Cycle Question

tarmer · Mar 12, 2023

Greetings all…. Not entirely sure if this is the place for this but figured it would work..

Have had tanks for a while most recently a freshwater and 5 gallon salt… just converted the fresh over to salt ( biocube 32)…. And while I understand the nitrogen cycle and tank cycling - a couple things have happened that are surprising me and wanted to get collective thoughts…

Started the tank 1 week ago - using AF dry rock, and carib-sea bahamas oolite sand. Have also used Microbacter XL - i also used one piece of wet rock from LFS - which was carried in bag of water and never dried out.

i have seen a small ammonia increase and a small nitrite increase ( which i would expect) but what is surprising me is the apperance of diatoms mostly on the wet rock but small amounts on the AF rock and spots on the substrate….

I always thought that this bloom usually did not occur till closer to end of cycle…. Is it possible that the cycle could have been quicker ( this would be unrealistically quick) but am surprised about diatoms present at this point

anyone have any thoughts?

Kedron1977 · Mar 12, 2023

I'm new so don't take my word as the law. I would buy some pods and maybe a conch see how it does for a few days and if all is good buy one cheap fish something hardy like a clown fish. If it's doing good after 2 weeks your cycle should be good. But move forward slowly.

Mr. Mojo Rising · Mar 12, 2023

the diatoms are feeding off the silicates in the new sand, it usually passes in a week or two, I would not use diatoms as an indication of tank cycling.

Continue monitoring the process with the test kits, once ammonia is at zero then its time to get one or two small fishes.

vetteguy53081 · Mar 12, 2023

tarmer said:
Greetings all…. Not entirely sure if this is the place for this but figured it would work..

Have had tanks for a while most recently a freshwater and 5 gallon salt… just converted the fresh over to salt ( biocube 32)…. And while I understand the nitrogen cycle and tank cycling - a couple things have happened that are surprising me and wanted to get collective thoughts…

Started the tank 1 week ago - using AF dry rock, and carib-sea bahamas oolite sand. Have also used Microbacter XL - i also used one piece of wet rock from LFS - which was carried in bag of water and never dried out.

i have seen a small ammonia increase and a small nitrite increase ( which i would expect) but what is surprising me is the apperance of diatoms mostly on the wet rock but small amounts on the AF rock and spots on the substrate….

I always thought that this bloom usually did not occur till closer to end of cycle…. Is it possible that the cycle could have been quicker ( this would be unrealistically quick) but am surprised about diatoms present at this point

anyone have any thoughts?

For the cycle, best method is typically you want to add your bacteria and then ammonia chloride or a piece of shrimp (shrimp for 48 hours). Then you want to monitor ammonia , When your ammonia is steady at zero for 5 days and Nitrate is steady at 20 or below- You are cycled. Ignore nitrIte Unless sky high
The tank will go through two phases in which ammonia will rise then fall and nitrate will rise and fall which is normal. When fish are added, the bacteria population will increase with the new bio load, converting waste to nitrate.
Regarding diatoms, they're a brown algae that typically appear in a reef tank that has just completed its cycle but they can also appear in an established reef tank. They can cover sand, rock, pumps, glass, you name it. Diatoms look ugly but in most cases they are harmless so the key is to not panic when they appear.
Diatoms feed mainly off of silicates but also consume dissolved organic compounds, phosphate and nitrates. Unfiltered tap water can contain silicates and is a good way to jump start a bloom if you use it to mix salt or to replace water that evaporated from the tank. The best way to prevent this from happening is to utilize water through a RODI unit, although you can still get a diatom bloom when using RODI if the cartridge that removes silicates expires.
Diatoms are typically harmless to a captive reef and can be beaten once their food source expires. Once you put the end to the source, the outbreak should last a couple of weeks so just be patient and it will pass.
Reducing white light intensity will also help

tarmer · Mar 12, 2023

Thanks All….. I am actually not concerned about the diatoms at all… I know this will pass… I was more surprised by the quickness of this as my experience in the past has been a couple weeks… Thanks for thoughts

Uncle99 · Mar 12, 2023

tarmer said:
Greetings all…. Not entirely sure if this is the place for this but figured it would work..

Have had tanks for a while most recently a freshwater and 5 gallon salt… just converted the fresh over to salt ( biocube 32)…. And while I understand the nitrogen cycle and tank cycling - a couple things have happened that are surprising me and wanted to get collective thoughts…

Started the tank 1 week ago - using AF dry rock, and carib-sea bahamas oolite sand. Have also used Microbacter XL - i also used one piece of wet rock from LFS - which was carried in bag of water and never dried out.

i have seen a small ammonia increase and a small nitrite increase ( which i would expect) but what is surprising me is the apperance of diatoms mostly on the wet rock but small amounts on the AF rock and spots on the substrate….

I always thought that this bloom usually did not occur till closer to end of cycle…. Is it possible that the cycle could have been quicker ( this would be unrealistically quick) but am surprised about diatoms present at this point

anyone have any thoughts?