[Nuthatch]

I'm cycling my tank, and am in the Nitrite part. Lots of nitrite, but no nitrate yet. I've had to dose with ammonia (Dr Tim's) twice now. No issues, I think, just waiting.


What I am wondering about is the green slime algae that is coating the sides of my tank. And the wispy white stuff I can see swaying around the waterline on the back wall of the tank. Should I be worried? At what point can I clean it all off? After the cycling is accomplished?

 

[Nuthatch]

The ammonia has dropped to .25 ppm again, so I will once again feed the tank more ammonia. The nitrite is so purple that I can't tell if it is 2 ppm or 5 ppm. But still the nitrates are 0. Possibly it is ever so slightly more orange than yellow, but it doesn't match the next color in the chart so I am sticking with 0 ppm.

The green glop on the sides of the tank is absolutely gross. When the time comes, I'm not sure how I will be able to get it out without it flowing all over the tank. Probably turn off the filter first to see if I can scrape it towards the surface and drag it out. I don't remember seeing anything so thick and squishy before in a tank!

 

[dallen17]

The white film on the top could be a protein film. Ugly but not necessarily dangerous. Happens a lot in stagnant tanks being fed with fatty foods. Surface agitation or a skimmer can get rid of that. The algae is just opportunistically taking advantage of nutrients without plant competition. When you're ready, turn off your filter, scrape it off of the glass, and siphon it all out. This might take a few water changes to accomplish depending on how thick it is.