finally see the ammonia reach 2.0. About a week later I saw the nitrites increase to as high as 5.0 and then taper off. The nitrates had also increased over that time. In the last 2 weeks or so, I saw the nitrites fall to around 2.0, but have fluctuated between 2.0 and 5.0 since then. About a week and a half ago my LFS suggested a water change since I hadn't done one yet. At that time I vacuumed the brown algae off the sand and rocks. Now the brown algae is back with a vengeance! Also, during the early nitrite spike, the PH started dropping, so the LFS suggested using baking soda to adjust it, which I did successfully an additional time.
I am trying to be a very patient person, but also worry about the stress the continued high nitrites are having on the fish. So far they seem energetic and hungry. After reading some additional posts earlier, I realize that I should mix their diet more than I am and watch closely the amount of food that I give them. Right now it is mostly Tetra flakes.
Thank you in advance for your help. I look forward to receiving, and someday providing, more information from this forum.
Thank you,
Jeff