mayphly Posted April 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 today's pic is on the bottom right. You can see bacteria forming on the glass visibility is close to zero trying to see through the tank. The top pic was from day one. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimpie Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 Does look like something you are growing for a zombie potluck party! I just sent away for a 22 g Mr. Aqua tank and ordered the SL Aqua products from Eric to start this tank with. Looking forward to the gooby looking show. EricM 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted April 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 That 22g looks sweet! Watcha gonna put in it? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Shrimple minded 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimpie Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 Depends on watcha got to sell me, Andy. Shrimple minded and mayphly 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted April 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 Lol!!!! I'd be more than happy to help you out when your ready. By then I should have some new types of shrimp available.[emoji4] Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Shrimpie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted April 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Does anyone know if a tank started with MK products is supposed to look the same as the SL Aqua tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricM Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Does anyone know if a tank started with MK products is supposed to look the same as the SL Aqua tank? what do you mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted April 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 I was wondering if a tank that is cycled with MK products will also have that same bacteria "bloom" look as the SL Aqua tank does. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Does anyone know if a tank started with MK products is supposed to look the same as the SL Aqua tank? I don't think so. I don't believe that a MK Breed tank will have the fuzzy bacteria grow all over the substrate and it will have a tonne of green algae due to the 24/7 light period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted April 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Someone showed me a pic of their MK tank and asked me if it their tank looked normal. I don't use MK products to cycle. So, I thought I'd ask here. I guess it's safe to say that their tank is not normal. It looks more like fungus and algae growing in their tank. Thanks! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricM Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Ron is right... because of the 24/7 lighting there tends to be an algae bloom. We've all seen photos of tanks cycling like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted April 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2015 I am now 20 days into the SLA easy cycle method. I can notice the water getting clearer. IMO it looks like it did after the first day. In 10 more days I'll start testing water parameters. In the meantime ..... I will try to keep calm and have patience. EricM, Soothing Shrimp, daryl.junrui and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DETAquarium Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 Progress is progress At least you know that you have beneficial bacteria present. mayphly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted May 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2015 It's been 32 days and my ammonia level is still at 4.0ppm. I changed out half the water on day 30 with RO and added minerals to bump up my GH to 5. I added a bunch of floating plants yesterday to help speed things up a bit. EricM 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted May 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2015 Added 50ml of Purify which was recommended by SL. This should help consume the ammonia within the next few days. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenteam Posted May 13, 2015 Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 I was curious are you running a normal light cycle on the tank since it has no plants? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted May 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 I'm running it 8 hrs with just some floaters in there. I have my led lights raised off the tank a few inches to prevent unwanted algae growth. I will test ammonia levels again tomorrow. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted May 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2015 Just a quick update. Tank still has about 3.0ppm ammonia. The roots of the floaters are becoming smaller and turning a bit mushy. I'm hoping they are just acclimating to the tank's parameters. patience, patience, patience..... EricM 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DETAquarium Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 I am curious as to why it is taking so long. I started my two shrimp tanks on April 14, and for the first time I tested my water parameters yesterday, 0.0 ammonia, 0.0 nitrite, and in 1 of the 2 aquariums 10-20ppm of Nitrate. By the looks of things you have to have loads of Beneficial Bacteria. More water changes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted May 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 I did a 25% water change a couple days ago to help speed things along and added a ton of floaters. I've been messaging Eric back and forth keeping him posted with what's going on and he's just as baffled as myself. 4.0ppm ammonia and 0ppm nitrate is a bit strange. How long did it take for your tank to cycle DET? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk EricM 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DETAquarium Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 I set both of my aquariums up on April 14, I did not track any water parameters until yesterday. When I tested I had 0.0 Ammonia, 0.0 Nitrites, and between 10-20ppm Nitrate in 1 of the 2 aquariums. I will be adding shrimp next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiumanfu Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 What's your pH and temperature? Is there anything oxygenating the water? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted May 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 What's your pH and temperature? Is there anything oxygenating the water? I'm glad you asked. I just checked my PH and it's at 6.0. I think that's what's slowing down my cycle. Because of my low PH I think my tank is just going to take longer to complete it's cycle. I think if my PH were closer to 6.8 it would cycle faster. I will try this cycling method again from the beginning with a higher PH down the road to see if that makes a difference. I have another SLA tank curently cycling which I just added some buffer to and kicked the PH up to 6.8. Most all my other tanks I use RO have taken around 2 months to cycle. Recently when I was setting up a tank using all Shrimp Daddy products to cycle I also had to use a buffer to bump up the PH. That cycle took about 6 weeks to complete. I'm using a double sponge filter. My TDS is @ 130 and GH 5 Temps 85. I'm running my lights 8 hours a day. EricM 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted May 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 I set both of my aquariums up on April 14, I did not track any water parameters until yesterday. When I tested I had 0.0 Ammonia, 0.0 Nitrites, and between 10-20ppm Nitrate in 1 of the 2 aquariums. I will be adding shrimp next week. DET, can you tell me what your PH is at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricM Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 good point about the PH!! I'll be starting up 3 27G cubes this weekend fully SL-Aqua method so will be good to see how it compares to your experience so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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