PLEASE HELP. 3 questions! Algea, cycle, and salinity.

[One fish]

Hey guys I had three questions I was hoping you could help me with.

#1. My number one question is... I set up a tank. It cycled. and i had it sitting for about two months with a bunch of live rock. I didn't have any livestock and didn't fill it with freshwater. So the salinity went through the roof. Did this kill all my bacteria??

#2. I have a column stack of live rock and in that column i have three decorative pieces of real old coral sticking out. Those pieces are the only rocks in my tank that get algae. ugly green yellow algae. It grows only on the old coral and not on my live rock. Do you know why?



#3. Also, I started a 14 g biocube and I am reading zero ammonia zero nitrite and about 80 nitrate. Does this mean my tank is cycled? it is quite new, but I put some gravel from an established tank in it. but that gravel was part of the high salinity tank. I'm just surprised it cycled so fast. if i have nitrate that means it is cycled right?

ANY help would be soooo much appreciated. Thanks guys.

 

[Azedenkae]

Hey guys I had three questions I was hoping you could help me with.

#1. My number one question is... I set up a tank. It cycled. and i had it sitting for about two months with a bunch of live rock. I didn't have any livestock and didn't fill it with freshwater. So the salinity went through the roof. Did this kill all my bacteria??

#2. I have a column stack of live rock and in that column i have three decorative pieces of real old coral sticking out. Those pieces are the only rocks in my tank that get algae. ugly green yellow algae. It grows only on the old coral and not on my live rock. Do you know why?

View attachment 298896

#3. Also, I started a 14 g biocube and I am reading zero ammonia zero nitrite and about 80 nitrate. Does this mean my tank is cycled? it is quite new, but I put some gravel from an established tank in it. but that gravel was part of the high salinity tank. I'm just surprised it cycled so fast. if i have nitrate that means it is cycled right?

ANY help would be soooo much appreciated. Thanks guys.

1.) It might. What is the salinity atm? Some microbes are halophiles (or at least, halo-tolerant) but many aren't.

2.) Dunno. Essentially 'it provides the best place for algae colonization', but why? Dunno.

3.) How did you cycle it? Did you measure the parameters when you first set it up? It seems to have, but could just be high in nitrates originally, without ever having gone through a cycle.

 

[thegrun]

1. It is hard to tell, what is through the roof for salinity, give us a number, not an arbitrary reading? A good way to tell would be to add enough pure ammonia to your tank to bring the ammonia levels up to 2ppm. If the bacteria is still active the ammonia should drop to zero within 24 hours, if not once the ammonia and nitrites do drop to zero your tank is cycled.
2. It is possible the rock in the column was exposed to nitrates and phosphates in another tank before it was added to your tank and is now leaching nitrates and phosphates back into your tank, feeding the algae. It is also less likely but possible that the light is stronger on that rock and helping the algae grow faster there.
3. How long has the new tank been set up? Did you ever have ammonia and nitrite readings above zero? Did you add anything to start the cycle? The presence of nitrates does not necessarily mean your tank has cycled, the rock you added to the new system may be leaching nitrates and does not mean you have any bacteria.

 

[One fish]

Thank you Azedenkae and thegrun for the replies!
The salinity that was "through the roof" was way above 1.032. my hydrometer tops out at 1.032 and the needle was at the top. my hydrometer couldn't read it. so the bacteria i think would die and that is the gravel I put in the new biocube. How can a rock leach nitrates?

I will add ammonia and see if it drops. But say i have a fish in the high nitrate biocube, and i am reading zero ammonia.. that is the same right?

 

[Sk8r]

I'd suggest you bring the parameters to match mine in my sig line. RE your algae: those rocks are leaking a bit of phosphate into the water, that's why. Algae loves it. When it runs out, the algae will stop. The core of your rock may be alive. Feed your tank 3 flakes of fishfood a day and see if it spikes ammonia. THen try a snail or two. If they live, try a crab. give a cleanup crew 4 weeks to get the sandbed set up, THEN go for a fish.