Nan-new Nan-new

[maisysmom]

I am about 1 week into my 12 g Nano Cube

Params:

Nitrate: 20

Nitrite: .25

Alkalinity: 300

PH: 7.8

Temp: 80.3

Is the Alkalinity high? Why and what can I do about it?

I have some brownish stuff growing on the sand... diatoms? Good or bad?

When can I add some janitors? Suggestions on types?

Thanks for your help!

[Nateair]

brown stuff on the sand is more than likely brown algae which is good, that means your tank is cycling. i added my cleanup crew a week into but a lot of people will say to wait. Its up to you. my nitrates were a lot lower though when i added the crew. some hermits and turbo snails would be just fine.

[phenom5]

Is the Alkalinity high? Why and what can I do about it?

 

wouldn't worry too much until cycle is complete.

 

When can I add some janitors?

 

personally, i'd wait till you where closer to the end of your cycle...how much are you running your lights?

 

Suggestions on types?

 

astrea snails, cerith snails, hermits if you like...

[maisysmom]

I am running the lights a lot I realize after you asked that question. About 14 hours/day. Too much?

[Travis]

I also am going through a cycle, I run the lights for hours a day. Clickt he link in my Signature to see what I have done.

[Liebernoodle]

My cycling tank also grows a ton of brown algae. I noticed that if I turn off the light for the entire day, almost all of it completely dies and goes away. Then I turn the light back on and it all grows back, turn off, goes away. The cycle continues.

 

It's gotten to the point where it's growing a lot slower so i'm leaving the light on.

 

If it looks awful, just keep your light off for the day. Without corals this really cannot do much harm.

[The Empiricyst]

For now, run your lights very little. 14 hours, while some report good results with it in their cycled tank, is a lot. 12 hours seems like tops to me, and for now, 6 hours or less would be good. None would be even better. We're trying to prevent an algae outbreak here.

[maisysmom]

Won't the algae help the tank cycle faster? Also, I put in a bumblebee snail and I'm worried it won't have anything to eat if I turn off the lights.... what do you think?

Thank You!

[phenom5]

IMO, run your lights for about 4 hours a day...

[The Empiricyst]

Algae isn't part of effectively going through the cycle. Sure, the cycle will be glad to make it a part of it, but yeah...

Ammonia turns to nitrite turns to nitrate. (NO2 before NO3, remember that)

Bumblebee snails, which actually don't move a lot and don't seem to effect algae at all, are mostly carnivores actually. He's yelling at you to get him some cyclop-eeze now, please.

Read this, if you haven't read something like it already.

[kappa]

Definition of Diatoms (the brown stuff your see everywhere)

 

An organism that commonly forms brown films on aquarium glass or rocks. Diatoms form their shells from silicate, and can be controlled to some degree by preventing the addition of this compound through the use of purified water.

 

Basically it's one celled animals dieing off and clumping together to become visible as brown masses.

 

Good luck with the diatoms, next is algae blooms, sooner or later you will get it, so attack it fast by adding a turbo snail now.

[maisysmom]

I've been keeping my lights down to a minimum... still haven't seen a spike in Ammonia (always at 0), Nitrate (about 15-20), and Nitrites (0). Has my tank already cycled? Or am I still in for it?

I've read turbos get pretty big and knock things over. WHat about a cerith? Anyone had good experience with those?

Thanks for your help!

[kappa]

Get one turbo, and see how it goes. Get a few cerith snails and see how those go. The cerith snails are great in small hard to get to areas, and dig into the sand.