Cycling Questions

[KillerChimps3600]

So my tank has been set up for about a week now and 2 days ago i added a piece of frozen shrimp to get the cycle going, my fist question is how long should i leave it in there for?

Also today I got back from work and noticed almost of my LR is starting to get covered in a furry looking red algae and also there is redish brown spots in my sand on the left side of the tank away from the shrimp. Im pretty sure this is normal just wondering what exactly it all is haha.

Thanks

 

[cageburn]

never used the shrimp technique so I couldnt answer that question, but the fury red algae maybe cyano. Can you take a quick pic?

 

[PRC]

Do you have powerheads moving the water around?

 

[KillerChimps3600]

yea i have 1 powerhead 240 and an internal filter that puts out 70gph i think and also just added a HOB filter.

Ya ill try and get a pic

 

[cageburn]

imo take the shrimp out

 

[KillerChimps3600]

 

[Ogaawd]

oh boy lol! every body loves a new tank, pull the shrimp and we'll deal with the mess first ok? This rock you have looks either very fresh from the sea or from somebodies tank, way too much stuff on there for sitting in an lfs curing vat, first question's of many??? are you using tap water or ro/di?
please describe this infernal skimmer
could we have a full tank close up?
what is your lighting and duration?
have you done any water changes yet?
do you have any test kits?
I think that is the start of cyano (the red), if you deal with the algae cycle first, it will make the bio cycle easier

 

[PRC]

Looks like Cyanobacteria.

Aquarium Cyanobacteria

 

[KillerChimps3600]

Alright well i got that rock cured from a LFS a week ago and it has changed color a few times now. Don't have a skimmer and i have 2 T5 lights that run 11 hours right now, no water changes yet and yea i have a test kit.

 

[Ogaawd]

Alright well i got that rock cured from a LFS a week ago and it has changed color a few times now. Don't have a skimmer and i have 2 T5 lights that run 11 hours right now, no water changes yet and yea i have a test kit.

the cured rock will still have lots of dead and dying stuff on it, buy a turkey baster, the plastic ones and use it to blow off all the rock daily, start doing water changes to keep nitrates down, your growing algae because there is nutrient available

 

[KillerChimps3600]

I thought you shouldn't do water changes while its cycling cause it will slow it down.

 

[Ogaawd]

I thought you shouldn't do water changes while its cycling cause it will slow it down.

under normal circumstances maybe, I think a solid base is way more important, get rid of the mess before adding fuel to the fire, building a bio cycle is the easiest thing to do and is only an issue if patience is short lol

 

[Bifferwine]

Most of the bacteria in your tank (the bacteria you are trying to build up during the cycle) live on the rocks and sand. You can do a water change to bring your levels down if they are getting really out of whack.

 

[KillerChimps3600]

ok so will doing a 2 gallon water change be good? And what else should i do to stop it?

 

[Ogaawd]

its very normal for cyano to come along, it is really good at feeding itself and using whatever is at hand to continue, the red that you see is actually a waste product of the bacteria that is growing, it decomposes very fast and creates more food, syphon it off daily and let that be part of your waterchange, 2 gallons every 2 days would be better, get some Purigen and let it help with nitrate reduction, add a powerhead and get some more flow in there, reduce lighting and just keep on it, shouldn't take long to stop it