Here's a dumb question!

[Abaddon]

I'm not exactly new to aquaria but here's something I'd like to know. I'm cycling a new reef tank (it's fish-only while building bacteria and then I'll slowly add live rock and do mini-cycles between additions) but with the live sand creating the DSB and the reef lighting in place, I've started building a nice brown algae growth on the bottom. I'm going to add a UV sterilizer and some macroalge to the refugium to help with it but I've noticed it creating little bubbles. They float to the top on a regular basis. What is the contents of these bubbles? Is it creating oxygen from nitrogen? I'd like to know the contents of the bubbles.

 

[DustinB]

Nitrogen gas being released from the completion of the nitrification cycle.

Why did you add fish before live rock?

 

[chimmike]

fish should never be added during the cycle!

you should have added all LR and sand in to cycle at the same time.

 

[Floowid]

Algae is a plant, and the end result of photosynthesis is oxygen gas, but it is created from CO2. The brown algae is probably the usual diatom bloom, it happens with most cycling tanks, and will clear itself up as the diatoms exhaust the supply of silicates in the water. If you started your tank with tap water this can take some time.

He said it is fish-only, not that there were actually fish IN it yet. But I agree, you can't "build bacteria" without the stuff to build it on. You want to build the bacterial colonies ON and IN the rock. If you haven't added fish yet, then get all the rock in there and let it cycle properly one time, not a whole bunch of times.

 

[Sk8r]

You should have: 1 lb of plain sand (live sand is ok, but not really needed) AND one lb of live rock per gallon of water in the system. DO NOT start a UV filter while you are trying to build bacteria, and I am not keen on them in general in a marine tank. The fact that you are seeing diatoms now is probably from the sand, but expect brown stuff, red stuff, green stuff, sheets of green that obscure your tank---your tank will not be pristine white again for quite a while. Nor should it be. You want it to be full of life, not sterile. Mind, I'm pretty vehement on the UV thing and there is a division of opinion in this: it also depends on what you want the tank to be ultimately. But definitely let the cycle finish before you start trying to run cleanup. Clean is not the object of cycling. Lots of bacteria is the idea. You are well started. Toss a few flakes of fish food in there (I trust you have no fish in the tank) daily; when it starts disappearing with NO rise in ammonia, you're cycled, and can add a few crabs and snails. Add only one fish per week or 2 weeks once cycled, to be sure not to overload the new system, and be sure to quarantine each fish for 4 weeks before letting it in your tank!

 

[Abaddon]

I added fish because the tank went into my office and I wanted some asthetics. They were damsels to help create a bacteria bed. I didn't add any expensive fish. I anticipated losing a few. The first of the live rock will be coming in tomorrow.

Why would you add live rock, with all the little delicate inverts on it, while cycling a tank? It'd just add to the extra work on the bacteria load. I've always cycled a tank with live sand and fish. It seems to me doing it any other way would cause a die-off on the rock that would cause already cured liverock to have to re-cure?

I also have no plans to add a sterilizer for quite some time (just because of the cost) and I'm not sold on them. Killing the very things filter feeders might need seems prohibitive. I've heard they do wonders for killing back the algae later on so I'm considering all my options.

The tank has cycled for over a month with a handful of fish and the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are all 0. The water quality is almost perfect and is crystal clear. It helps that I built some extras into the refugium.

 

[footballdude2k3]

you should not have added fish until the cycle was complete, the ammonia really hurts them, they can get burned from it and die.


sent from fish heaven by an over enthusiastic hobbiests first fish

 

[Abaddon]

You do understand these are disposable fish, right? I usually cycle a tank with black mollies. I'd rather kill some cheap fish than something that might grow into an amazing centerpiece on my live rock.

 

[footballdude2k3]

its tacky knowing that you are going to kill something to cycle your tank as there are ways around it, the way you are cycling your tank is old fashioned, and IMHO outdated and cruel.


sent from a member of the do not need a fish to cycle a tank bandwagon

 

[dcombs44]

You do understand these are disposable fish, right? I usually cycle a tank with black mollies. I'd rather kill some cheap fish than something that might grow into an amazing centerpiece on my live rock.

Most people here will agree that this is an unacceptable attitude in the hobby.

Just because the fish is cheaper and more readily available doesn't make it disposable.

If you add cured rock to a system, there will be minimal cycle and you won't lose much off the rock. At least, the amount will be negligible. If you add uncured rock, most of the stuff on it is dead anyway, and will only help build a larger bacterial base, thus adding life to the tank will be more forgiving.

So to answer your question, NO, I don't understand that those fish are disposable, and NO, I don't agree with your philosophy that they are. Many people avoid damsels because of their aggressive nature, but few hobbyists purposely put them in an environment that put undue stress on them or kill them.

Need to do some reading in my opinion as your methods are outdated.

 

[Floowid]

You do understand these are disposable fish, right? I usually cycle a tank with black mollies. I'd rather kill some cheap fish than something that might grow into an amazing centerpiece on my live rock.

Maybe you are at the wrong place. This is a site for hobbyists who enjoy caring for our tanks and their inhabitants.

And I think you may be confused about what exactly the cycle is. If you are cycling a bare tank with just sand, you are spinning your wheels. In a well established reef tank, the rock is a large component of the filtration, the rock is really what is being cycled, not the sand, and even less so the water.

And if you think you are going to get some "amazing centerpiece" off your live rock you are just a little bit delusional.

 

[costellow]

You should have cycled your tank with sand and LR, no fish. Both times I started my tanks I started with already cured rock---that just cuts the cycle down, it doesn't eliminate it completely. So whenever you start adding the LR--it is going to cycle and you may lose those fish---I would give them to the closest little kid; they would probably take better care of it.

 

[Abaddon]

I honestly don't care what you think. You kill something EVERY TIME you cycle a tank. Small corals, algae, anemones, etc on live rock. Just because you can't see it or hear it scream doesn't make it any less negative. Besides, I run ammonia and nitrate reducing medium in my refugium and monitor the levels continuously. It never got above a horrific high and I lost no fish.

Just transporting fish home from the LFS is horrible and can cause fish to die. You are welcome to your opinion but I didn't ask for it. I asked what was contained in the bubbles from the algae. As for your opinions about what the fish in the tank "feel", I couldn't care less. I will cycle my tank as *I* see fit.

 

[costellow]

good luck with coming onto a forum and not getting anyones opinion

 

[Abaddon]

I want the opinion. The one I asked for.

 

[Bigredmachine89]

I guess it was a dumb question........ ?

 

[costellow]

lol

 

[Abaddon]

No. Just a bunch of ignorant answers.

 

[costellow]

making friends is fun!

 

[Bigredmachine89]

You do understand these are disposable fish, right? I usually cycle a tank with black mollies. I'd rather kill some cheap fish than something that might grow into an amazing centerpiece on my live rock.

Sounds like you may be pretty far from a centerpiece ? Try table shrimp for cycling............. I think they may already be dead.