Help! Cycle going too fast?

TBLDiver · 12/16/2016, 07:51 PM

I'm roughly one week into my cycle on my new Biocube 29 (I have another thread going in the build section). All of a sudden I am experiencing what (I think) is a diatom bloom. I am also getting what appears to be brown hair algae, and some other algae with air bubbles. Is all this normal? Should I do a water change and put in the skimmer and filter media?

Tonight's parameters:

1.026
83.5 F (keeping increased temp during cycling)
Ammonia 2ppm
Nitrite 5.0 ppm
Nitrate 40 ppm

TBLDiver · 12/16/2016, 07:52 PM

https://postimg.org/image/bfv7xvsyb/

https://postimg.org/image/srvkjbmfn/

https://postimg.org/image/5cdndz2oj/

ncaldwell · 12/16/2016, 09:42 PM

It all looks like diatoms to me. Your cycle is going fine. I wouldn't worry about it. Once the ammonia, nitrite, and to an extent nitrate get to zero you can start slowly adding some snails or hermits to work on the diatoms. Looks as it should to me

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TBLDiver · 12/17/2016, 10:16 AM

If it just diatoms then I'm not worried. But now from the research I'm doing, it looks like it may be dinos instead? Anyone else?

GoVols · 12/17/2016, 04:22 PM

Diatoms are very normal during the cycling process.

Either way finish your cycling before any water changes!

Diatoms will blow around easily by waving your hand over live rock. Dino's won't.
Can't tell from the pictures.

Lets say after your cycle is complete and you have Dinos. After all other measures have been taken and you can't get rid of the Dinos Dino-X will do the job. You must follow directions to a tee!

Could be a lot of things. Be patient and make sure it's really Dinos.

Hopefully it's Diatoms and that's very normal.

Fbrondum · 12/20/2016, 01:49 AM

Looks like Diatoms to me. Did you buy wet rock? My tank cycled unusually fast too but I still waited a week after initial 0's to make sure. Patience now will pay off later.

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Overbite · 12/20/2016, 01:54 AM

did you use old salt water from a tank to cycle or new salt mix?

Fbrondum · 12/20/2016, 02:29 AM

New salt mix with rodi. Here were my diatoms at about 3 weeks in and a pic of the tank about a month later.

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Fbrondum · 12/20/2016, 02:31 AM

Sorry didn't know you meant the OP lol

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TBLDiver · 12/20/2016, 06:25 PM

New mix salt water, and 3 pieces of live rock. The rest were dry rock. I used maybe a tablespoon of sand from the old tank to get some more bacteria in there.

After keeping the lights off for 3 days, all the brown stuff has died off. Does that sound like diatoms over dinos?

Fbrondum · 12/20/2016, 08:24 PM

Yup diatoms need silicate in the water once they use it all they disappear. Can reappear if silicates get high but I'd say that was a diatom bloom.

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12/16/2016, 07:51 PM	#1
TBLDiver Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Posts: 18	Help! Cycle going too fast? I'm roughly one week into my cycle on my new Biocube 29 (I have another thread going in the build section). All of a sudden I am experiencing what (I think) is a diatom bloom. I am also getting what appears to be brown hair algae, and some other algae with air bubbles. Is all this normal? Should I do a water change and put in the skimmer and filter media? Tonight's parameters: 1.026 83.5 F (keeping increased temp during cycling) Ammonia 2ppm Nitrite 5.0 ppm Nitrate 40 ppm

12/17/2016, 04:22 PM	#5
GoVols Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: VolNation Posts: 456	Diatoms are very normal during the cycling process. Either way finish your cycling before any water changes! Diatoms will blow around easily by waving your hand over live rock. Dino's won't. Can't tell from the pictures. Lets say after your cycle is complete and you have Dinos. After all other measures have been taken and you can't get rid of the Dinos Dino-X will do the job. You must follow directions to a tee! Could be a lot of things. Be patient and make sure it's really Dinos. Hopefully it's Diatoms and that's very normal. __________________ VFL Current Tank Info: 2013-RSM S-400 (Merlot) / BB / Mixed Reef / Lighting: Kessil AP700 with S-Series led bar / Bubble King 160 skimmer / GEO 2-Stage Cal Reactor with GLA dual-stage regulator / Teco TK-1000 Chiller & Heater / GFO & Purigen reactor's

12/16/2016, 07:52 PM	#2
TBLDiver Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Posts: 18	https://postimg.org/image/bfv7xvsyb/ https://postimg.org/image/srvkjbmfn/ https://postimg.org/image/5cdndz2oj/

12/16/2016, 09:42 PM	#3
ncaldwell Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 241	It all looks like diatoms to me. Your cycle is going fine. I wouldn't worry about it. Once the ammonia, nitrite, and to an extent nitrate get to zero you can start slowly adding some snails or hermits to work on the diatoms. Looks as it should to me Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

12/17/2016, 10:16 AM	#4
TBLDiver Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Posts: 18	If it just diatoms then I'm not worried. But now from the research I'm doing, it looks like it may be dinos instead? Anyone else?

12/20/2016, 01:49 AM	#6
Fbrondum Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 67	Looks like Diatoms to me. Did you buy wet rock? My tank cycled unusually fast too but I still waited a week after initial 0's to make sure. Patience now will pay off later. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

12/20/2016, 01:54 AM	#7
Overbite Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 84	did you use old salt water from a tank to cycle or new salt mix?

12/20/2016, 02:29 AM	#8
Fbrondum Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 67	New salt mix with rodi. Here were my diatoms at about 3 weeks in and a pic of the tank about a month later. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

12/20/2016, 02:31 AM	#9
Fbrondum Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 67	Sorry didn't know you meant the OP lol Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

12/20/2016, 06:25 PM	#10
TBLDiver Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Posts: 18	New mix salt water, and 3 pieces of live rock. The rest were dry rock. I used maybe a tablespoon of sand from the old tank to get some more bacteria in there. After keeping the lights off for 3 days, all the brown stuff has died off. Does that sound like diatoms over dinos?

12/20/2016, 08:24 PM	#11
Fbrondum Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 67	Yup diatoms need silicate in the water once they use it all they disappear. Can reappear if silicates get high but I'd say that was a diatom bloom. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk