We all start somewhere... right?

CStrickland said:
yup. or the dead fish produced nitrites.
No one is arguing it's a good idea to add fish before the cycle, but you shouldn't spread false info to scare people from doing it either. I get mixed up too, I think I was mentioned nitrites earlier as a reason to wait until the cycles done. Also, idk about inverts, some cleaners are picky about nitrates and they might not tolerate nitrites. Then if they die you have more ammonia etc. etc.

@OP I linked to a product that buffers ammonia in post 63, might've got buried in this little tangent. A few drops of Prime will help your fish (not as much as taking them out would :p ) deal with the ammonia.
Click to expand...

nothing wrong with a little" false scare" if it will teach newbies how to wait....and I still don't think it's healthy for marine fish to swim around and nitrites, but I'm glad everybody is looking healthy and happy.
 
Another quick update. The tank has been treated with Prime, and the lights have been turned off and the tank wrapped in a sheet for a couple days of blackout. The diatom bloom is spreading rather quickly and hopefully it can be stopped early. Plan is still to water change this weekend and retreat the water.
 
LeadFootedRacer said:
Another quick update. The tank has been treated with Prime, and the lights have been turned off and the tank wrapped in a sheet for a couple days of blackout. The diatom bloom is spreading rather quickly and hopefully it can be stopped early. Plan is still to water change this weekend and retreat the water.
Click to expand...

No offence but your just masking the issue, until you lower your nitrates and phosphates it will keep comming back. Algae blooms are all part of a new tank so you may as well let it run its course
 
Unlike algae or bacteria that we see, diatoms are usually limited by the silica available. They will run their course when your new sand and rocks have released their stores, assuming your water isn't adding more. They use the silica to make their shells, and then they get filtered out. IMO turning off the lights will just put off the inevitable, tho idk, maybe a dimmer tank would chill the fish out some?

diatoms are kinda cool
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/90160649?color=ffffff&portrait=0" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe> <p><a href="https://vimeo.com/90160649">The Diatomist</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user2339296">Matthew Killip</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
 
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The nitrates aren't high, it's the nitrites. The tank has been treated for that, and I've cut back on the feeding to help as well. I will retreat when I water change, which will also make a large impact. I'm hoping to have them more under control by mid week next week. The bloom is ugly as sin, and has been doubling in size daily. The rocks are all tinged brown, there is a ton of junk on the sand, and now there are little sprouts on some of the rocks.
 
CStrickland said:
yup. or the dead fish produced nitrites.
No one is arguing it's a good idea to add fish before the cycle, but you shouldn't spread false info to scare people from doing it either. I get mixed up too, I think I was mentioned nitrites earlier as a reason to wait until the cycles done. Also, idk about inverts, some cleaners are picky about nitrates and they might not tolerate nitrites. Then if they die you have more ammonia etc. etc.

@OP I linked to a product that buffers ammonia in post 63, might've got buried in this little tangent. A few drops of Prime will help your fish (not as much as taking them out would [emoji14] ) deal with the ammonia.
Click to expand...
Should I be using the standard dose of the Prime?
 
I think you can go higher without doing any harm, whatever the bottle says. Pay attention to how often you are supposed to redose too. Also, don't add any other stuff without checking online for interactions. Certain amine-based (non-Seachem) slime coat enhancers have a bad reaction to Prime, maybe other things do too, idk.
 
CStrickland said:
I think you can go higher without doing any harm, whatever the bottle says. Pay attention to how often you are supposed to redose too. Also, don't add any other stuff without checking online for interactions. Certain amine-based (non-Seachem) slime coat enhancers have a bad reaction to Prime, maybe other things do too, idk.
Click to expand...
Currently not dosing the tank with anything else, but will keep this in mind. The bottle says 1 cap per 50 gal... unless this or that or blah blah up to 5 times the normal dose is ok. Didn't see any mention of a redose. It's for water changes or new water.
 
LeadFootedRacer said:
Another quick update. The tank has been treated with Prime, and the lights have been turned off and the tank wrapped in a sheet for a couple days of blackout. The diatom bloom is spreading rather quickly and hopefully it can be stopped early. Plan is still to water change this weekend and retreat the water.
Click to expand...

Be careful wrapping the tank to block out all the light if you have fish and/or snails. Turning off the light for a couple days can help, but if you block out all light, weird/bad things can happen to some fish and snails.
 
I wouldn't black out the tank during a cycle. Diatoms are unavoidable. If you black out the tank now, you'll just get them a week from now. Have to let it run it's course.
 
How bad should I expect them to get? I will turn the lights back on and remove the sheet after work later tonight. The sump will be drained and wiped clean when I water change, there seems to be a fair amount in there.
 
I'm curious how much trouble the OP is going to have getting new fish to acclimate to their new home with those damsels already established in there. Seems like it would be easier to remove them now than it will be to remove them later on down the road. Besides, if he's going to be later re-homing a bunch of fish in the future, removing the damsels now might be good practice for when he removes those future fish later. then again, that lion fish may help you with your damsel problem anyway.

To the OP, I'm glad you're settling into the tank and getting a feel for it. Once the crud stages pass, it's a lot more enjoyable. M
 
The damsels were only to cycle the tank. Once the tank is ready for larger, more aggressive fish off my list, they will either come out or be eaten. LoL
 
LeadFootedRacer said:
The nitrates aren't high, it's the nitrites. The tank has been treated for that, and I've cut back on the feeding to help as well. I will retreat when I water change, which will also make a large impact. I'm hoping to have them more under control by mid week next week. The bloom is ugly as sin, and has been doubling in size daily. The rocks are all tinged brown, there is a ton of junk on the sand, and now there are little sprouts on some of the rocks.
Click to expand...

Nitrites are the "middle man" of the cycle. Ammonia to nitrites to nitrates. After ammonia starts to decrease the nitrites increase, then nitrates. If nitrites are still high and nitrates are low, the cycle is still ongoing. You need to look for an increase in nitrates and nitrites and ammonia to zero. The bacteria in the rocks are still increasing to stabilize your system. You cannot treat something to complete the cycle, it has to complete itself. You are still in the middle of your cycle. Saying you are not concerned with nitrites because they are less toxic in salt water is missing the point.
 
Mike Ordner said:
Nitrites are the "middle man" of the cycle. Ammonia to nitrites to nitrates. After ammonia starts to decrease the nitrites increase, then nitrates. If nitrites are still high and nitrates are low, the cycle is still ongoing. You need to look for an increase in nitrates and nitrites and ammonia to zero. The bacteria in the rocks are still increasing to stabilize your system. You cannot treat something to complete the cycle, it has to complete itself. You are still in the middle of your cycle. Saying you are not concerned with nitrites because they are less toxic in salt water is missing the point.
Click to expand...

Yup
 
So for starters the tank looks great and welcome to the hobby and site. Like the aquascape you went with.
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