NEED help cycling tank for the second time!

[wolfen]

On a side note, I'm now getting blue algae

get yourself a magnetic glass cleaner and a scraper, having green dust algae on the tank glass is very common and is normal because of the nitrates in the tank,

 

[MooncakeMyDudecake]

get yourself a magnetic glass cleaner and a scraper, having green dust algae on the tank glass is very common and is normal because of the nitrates in the tank,

I've got one, I just didn't know why it's happening I thought maybe from nitrites but I know nothing

 

[wolfen]

algae grows when there is a food source (nitrates etc..) and light (any light will do doesn't even matter if it is low lighting). it's just one of those things that happens to all aquarium owners at one point or another. just scrape it of and remove it when you do a water change, provided you still to a regular routine with the water changes it will just a minor annoyance, do not use chemicals to remove as it can be a lot more harmful to you axie then the algae, it used to be a sign of a healthy aquarium if there is algae growing.

 

[MooncakeMyDudecake]

get yourself a magnetic glass cleaner and a scraper, having green dust algae on the tank glass is very common and is normal because of the nitrates in the tank,

I've got one, I just didn't know why it's happening I thought maybe from nitrites but I know nothing

algae grows when there is a food source (nitrates etc..) and light (any light will do doesn't even matter if it is low lighting). it's just one of those things that happens to all aquarium owners at one point or another. just scrape it of and remove it when you do a water change, provided you still to a regular routine with the water changes it will just a minor annoyance, do not use chemicals to remove as it can be a lot more harmful to you axie then the algae, it used to be a sign of a healthy aquarium if there is algae growing.

Awesome thank you, and what did you say about adding bicarb? Baking soda? How much do I use for an 84 litre tank? I know you provided me with those calculators but they have like water salinity and stuff on them and I don't know what all those other parameters are

 

[wolfen]

Bicarbonate of soda can be used to adjust the ph levels, the easiest way of way of getting a rough idea as a starting point is by using the amount recommended for holtfreters solution which is 0.2g per litre, so for a 84 litre 16.8 or 17 grams would be a good starting point, it can also be added during water changes as it is safe to use in a axie tank just stick to the recommended amount so the ph isn't to high.

 

[MooncakeMyDudecake]

Bicarbonate of soda can be used to adjust the ph levels, the easiest way of way of getting a rough idea as a starting point is by using the amount recommended for holtfreters solution which is 0.2g per litre, so for a 84 litre 16.8 or 17 grams would be a good starting point, it can also be added during water changes as it is safe to use in a axie tank just stick to the recommended amount so the ph isn't to high.

Heya! So yesterday I added the 17 grams of bicarb to my tank, I've just done some water tests, tested the pH and high range pH, ammonia and Nitrites even though at this point there's no real need for me to test nitrites cause I know if won't show me anything.
I do believe the ammonia has gone down a little and I wouldn't have expected a massive drop over night but at least I know it's working to take that ammonia down slowly. I have a lump of limestone on the tank so that should keep the pH stable, I'm just worried about the high range pH being so high now.
What would I use to lower the pH if anything at all? And I wouldn't use it yet unless the pH went really high, it will probably go down by itself right?

Here's the pics - sorry my pen is crap

By the way thank you for all your help, honestly this means so much to me and Mooncake

 

[wolfen]

Heya! So yesterday I added the 17 grams of bicarb to my tank, I've just done some water tests, tested the pH and high range pH, ammonia and Nitrites even though at this point there's no real need for me to test nitrites cause I know if won't show me anything.
I do believe the ammonia has gone down a little and I wouldn't have expected a massive drop over night but at least I know it's working to take that ammonia down slowly. I have a lump of limestone on the tank so that should keep the pH stable, I'm just worried about the high range pH being so high now.
What would I use to lower the pH if anything at all? And I wouldn't use it yet unless the pH went really high, it will probably go down by itself right?

Here's the pics - sorry my pen is crap

By the way thank you for all your help, honestly this means so much to me and Mooncake

once the low range ph becomes blue you start measuring it with the high range ph, now that the ph is higher you should start seeing a bigger reduction in ammonia, at this point you don't need to reduce the ph but once the cycling is complete you can reduce or increase the ph by either adding more or less bi-carbonate of soda during a water change. for example if you want the ph to stay stable at the same ph add 5g bi-carbonate of soda per 25 litre or 2g per 10 litre, to reduce the ph by 0.5 ph add 3.5g per 25 litre or 1.3g per 10 litre. you might find that once you have completed the cycle the ph levels out and no more adjustment is required

 

[MooncakeMyDudecake]

once the low range ph becomes blue you start measuring it with the high range ph, now that the ph is higher you should start seeing a bigger reduction in ammonia, at this point you don't need to reduce the ph but once the cycling is complete you can reduce or increase the ph by either adding more or less bi-carbonate of soda during a water change. for example if you want the ph to stay stable at the same ph add 5g bi-carbonate of soda per 25 litre or 2g per 10 litre, to reduce the ph by 0.5 ph add 3.5g per 25 litre or 1.3g per 10 litre. you might find that once you have completed the cycle the ph levels out and no more adjustment is required

I think I'm now starting to get results! I've been water testings for the past 3 days, I saw nitrites the first time and it seems I'm getting 0ppm reading on ammonia after 24 hours! So I've added 80 drops of ammonia, and by 5pm tomorrow it should be at 0ppm again. THEN I'll be doing a water change of about 50% and cleaning the tank, making it homely for my Mooncake and then adding her to her tank! Would that be okay do you think or maybe just do a 20% water change?
It's lost about 4 litres through evaporation alone
Thank you for the information before too that's really helpful for if my pH goes weird again. I'll never be treating the water while ever Mooncake is in the water, I'll always scoop he out before hand.
Thanks again for all your help I really appreciate it I was at a loss before!

 

[wolfen]

don't do a water change or add them unless both ammonia and nitrites are zero, in a axie tank nitrites are worse then ammonia, they can tolerate <2ppm ammonia but only <0.5ppm nitrites.
either way it sounds like you are about done.
any more issues just ask.

 

[MooncakeMyDudecake]

don't do a water change or add them unless both ammonia and nitrites are zero, in a axie tank nitrites are worse then ammonia, they can tolerate <2ppm ammonia but only <0.5ppm nitrites.
either way it sounds like you are about done.
any more issues just ask.

Gotcha, thanks so much! I'm on my triple check today so once I know ammonia and Nitrites are going down in 24 hours then we're Gucci!
My filters sound like they're struggling though

 

[MooncakeMyDudecake]

don't do a water change or add them unless both ammonia and nitrites are zero, in a axie tank nitrites are worse then ammonia, they can tolerate <2ppm ammonia but only <0.5ppm nitrites.
either way it sounds like you are about done.
any more issues just ask.

Can you tell me what percentage of water to change out? My cycle is definitely finished

 

[wolfen]

I normally do 50% water changes weekly, for the first couple of weeks just monitor the nitrates I tend to do an extra water change if they get to around 80ppm. over time you will find that you are doing weekly water changes out of habit because as soon as the ammonia rate drops (cycling a tank at 4ppm is equal to having an over stocked aquarium) the nitrates will reduce down over a period of months. yes the nitrates will be high at first but provided the water is change regular they are quite manageable, the high nitrates are just a drawback from cycling. remember the percentage of water removed is the same percentage of nitrates removed.