sukhkawal

your so right, and i dont support the idea of having plastic plants, that is so unrealistic

but after thinking about it, i dont think "nitrifying bacteria" have a chance against plants. because if you have a well planted tank, and add ammonia,(or other wastes) the plants will always consume it first before it gets to the bacteria, hence you dont even need to cycle the tank if you have enough plants, because they will always take in the waste in the water.

sukhkawal

ok, finally a nitrite spike happened on nov 2 2009. i have an api test kit, and when i add the drops they immediately turn a purple indigo color on the bottom, but if i shake them and wait 5 mins. it turns a grayish silver color. i know its way off the charts. i tried mixing 80%tap 20%tank water, and then i get a reading of about 4ppm nitrites.




But here a problem, i started to see today, green algae on my gravel, a very light green color. i mixed the gravel around with a stick, got rid of the big spots, but i still see some algae on the rocks, and cant remove it. BTW im running 65w on a 36 gallon, so its not too much light. and i have the tank near a window, which is always blocked by a roller shade. and im not doing water changes yet, because i thought it might affect the cycle. Any reasons why this is happening, and how to get rid of it??? and what type is it??

davemonkey

That looks like blue-green algae. Squirt some peroxide on it beofre it gets worse, then get some plants in there to use up all the nutrients you have in the water. If you start off heavily planted, you don't need to cycle the tank because the plants filter out all the waste. You'll have the bacteria regardless.

-Dave

sukhkawal

thanks, you wont believe it but it already went away, i think it was just green algae. i cut down on the lights, and turned on my airstone all day. and now its already gone.

sukhkawal

ok, got the plants and planted them its 15 low low light plants from aquariumplants.com.



im dosing using EI.

Potassium:20/3=6.6ppm every 2.5 days
Iron .3/3=.1ppm every 2.5 days
Phosphate 1/3=3.3ppm every 2.5 days
and 50% WC every week. lets hope it works out.

now that i have started i might start a journal and let go of this beginner thread. its not needed anymore.

bratyboy2

u might want to breakup the grass u have up from and place it so it can spread right

sukhkawal

yes, someone else told me the same things, ill do it tonight. thanks