Just Leave It ?

[richrich]

Hi,

My ammonia is now clearing from 5ppm to zero in about 12 hours.

My nitrIte is through the roof

My nitrAte is through the roof.

The temp was 30 deg, I have now maxed it to 34 deg today

My tank has been cycling now for 6 weeks.

I have added a good quantity of filter media from a friends tank last week.

I am adding ammonia back up to 5ppm every day to keep it fed

I have a lot of algae spreading across the floor of my tank. A friend gave me a plant that was covered in algae. I am sure it has done the bacteria levels good but lumps have fallen to the gravel and now each spot is spreading.


I know I have to just keep adding ammonia and wait for the nitrIte to start clearing BUT

1. Should I leave the algae to spead in the tank for now and clean it after the tank is finished cycling ?

2. I know the only way to clear nitrAte is with water changes, should I do any now or just leave it very high and wait until the cycling has finished ?


6 weeks and really want some fish ...

 

[richrich]

No one got any ideas ?

 

[richrich]

Now I am even more confused if no one else knows ??

 

[Luketendo]

Leave the Nitrate until you're fully cycled then do a 75-90% water change.

 

[richrich]

What about the fact 6 weeks later is is still not getting any better ?

What about the algae covering the bottom of the tank / gravel ?

 

[rdd1952]

You may want to do a 50 to 75 percent water change just to get the nitrites down to a decent level. My belief is that nitrite hits 50 to 100 ppm at some point in the cycling process and that is why it takes so long for it to drop. A water change will lower that considerably and really all you want is for the tank to be able to process 5 ppm in 12 hours, not 50ppm in 12 hours.

As for the algae, what kind is it (here is a site that my help you ID it)? If it's the brown algae, it will clear up pretty quick after the cycling is over. SInce you mention it being on the gravel and bottom of the tank, I have a feeling it's blue green algae and that is almost impossible to get rid of. It is usually caused by too much light. How long do you have your lights on each day and is the tank ever exposed to direct sunlight?