brittany Posted July 29, 2003 Share Posted July 29, 2003 I have a 5 gal tank which I set up almost 4 weeks ago. I only have about 4 1/2 lbs of LR in it but I plan to have more. I put a raw shrimp in about 3 weeks ago to speed up the cycle and since then my ammonia and nitrites have spiked but my nitrates have not. My tank is looking extremely dirty and there is algea growing everywhere. I'm assuming this is normal but I wanted to make sure. I've noticed alot of corraline growth on my LR but other than that I haven't really noticed any life in my rock or LS. Maybe since I'm a noob I'm just not smart enough to notice any of the other life, but about when in a cycle do you start noticing growth? Another question I had was about testing. Right now all I have is PH and I've been using my boyfriends testing supplies to test my ammonia, nitrates, and nitrates, but now I'm ready to buy my own testing supplies. What things are important to test for? Any recomendations on testing brands, kits, etc? Pictures of my tank as of today. Right now my PH is at about 8.2 and my specific gravity is at 1.020. Haven't tested for anything else so far today. Link to comment
brittany Posted July 29, 2003 Author Share Posted July 29, 2003 Also another question, could I get some hermits or snails to clean up some of that algea, or should I wait for my cycle to finish? Link to comment
TiGs Posted July 29, 2003 Share Posted July 29, 2003 From your pics it looks like it's going through a diatom bloom which is normal. The diatom bloom will eventually go away. Link to comment
chufa Posted July 29, 2003 Share Posted July 29, 2003 Welcome brtianny, I suggest you add more LR to have more room for denitrifying bacteria to settle in, and keep testing the ammonia, nitrates, and nitrates. You will also want to test for pH and alkalinity. Calcium and other elements are important if you are keeping corals or other invertebrates. try a search for test kits in this site to find a lot of threads. You can use the search button or this link: Search for test kits I use seachem for calcium and Jungle strips for everything else (not accurate, I suggest you try something else). Salifert kits have a good reputation. Link to comment
chufa Posted July 29, 2003 Share Posted July 29, 2003 I would wait for your cycle to finish before adding hermits and snails. Link to comment
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