is it too early to think about algae?

[lef22]

I'm fairly new to the hobby so i could always use a few second opinions.
Even though at my local pet shop we haven't said anything about cycling, from what i read right now i must be doing a fish cycle.
What i did was to fill up my aquarium, plant it and then put in some bacteria solution as was instructed by the aquarist at the petshop.
Then i let it run with the filter for about one week and proceeded to insert the first six fish.
All in all this is the second week and tomorrow i'll be completing the first week with fish.
However i already have some green(?) and white hair algae if i'm not mistaking.
I don't want to change the water yet cause in 2 days time i'll take the water to the pet shop to be examined.
am i overthinking it?

[Harls]

ok, your cycle was probably too fast, but it sounds like te fish are alright. What fish are they? Don't be scared to do a water change, i think a 25% water change should be in order. As for the algae,i have a couple questions... 1. what is your filtration, 2. what is your lighting and how long do you have it on?
Harls

[lef22]

well i've got 2 39watt lamps if i;m not mistaking and they are on for about 8 to 10 hours daily due to the vallisneria i've got.
As for the filter it's a fluval inner filter 4plus.It's on all day,naturally, and set on maximum filtration due to the algae

[Harls]

ok sounds like thats all good, is it near a window or anywhere else where its going to get lots of light? also what are the fish?
Harls

[lef22]

it is near a window but the window is a northernwestern window and doesn't get too much sun...also half the day the shutters are closed
Now i ve got three clown loaches, and two cat fish(don't recall the species, they are about 6cm long, black and white and nocturnal)
I also had a betta sp in the tank but i wake up one day to find the loaches eating up his finns(this happened 2 days ago)since then i have removed the betta to another tank
To be honest there isn't much algae but i didn;t expect it to form so soon!

[Harls]

umm, how big is the tank?

[lef22]

the tank is 200 litre which in gallon must be 50something

[Anomaly]

Yes, you're doing a fishy cycle right now. Any bacteria you placed in the tank probably died off if you didn't have any fish in there for a few days after. The fish supply the ammonia the bacteria feed off and without a source of ammonia, they die off fairly quickly. Considering your cycling with fish, you'll want to do daily water tests, and like Harls said, don't be afraid to do water changes.

Algae's a normal part of many aquariums. You're tank will go through a lot of phases over the next few weeks as it stabilizes and you'll likely see several types of algae come and go. All you can really do is start cleaning it off.

[lef22]

well thanx guys.it seems like all i can do now is water changes.
thanx again:ssmile: