Hi, I’m 2 weeks in with my first ever tank. 40 gal. breeder, about a dozen plants that are starting to grow a little, Fluval Plant 3.0 light (about 8 hours a day of 60% light), Marineland 275 hob with custom media, medium sponge with air stone, tank temp 78. Not adding any extra ammonia source, feeding with Easy Green and root tabs (have used easy green 3 times, have put in maybe 4 root tabs so far). I’m not testing a lot, because I’m so early in the process and I am following Cory’s advice to just let the tank season a good bit before worrying about much of anything.
I’m getting a fair amount of algae and stuff in the past few days. It started with what I think are diatoms (rusty brown patches on plants and glass) and now I’m seeing green algae on driftwood that’s starting to form hairy threads floating. Not a lot of threads yet. Also a lot of just general crud that looks like sort of like dust on rocks, plants, wood. I’m thinking this is a good sign that the tank is seasoning.
Tested with API kit yesterday: High range pH 8.0 (tap water measures about 7.4) ammonia maybe slightly green but I’d say no more than maybe .25, Nitrite .3, nitrate maybe 2, but not more than that.
My main question is, is it too soon for me to maybe add some shrimp to start cleaning up the algae? I know I’m not ready for fish. But could I risk some shrimp at this point?