Having trouble with a cycle

I have a 40 gallon tank I have been trying to cycle for about a month.

Nitrates about 13
Nitrites about 1.4
Ammonia sorry my kit sucks but looks like it could be a 3

Algae is taking over hard, string algae mostly but some normal algae too.

Some white fuzz probably a fungus

Brown algae or whatever they were called... name escapes me at the moment...

Am I on the right track? Do I need to remove the string algae? Should I be worried it's taking so long?

I used a pre seeded sponge filter.

Some old gravel from the good tank.

Something new I added that I didn't do in the old tank is some type of fine gravel that came with bacteria and it smelled like soil

Easy green tablets and some aquarium coop liquid fert

And I added like 15 ish decent plants including Java moss...

6 ish Java ferns... Monte Carlo died out... some odd other types I forgot

It's been about 2 weeks since anything was added

Thank you in advance!!!

 

What about the lights? And if possible can you upload a photo, I’d like to see it and Especially the set up.

 

I have a 40 gallon tank I have been trying to cycle for about a month.

Nitrates about 13
Nitrites about 1.4
Ammonia sorry my kit sucks but looks like it could be a 3

Algae is taking over hard, string algae mostly but some normal algae too.

Some white fuzz probably a fungus

Brown algae or whatever they were called... name escapes me at the moment...

Am I on the right track? Do I need to remove the string algae? Should I be worried it's taking so long?

I used a pre seeded sponge filter.

Some old gravel from the good tank.

Something new I added that I didn't do in the old tank is some type of fine gravel that came with bacteria and it smelled like soil

Easy green tablets and some aquarium coop liquid fert

And I added like 15 ish decent plants including Java moss...

6 ish Java ferns... Monte Carlo died out... some odd other types I forgot

It's been about 2 weeks since anything was added

Thank you in advance!!!

Diatoms are brown algae and that's typical for new tanks, you can scrape it off glass if it bothers you but it should go away once the tank is well-established. The white fuzz (if it's on wood) is also normal for new tanks/new wood and you can brush it off with a toothbrush if it bothers you as well, and it should also go away. You can definitely remove the string algae and I would look at lowering your light intensity or shortening how long it's on as that's usually the cause of string algae. Regular green algae you can scrape off the glass without issue and you can look into getting oto or snails once the tank is cycled to help anything remaining. Algae could have been out-competing your plants for nutrients which could explain the monte carlo dying off.

Do a 50% water change to bring down the ammonia and nitrite. Those should both be 0 when the tank is cycled but you're on the right track! I would do a daily water change until those two are at 0. Then check it the following day and see if they jump up again. If everything stays at 0 for a few days, you should be safe to call it cycled but I wouldn't overload it with large amounts of fish or anything. Add smaller groups at a time so you don't overwhelm the newly established cycle.

 

Ok cool, so scrub most of it off then do a fair water change each day, I do have a few snails in there... will the water change bother them?

Also the fish I want to move over is about 14 small fish... into the 40 gallon... with the possibility of it being a early move over.. would this be too many?

 

Ok cool, so scrub most of it off then do a fair water change each day, I do have a few snails in there... will the water change bother them?

Also the fish I want to move over is about 14 small fish... into the 40 gallon... with the possibility of it being a early move over.. would this be too many?

Snails shouldn't be bothered at all. 14 small fish into the 40-gallon would be fine and shouldn't cause any issue since they're small. Definitely want to get the ammonia and nitrite down though first before moving the fish. Keep testing until you can get 0 for both of those.

 

New plants added to a tank need a month or so to adapt. Adding fertilizers the first month is equal to feeding algae. When plants struggle due to their new environment, they might leach metabolites, causing even more algae....

After 1 month, you don't need to add anything special for java ferns and mosses. Water changes and fish poop will do. Perhaps java fern requires some potassium, but that's it.

 

Snails shouldn't be bothered at all. 14 small fish into the 40-gallon would be fine and shouldn't cause any issue since they're small. Definitely want to get the ammonia and nitrite down though first before moving the fish. Keep testing until you can get 0 for both of those.

Thanks so much for the help... very appreciated!!!

New plants added to a tank need a month or so to adapt. Adding fertilizers the first month is equal to feeding algae. When plants struggle due to their new environment, they might leach metabolites, causing even more algae....

After 1 month, you don't need to add anything special for java ferns and mosses. Water changes and fish poop will do. Perhaps java fern requires some potassium, but that's it.

Thanks for the info much appreciated! Next time I get a new tank I will remember that