helppp cycle is being dumb

[SigPiPup]

Once you get your cleaning crew into the tank, they should take care of it.

I feel your pain about stupid cycles. I cycled mine 'twice'. First with just LR then I used a raw shrimp. Still can't convert Ites to Ates. Glad to hear that your cycle finally finished.

 

[joander123]

i have some snails and hermits (not a ton, but some) in my 14g, i can move them over if it would make sense too. I just dont want the algae to turn into full on green hair algae that you see and hear horror stories about.

 

[SigPiPup]

I think that if you have a sufficient cleaning crew and your Phosphate and Nitrate levels are in check, you should be safe from that scourge. I have to say that I have never had a hair algae plague. Cyano, on the other hand, thats a nightmare.

 

[joander123]

well, my nitrates are ok, only at about 5-10 ppm.

I am in need of a new phosphate kit, as i just finished up my last one... what concerns me is that i am using a significant amount of tap water, and it does have a trace of phosphate in it. Im using a mix of RO/Tap and it works fine on my two other tanks, but my other tanks dont have quite the same intense lighting either. I dont know, we will see.

i am a bit worried though.

 

[SigPiPup]

Understandable. My Cyano problem a decade ago was because I was using just tap water. Eventually it built up. At least you are using 50/50. That will buy you some time, but I fear that eventually (which could be years) it could build up, then you will be in Cyano hell.

 

[joander123]

i plan to switch gradually over to all RO/DI water, as i will only use RO water for water changes. It was a lot more convienent at the time to use half and half. I am planning on ordering a 100gpd unit either tonight, or in the very near future, and then i can start converting. When i do a big water change (cause of end of the cycle) it will be all RO water, so i think that should help too. In the mean time, since there is not much in the tank other than LR and a damsel, im going to leave the lights off, and start in on a clean-up crew.

Does my plan sound good?

 

[SigPiPup]

Sounds good to me. Doing the 'big' water change with all RO water will definitely help.

 

[joander123]

yup, hopefully 8)

 

[joander123]

i just went out to a local petco (it was closer than anything else and was crunched for time as im on the run now too) and i was looking for some snails and hermit crabs. They usually have a 40g tank stocked with LR snails and hermits and shrimps... i guess they recently decided to get rid of all the inverts (why!?!) and fill the hole tank up with nano sized, ridiculously over priced LR (dumb dumb dumb). So i did not get what i wanted, i did however decide to buy a mag float for the tank, this is my first one... and just testing it out, i am veryy happy with it.

These are great inventions, and this will be my first of many to come. 8)

I will look into a clean up crew tomorrow i guess.. sighh

 

[clown-lover]

tank is now starting to bloom with diatoms, so i think its close.

im wondering, i know everyone says that the product Cycle doesnt work, but i had some sitting in my fridge (from a while ago) and i dumped what was left of the bottle into the tank, and now a week later... my tank appears to be almost completely cycled? Maybe it does help.

[soapbox]

The problem that I have read about products like cycle or other enzyme boosters is that it is temporary and leads to a false bio-load that could end up crashing your system. Most people use this instead of a tried and true "slow as you go" method because of the instant gratification menality that we have today and it causes senseless deaths to tons of fish. To make matters worse we have pet stores, who yes are in business to make money, but tell people things that aren't true or don't tell them the whole story and in the end cause more problems than its worth.

If you have used this product I STRONGLY suggest that you continue at a SLOW pace. It really cannot be stressed enough. I have crashed a tank, I have killed those animals due to my own ignorance and that of listening to people who I thought we experts but were nothing more salesmen/women. As of this point I consider everything I am told to be suspect unless it can be validated by a third and or fourth disinterested party such as a book, another forum etc. I have learned to trust some people more than I do people in my own home town because they have steered me right at every turn.

So think of it like this.. How would you like to live in a room that you can't get out of that is filled full of a semi-poisonous compound. There is a small crack in the window that allows maybe 1/2 of a cubic meter of fresh air in every day and very slowly disapates the poison.. Would you like to live like that? Why should we subject what many consider a lower species to it?

Food for thought

[/soapbox]

Please do not take this as me jumping on you or flaming you, that is not my intent jo.. What I am attempting to do is answer your question after making some huge mistakes of my own due to trusting people that I thought we experts at the time.