My New Tank

[tropical fishies]

Well, Hi

Im new to this forum and also new to tropical fish keeping, so im hoping you could help me with something?
Ive recently purchased a new Tank and ive had it set up for 1 week, I havent put in any fish yet because im still doing a fishless cycle, However ive noticed that something white is gathering on the side and in the corner of my tank, and that sme small white things are floating around at the top of my tank. The water is de-chlorinated and the filter and heater are running but im not sure if the white stuff should be there? can you help me with this?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

how are you doing the fishless cycle? have you been adding ammonia each day? what are your readings at the moment?

the white stuff is most likley either algae or a bacterial bloom..... can you get a picture of it for us?

 

[tropical fishies]

Im sorry but i cant get pictures at the moment, and no, i was never told to add ammonia, i thought ammonia was bad?

and this stuff is white, i thought algae was green?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

have you been told to just leave the tank running for a week or two then add fish gradually? I'm afraid that's not fishless cycling and running the tank for a couple of weeks will make no difference at all!

However the good thing being you've not got fish yet so there's still plenty of time to do a proper fishless cycle before adding any fish.

if you read the links in my sig 'whats cycling' and 'fishless cycling' they should explain it all and give you a step by step guide of what to do. Have a good read through them then ask any questions you might have

you get all different sorts of algae, green, white, brown even a bluey/black sorta colour!!

 

[tropical fishies]

wow! thanks miss wiggles!

how long does it take a filter to mature?

 

[rabbut]

Filter maturation takes anywhere from a few days to a few months, there are too many variables to give an exact estimate Mature media will speed the process, and both me and Miss Wiggle (as far as I'm aware?) are happy to donate this. I can arrange mature media for you as soon as tomorrow if you like

Edit to add, the maturation process can take about 4 weeks adverage without mature media, and with mature media, may be instant to a about 2 weeks, depending on the amount of mature media you get and the number of fish in the donor tank

 

[tropical fishies]

cool!

i hass an elite stingray filter...

and how do i recive the donated filter media?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

well if you look at our locations both rabbut and i are based in Leeds..... as are you. so one of us would just arrange to meet up with you, give you some media in a big of fishtank water, you'd take it home, put it in your filter, then the same day you start adding ammonia as per the fishless cycling process. What it would mean is instead of it taking somewhere between 4 and 6 weeks, it'd be more like 4-6 days.


it's not exact but it will make it considerably quicker.

in generaly terms i'm happy to donate media but it would have to wait a couple of weeks, go on holiday in a few days and dont want to donate anything just before I go as I won't be able to monitor the tank and make sure it's OK. But as rabbut is quite happy to donate I think that's the best bet for you

 

[tropical fishies]

yea im going on holliday to ireland, and come to think of it, i want to be able to say that i matured it all on my own!! lol

and watch my tank grow!, though i need some algae killer
what makes algae different colors?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

lol, fair enough, it's best to not start a cycle before goin on holiday, you'd just find when you came back you'd be back to square one so it's best to wait until you come back from your hols and start the cycle then

the different colours of algae are actually different species, think of algae like plants, there's lots of different types.

you need to adress the root cause of it rather than just try to kill it off, plant analogy again it's like cutting off a weed above ground but leaving the roots there, it's just gonna come back.

so you need to identify what it is, why it's there and then change that!

but remember we don't even know yet if it is algae, we'd need a picture or a clearer description first.

It's important to take your time to make sure you have the correct diagnosis before you launch in trying to fix things.

 

[tropical fishies]

heres the clearer description..

Small white dots on the side of my tank,, thereyre not touching each other but they are within a mm of eachother, theres loads, cant count em, and theyre in the cornors of my tank aswell

 

[rabbut]

The most common type of algea in new tanks is a type of cynobacteria, that is brown in colour and had a slime like appearance and feel. Is this what you have? If so, it is feeding either off excess light, or silicates being leached from the new silicone If this is what you have, can you answer the following please?

How long do you have your tank lights on for?
What type of lights do you have?
How many watts of light do you have?
What size tank?
Is the tank being hit by direct sunlight?
Was the tank bought new, or second hand?
What is your temperature running at?

From that, we'll be able to diagnose the problem and give a permanant cure

How long is it before you go away? Realy, if it is within the next like 4-6 weeks, you don't realy want to be starting to mature the tank untill you get back, as this is the time when things are most likely to go wrong. During this time, you need someone arround, whom has at least an idea as to what they are doing, to deal with any issues that arrise.

All the best
Rabbut

EDIT to add;Sorry, you posted while I was typing....

Sounds like another form of algea that feeds of silicates also... Can you still answer the above questions please?

Also, photos of this stuff would help

 

[tropical fishies]

ok firstly, my papa will take care of the tank while im gone so that shouldnt be a problem and 2:

How long do you have your tank lights on for? 4 hours a day
What type of lights do you have? like a giant tube thats stuck to my lid....
How many watts of light do you have?all it says is 50hz and 1x15W
What size tank? 60cmx 30cm
Is the tank being hit by direct sunlight? not my Direct sunlight
Was the tank bought new, or second hand? new
What is your temperature running at? 27

 

[tropical fishies]

well, by tank does recive sunlight, but not direct, its the light given off from the direct sunlight..

 

[rabbut]

I'm not 100% on what it is, but I belive it feeds of silicates from new silicone while it is still settling down. I have had something similar in all the new tanks I've set-up over the years, but none in any second-hand tanks... My fish ate it when they were introduced on all occasions, so it's probibly plant life of some sort, I wouldn't worry about it

While you fishless cycle, you may want to crank the temperature up to about 30c untill you are ready for fish, when you can drop it to about 26-27 The increased heat will speed the maturation, and since there won't be any fish in there while that is going on, it won't be too high for fish

Lets just check what you have;

Liquid-regent based test kit for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH?
Liquid ammonia?

The stingray filters use zeolite, so I'd remove this filter cartridge, and swap it with the mature media you get later I work in an LFS, so this is where I'd prefur to take mature media for collection, if you are taking any from me? I can sort you out with test kits when you collect the media if you need them, but ammonia isn't something LFS's stock, so this will need to be bought from a chemist before you collect the media I use Boots household Drop me a PM for details if you want media.

Zeolite absorbs ammonia. Thats a good thing isn't it? Well, no as it turns out Zeolite eventually becomes saturated and then is stops doing it's job... If this happens there will be an ammonia spike in the tank, which almost certainly will lead to deaths. You can bet that this will hapen when you have forgoten to collect the new replacement cartridge and don't have any spares in stock, so you'd have to rush to the nearest LFS for new media to remady the situation. The cost of zeolite IMO is also extortionate, and there are cheaper and IMO better ways of running a tank; on bacteria. Zeolite also cannot be used with meds, so if you needed to treat anything, you would have water quality issues when you least want them Best to get it out from the start, and avoid the situation entirely Because zeolite absorbs ammonia, it out-competes the bacteria for it, sending the biological filter up the creak without a paddel to help it.... not good

Swapping the zeolite out for mature media will avoid this issue and give you a tank that runs on mature filter media and bacteria that stay when treated with any medication, and that don't become saturated, thus giveing more reliable ammonia removal

Does you dad keep fish then? If not, and you want to get him to care for them while you go on holiday, I'd get him on here to learn about the nitrogen cycle, water testing and the most common diseases that he may come across in your abscence. Also, him signing up with a user account on here and letting us know whom he is, would allow us to help him if something goes wrong and he becomes out of his deapth and in need of help If we know whom he is, and that he is careing for your set-up (one we already know a lot about) then we will be in a better position to help, if you cannot help him diagnose the problem over the 'phone

All the best
Rabbut