Is algae a good sign for nitrogen cycle?

Hi! Posted in here not too long ago - crashed my cycles (or possibly tanks were never cycled as I knew nothing at the start) and now I’m starting from ground zero. I’ve been testing my 15 gallon daily and it had a little bit of nitrites a few days ago but dropped back down to 0. Ammonia is still present but I’ve been keeping it as 0.5ppm (my pristellas are hardy!).

Came home to a ton of algae today (hair algae? Unsure). Is this a good sign? It looks like it’s kind of taking over but I don’t think I can add an algae eater of any kind yet. There’s also some detritus worms in the substrate. Is that good?
The algae and tank in question

 

• If there is life, there are always bacteria that cycle.
• The cycling ability matches your tank's requirements, automatically, with time.
• The question is: can I measure this ability accurately?
• If the ammonia concentration is low, which it should in case you are not dosing ammonia or overfeeding, it is doubtful you can measure the cycle accurately with basic test kits.
• Algae and detritus worms are not indicators whether a tank is cycled or not.
• Besides bacteria, algae and plants consume ammonia.
• In healthy tanks with fish, you would normally not see "detritus worms" that easily, for the simple fact they are on the fish's menu. Feed less / skip feeding a day or 2 in the week.

I would solely focus on keeping your plants healthy. They are currently being predated by algae.

Good luck.

 

The only way to know if a tank is cycled is to measure ammonia, nitrite and nitrate concentrations. If a tank is cycled, you can add 2ppm ammonia to a tank and 24 hours later the ammonia and nitrite levels will drop to zero and nitrate levels will start to increase.

If it has been more than two month since you added water to the tank, it is likely that the tank is cycled. If it has been less than 6 weeks, it it possible that the tank is cycled, but unlikely. You indicated that you started from ground zero, but that might not have been the case. If any microorganisms remained in the tank (glass surfaces, plastic tubing, gravel, filter media, etc) then the tank will normally cycle much faster. However, if you disinfected the tank with chlorox, then you may have killed the microorganisms. If residual hypochlorite was not removed, it could take a very long time for the tank to cycle.

 

• If there is life, there are always bacteria that cycle.
• The cycling ability matches your tank's requirements, automatically, with time.
• The question is: can I measure this ability accurately?
• If the ammonia concentration is low, which it should in case you are not dosing ammonia or overfeeding, it is doubtful you can measure the cycle accurately with basic test kits.
• Algae and detritus worms are not indicators whether a tank is cycled or not.
• Besides bacteria, algae and plants consume ammonia.
• In healthy tanks with fish, you would normally not see "detritus worms" that easily, for the simple fact they are on the fish's menu. Feed less / skip feeding a day or 2 in the week.

I would solely focus on keeping your plants healthy. They are currently being predated by algae.

Good luck.

How do I get rid of the algae then?

 

Organic waste control and / or light control - see the link in my signature (first post).

Note that to get rid of existing algae, removal by hand / blackout / introduction of snails and neocaridina shrimp would be my choice. But if you don't control organic waste and /or light, algae will return.

The rosanervig is not the easiest plant in low CO2 waters. Bringing it closer to the light source by means of planting it in a cup, only makes it worse. The algae infestation seem prove of this.

​

 

Organic waste control and / or light control - see the link in my signature (first post).

Note that to get rid of existing algae, removal by hand / blackout / introduction of snails and neocaridina shrimp would be my choice. But if you don't control organic waste and /or light, algae will return.

The rosanervig is not the easiest plant in low CO2 waters. Bringing it closer to the light source by means of planting it in a cup, only makes it worse. The algae infestation seem prove of this.

​

I do water changes every other day to keep ammonia level low. This tank barely gets food. Maybe once a week so there shouldn’t be much waste. I’ve been struggling to get it cycling and I figured if plants are growing then I might be on the right track? Nitrates are always zero though. I’m beginning to wonder if it’s possible for a tank to never show nitrates but be cycled? Because there must be some bacteria in there for algae and detritus worms. I’d like to add algae eaters but I’m worried it will spike ammonia.

 

Plants and algae consume ammonia, nitrites and nitrates (nitrogen). Hence it is perfectly normal to have zero nitrates.

But it is not perfectly fine. Plants should have access to nitrates or other nitrogen compounds. For example, the protective mechanisms used by plants to defend their leaves from e.g. algae infestation, require -amongst others- N(itrogen). If there is not enough nitrogen available, plants allocate the bit of N they consume to more vital functions than to the production of repellents. And the bit of N they have access to might not be enough for vital functions either.

Those pristellas excrete ammonia that is very much below the detection capabilities of test kits. Algae eaters excrete less ammonia than pristellas. Adding algae eaters will not cause an ammonia spike, unless, perhaps, they die due to a lack of algae...

Algae eaters should not be regarded as the solution to algae problems. What if you no longer have algae? You should be cultivating algae for them .

PS: "I do water changes every other day to keep ammonia level low." Your tap water might contain more ammonia than what your tank contains...

 

Plants and algae consume ammonia, nitrites and nitrates (nitrogen). Hence it is perfectly normal to have zero nitrates.

But it is not perfectly fine. Plants should have access to nitrates or other nitrogen compounds. For example, the protective mechanisms used by plants to defend their leaves from e.g. algae infestation, require -amongst others- N(itrogen). If there is not enough nitrogen available, plants allocate the bit of N they consume to more vital functions than to the production of repellents. And the bit of N they have access to might not be enough for vital functions either.

Those pristellas excrete ammonia that is very much below the detection capabilities of test kits. Algae eaters excrete less ammonia than pristellas. Adding algae eaters will not cause an ammonia spike, unless, perhaps, they die due to a lack of algae...

Algae eaters should not be regarded as the solution to algae problems. What if you no longer have algae? You should be cultivating algae for them .

PS: "I do water changes every other day to keep ammonia level low." Your tap water might contain more ammonia than what your tank contains...

Tap water has 0.25 ppm ammonia. Less than my tank. I have another tank for just algae eaters (kept by a window) so the amano shrimp I got will move to there once the hair algae is handled. So that is not an issue. Just wondering why this tank is showing growth of plants and life but not appearing to be cycled.