barbadeau Posted January 31, 2005 Share Posted January 31, 2005 Hello, I was wondering if I should leave my lights on or off during my setup & cycle. I have come crappy algae growing, my tank is in its 3rd week of cycle and it looks like i'll be waiting another week or so. I had been using Amquel + *the one that removes/detoxifies nitrate/nitrite/ammonia* and I think that using that has delayed my cycle process dramatically. So I got a tap water detoxifier that doesn't mess with nitrite/ate/ammonia...... but I have some crappy algae growing... can I shut the lights off, or run them for a couple hours in a day? or should I just let it go for now... I understand now if I shut the lights off the algae will die eh? and then decay and prolong the cycle also...so waht should I do? its too toxic for a cleanup crew thanks mike Link to comment
nalbar Posted January 31, 2005 Share Posted January 31, 2005 keep them on or off, it really does not matter. its doubtful that turning them off will kill the algae all that fast (because of ambient room light). you just have to wait it out. the amquel was a mistake, but its done. patience is required. dont try to 'push' anything along. dont forget, 'nothing good happens fast in a reef tank'. the length of your cycle is not all that unusual. the two big cycles i did last year were both 5+ weeks to completion. both were rock right out of the shipping boxes from the south pacific, rather than rock from a LFS tank. ::side comment:: i would sure like to see a scientific study on how often people who use 'cycling products' get algae outbreaks. it sure seems to happen a lot. nalbar Link to comment
MrMoFo Posted January 31, 2005 Share Posted January 31, 2005 keep the lights ON if you have live rock because leaving the lights off will kill everything on the live rock....leave the lights on the 10-12 hour cycle like you will be running your tank after cycling... if you dont when you do turn your lights on you will have twice as much algae because of the lights being on...the algae will cycle out with time be paitent Link to comment
barbadeau Posted January 31, 2005 Author Share Posted January 31, 2005 the AmQuel wasn't a cycling product really, I didn't use it for that actually, I just had used it for conditioning tap water, thats all..... but thanks for the tips guys. Link to comment
nalbar Posted January 31, 2005 Share Posted January 31, 2005 ahhh i c. i remember that stuff! you used tap water, and used it to remove the clhorine? did you let you water sit with a power head for a couple days? if you did not, no wonder you have an algae outbreak. you were probably putting a ton of phosphate in your tank. nalbar Link to comment
barbadeau Posted January 31, 2005 Author Share Posted January 31, 2005 AmQuel says you can add that directly to a tank if you want. Why would removing chlorine add phosphates???? There are no phosphates in AmQuel Link to comment
ODOG Posted January 31, 2005 Share Posted January 31, 2005 The tap water could be a major source for phosphates. It's really best to go with RO water or Distilled at the least. Link to comment
nalbar Posted January 31, 2005 Share Posted January 31, 2005 usually tap water contains phosphate (but not always). how much depends on where you live. amquel will not remove it, not will it remove chloamine, no matter what it says. to use tap water you would have to 'pre-filter' it. fill bucket, use what ever de-clor product, then run the water through a phosphate filter of some type. and even then, you would not get 'good' water. (once again, depending on where you live). to be honest, i also use tap water during my cycles. and i dont age it. i just fill the bucket, add de-clor, add salt, let it churn for an hour, and do a water switch. and i have NEVER had an algae outbreak. but then, i keep my cycle bin MOSTLY in the dark (the post above about darkness killing everything is wrong). its all a crapshoot, depending on your local water. and of course, once the cycle is done, and the rock is in the tank with full lights on, its only R.O. water for evaporation top off. i want to apologize, i confused the amquel with those products that 'help' a cycle. that was my mistake. the bottom line is this, if you use tap water for water changes, dont be shocked if you have constant algae outbreaks, depending on local water quality. nalbar Link to comment
barbadeau Posted January 31, 2005 Author Share Posted January 31, 2005 I used the local tap water here for my 55gallon Fish Mostly tank setup, and after a while it grew nothing but coralline algae. I'm thinking that i'm getting the crap algae bacuse of the cycling elemnets, ammonia - nitrite - nitrate... ect... my LFS guy said that having the lights off can be better for a cycle.... so once it is cycled i'll do a partial water change, and start dosing calcium once my water is at the correct levels..... ect... he said not to worry and that patience is what will get rid of it quickest..... i'd throw in a cleanup crew but the water is toxic with its stage in the cycle..... Link to comment
Pinchy Posted January 31, 2005 Share Posted January 31, 2005 what color is the algae? if its brown- its diatoms- which is normal in a new setup- and will go away in a couple of weeks- if its red or green- you got other problems. Link to comment
barbadeau Posted January 31, 2005 Author Share Posted January 31, 2005 yes there are diatoms...... no RED... but a "little" bit of green...but not much... but can't they grow with nitrites&nitrates???? Link to comment
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