# Shitty tank cycle



## joe (Jan 3, 2012)

Bad luck cycling my second 75 gallon

put in new fluval substrate some driftwood and 2 filters


i also put in some plants after about a week and a pleco and a shark, the fish are fine but the tank loooks messed up

theres a long stringy brown fungas shit growing on the plants and i wrapped moss on the driftwood and its all fungasy and shitty.. its because its not completed cycling right?

any tricks to speed it up? i already am using the filter from my other tank,,
and another quesstion can a filter be too strong for a tank?


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## Fishyfishyfishy (Mar 3, 2008)

If it's a new driftwood, seeing fungus is normal. It's not a bad thing. I personally believe any growth, ugly or pretty, on plants or on driftwood, is a good thing.

You should measure your cycle progress with test kits.


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## df001 (Nov 13, 2007)

sounds like you have an algae problem which may or may not be indicative of the tank not being cycled - to know for sure if your tank is cycled is to check the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels on an ongoing basis, what you're looking for is to see the ammonia level drop, the nitrite level drop, as the bacteria convert to nitrate, that said - with plants they will up-take nutrients.

suggest you read up about algae types, and how to treat for them.

as for speeding it up - not really, you're limited to the ability of the bacteria to reproduce,by adding a larger initial colony by using mulm/filter from another tank you've fast tracked about as much as you can.

As for the filter being too strong? I'm assuming you mean the out-put flow? the short answer is yes, the long answer is it depends on the species of fish, how its affecting your plants etc etc. if you have slow-moving water loving fish, having a tank that moves like a river is going to be stressful for them.


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## joe (Jan 3, 2012)

well my family replace my filters from a 40 galln canister to like a 120
and i changed it from fish to shrimp and when i moved this filter to the other tank (i have 2 75 gallons)

one cycled one not

once i moved it the shrimp were alot more lively isaw 3 pregnant ones 

and this algae looks like its kinda covering some plants, so i just keep the cycle going with no carbon at this point?

how big of a filter do you think i need for a 75 gallon?

i wanna just clean it out i want it to look nice....


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## joe (Jan 3, 2012)

and i just bought a test kit from big als, i just dont really know how to use it, what should my levels be at?


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## randy (Jan 29, 2012)

Hi Joe, didn't know you already have fish in the new tank. For a new tank you just monitor the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate parameters. Worry about PH, GH, and KH later. 

ou should see the first two start to decrease when your nitrifying bacteria has established, and your goal is to have both to be zero and some nitrate is fine (but your plants should take care of that). If the first two stays high, the tank is not ready. You can find a lot of article on this topic, hope my brief version doesn't confuse you more.


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## joe (Jan 3, 2012)

so my ammonia and nitrates should be really low? ill test it tonight and post what i find and ill post some pics...

lol btw how do i post pics im kinda new


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## splur (May 11, 2011)

Your ammonia should be low, and depending on what's in your filter (purigen), how often you do a water change or how heavily your tank is planted, your nitrate could be anything.

Technically a cycled tank which has some sort of bioload and little to take out nitrates should be near zero for ammonia, zero for nitrite, and more than zero for nitrate.


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## joe (Jan 3, 2012)

should i take the medias out of my filters? and replace them with floss? and i do water changes about once or twice a week, but i didnt check up on the tank for a day of two walked back and there was all that fungas on the plants, the tank isnt to planted maybe 4 bunches worth? 

my other tank that they came from is extremally planted i have to keep some plants on the walls cause i have no room on the floor


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## df001 (Nov 13, 2007)

joe said:


> and this algae looks like its kinda covering some plants, so i just keep the cycle going with no carbon at this point?
> 
> how big of a filter do you think i need for a 75 gallon?
> 
> i wanna just clean it out i want it to look nice....


Yes pretty much, to deal with the algae, you need to know what type of algae it is in how to treat it.

firstly - how much light does the tank get ? how many hours are you leaving the lights on - does the tank get any ambient daylight in addition to the lights?

There is nothing wrong with removing the algae by hand, just be gentle so you don't damage your plants. I suggest you read up the planted tank stickies, so you can see how carbon dioxide and nutrients are related to algae control.

I've found this chart to be helpful: 
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=3579&d=1166546074

cheers,

df


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## joe (Jan 3, 2012)

thats a good chart, but based on that i wouldnt know what it is cause its brown, kinda covers and looks stringy moves with the current and gets thicker, the lights not on a timer so could be 7-10 hrs per day, it only has 2 24 inch t5s on one side (where most plants are) it may get a bit of daylight if the doors open but not much, its also in a closet so only when the doors have been left open.

and i do remove some by hand, id just to like to know what its growing off of so it never will grow in the first place..

at this point im going to take out filter media.. add filter floss/bio balls and add some goldfish to eat some of the crap and cycle that tank


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## bob123 (Dec 31, 2009)

Joe did you clean the driftwood or boil it before you put it in the tank it sounds like fungus more than algea. Just remove the carbon but leave the other media in. If the cycled tank has a sponge take that sponge to the uncycled tank and squeeze the water out of the sponge into the uncycled tank this will help with the cycling of the new tank.


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## joe (Jan 3, 2012)

well i boiled 2 of the pieces and soaked them for like 2 weeks, and the boiling was for like 3 hours a peice. but one peice i bought already soaked in pacific mall  maybe its all facked up

it was in a tank all the wood looked nice and clean with no fungus, i dont really think its the wood, but maybe i should just boil them again...

ill have to rip the moss off thou


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## joe (Jan 3, 2012)

so i put in goldfish yesturday....

and theyve eaten so much crap its unbelieveable almost none of the fungas left lol

alot of the plants had like brown stringy stuff on it and since yesturday there was a significant difference, theres still some wood fungas but im liking how its looking, 

hopfully theyll get hungry today and go finish it off 


btw plecos are fine with goldfish right?


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## randy (Jan 29, 2012)

Goldfish to the rescue !! Glad to hear it is improving. Keep an eye on your plant though... 
I'm sure plecos will be fine with goldfish, as long as it's not the most sensitive ones and since it's been in the tank, my guess is you're fine.


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## joe (Jan 3, 2012)

yea the goldfish are doin awesome, and im not to worried about any of the plants i always have more trimmings from my other 75 gallon  the only thing they could possibly do is eat 20 bucks worth of moss from markham lol, which i can regrow slowly but surely..

and i was at home depot and i was thinking should i use shop lights on my fish tank, 4 HO t5s must be pretty powerful and its pretty cheap to

might just need a ballast but deff considering it


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