Cycling Tank
 

Hi Everyone,

I have been cycling my 220 gal for close to 3 months now and I still noticed a bit of hair algae on the rocks. Should I wait for the algae to die off first before adding live stock? I added a bunch of Turbo snails to help clean up
and have bio pellets in a reactor. Any thoughts? I have my fish in qt right now. I would say 95 % of the algae is gone.

How long has everything been in QT?

3 months? I'd say your tank was ready at least 6 weeks ago. Hair algae isn't a sign of curing, it's a sign of excess nutrients.

so what would you recommend of I do? Hold of adding any fish until I get if fixed or should I get a fish that will take care of the problem.

What are your nutrient levels at? PO4/NO3, primarily. Are you running a skimmer? What kind? Water change schedule?
You could add a fish or three, but not to take care of the problem. The algae is your problem, not the fishes' :)
Adding fish will add more nutrients, so have a management/remediation plan before you go there. You either need to skim very efficiently or do frequent larger water changes.

Lighting can also encourage algae, so it might be a good idea to list all gear (make/model), levels of nutrients, water change schedule, RO or tap water.

And I would humbly add, if your fish have been QT'd long enough. Nothing like taking your time getting this far and introducing fish you've QT'd for only 2 weeks.

good advice!

Yes, I planning to qt all my fish for at least 4-6 weeks before adding them ,I am in no hurry to add them in the DT. I rlike to resolve the hair algae issue first. The hair algae on the rock came from my old tank. I scrubed most of it off when I added it to the 220 but some of it has remained and never died off. I am doing 10% water change every week and have a SWC skimmer running. I also have some cheato growing in the refugium and have the lights running 24 hrs. The last time we tested the water, everything was good. In the past, I use to scrub down the glass 2-3 times a day because of the algae and now there is minimal growth on the glass. I was planning to scrub down the rocks that had the algae in it because it very minimal. Thoughts?

Which lights are on 24hours? The old rock is probably leaching PO4, feeding the algae. I'd do larger water changes if it were my tank.

the lights for the refugium, not the DT. So how much is a large water change?

I'm I the only one that caught this...............it's NOT a good idea to run pellets this soon. It is reccomended that your tank matures for at least 6 months first to build up the proper levels of beneficial elements. Pellets can strip a system of everything bad & good very very fast. It's also recommended to start off with 1/4 of the recommended amount of pellets for your water volume & SLOWLY add to the recommended amount over several months.

how much can you make at once? :)

I do regular 25% changes on mine, keeps nutrients at 0, assuming a good skimmer. Do 50g if you can..but also think long term in management rather than trying to clear it up right away.