cycling
 

hi just 2 weeks into cycling new tank and just started to get the diatom algae

Q is do i clean the glass as the spots of brown of the glass or leave it be for now
and whats the next recomended step

you can go ahead and clean the glass it won't harm anything. all you can do right now is check for ammonia and nitrite and wait till those read 0 then check nitrates and do a good water change to get the nitrates down when all are at 0 for 3 weeks you can start with 1 or 2 small fish. the key is to go slow. good luck

this go slow is a killer how many times can you look at nothing without getting itchy fingers ?

got some Caulerpa (Racemosa ) Flat Mushroom
and Caulerpa (Prolifera)
to help bring those Nitrates down
should be arriving wed

If you have added LR and you should have by now, keep an eye on the rocks as you will begin to see things popping out of the rock and this will help with "itchy fingers" I spent hours watching my rocks, especially at night with a red flashlight. Believe me it is tough to wait but you will be glad you did, killing fish and corals can get real expensive real fast. You will see the wait no matter how difficult is well worth it. Good Luck

"patience pays!"

dont get me wrong ive kept marine for 5 years and have come back into it from 12 months out
the trouble is the first time i set up iin 2001 it was allready up and running and established as a 4x2x2 run this for 2 years upgraded to 5x2x2 and had a catastrofy last sept so got rid of everything
now i find myself starting again with a 2x2x2 but from the very begining this time
so the aspect of the cycling (tank maturing ) part is all new
but thanks for the encoragement as this is helping me keep my fingers out lol

just done a water check and found that the nitrate has soured
amonia has dropped 50%
ph is stable at 8
nitrite has dropped to 0.5

why why why has the nitrate soured so high its more than 4x yesterday at the same time of day
i havnt over fed as there is nothing in the tank to feed
is this normal for cycling or is it becouse of the diatom algae thats now graced the tank ??????????????????????????????

normal
 

This is normal. First you will see ammonia, which has either come from a dead shrimp that you chucked in or die-off from your live rock. Then this will convert to Nitrite and then finally to Nitrates.

phew thought something was wrong

so what do i do still leave it to run until it settles on all peramiters or a 20% water change
really getting confused with this cycling lark fine once its running

im in the same stage you are. im waiting. my ammonia has been at 0 for quite some time and now my nitrites are 0. my nitrates are at 20 and im about to do a 20% water change. my suggestion is wait til the trites drop til 0, thats what ive been told at least.

thanks i will i nearly had to change mi pants when i saw the reading
shock doesnt cover it
nice shade of purple thou was the tast kit hope i never see it again thou