Help?!? new tank- 22days old....

[ronj]

ctually, don't use the additive to cycle your tank... it is probably so close to being done cycling, that it would be a waste... it's been close to a month? now...it will level on its own

 

[NaH2O]

Have you tried a different test kit? I would pick up a Salifert Nitrite and Nitrate kit, and test your parameters again. Also, check your make-up water you are using for a water change. See if nitrites and nitrates test zero in your make-up water.

I'm not familiar with that particular skimmer. If you are getting anything that is off color and smelly, then it is working. A dark skimmate would be better, IMO, but anything is better than nothing.

Hang in there. Bacterial populations take time to grow (if it happens to be the test kits are accurate).

 

[jrzymuscle21]

didn't get to test water last night due to some personal stuff that came up... but a question popped in my head this morning... what if I wanted to put live sand instead of crushed coral... bad idea? can i just put it in over the cc? or do I have take the cc out to put live sand in? how does that work? should i wait a few months to do that?

 

[ronj]

imo, i would take out the CC and replace it w/ the live sand....you should probably wait until your tank stabilizes...your fish are probably already stressed enough..also, you could be removing some of the bacteria population that have grown on your crushed coral...

 

[NaH2O]

Putting the sand over the CC isn't a good idea. Eventually, the sand will filter down under the CC. Taking the CC out would be the best option, and save a little bit of the top layer of it. This will help seed the new sandbed. You could put it in a little container in the tank to remove at a later date, or find a spot to put some of the CC that would be easy to remove. I also would wait until you know if you are still cycling or not. It is a messy job, and requires some planning.

 

[jrzymuscle21]

wow- i see.... well- maybe like 3 or 4 months from now i'll think about it--

now for me looking like a dumba$$... I just realized I've been testing with a freshwater kit.. damn lfs person sold this to me for water testing.. GRRRR.. so I'm gonna assume the readings are wrong or way off... hopefully..

tested the water this morning and
nitrite - 4+
nitrate - 10
ammonia <.25
ph is like 7.9
salinity is 1.023

man oh man... i feel dumb tho.. don't even know if those are right anymore...

maybe I'll get the salifert kit...

oh ya- my skimmer is producing a good daily amount of nasty yellow/brown watery slush like stuff...

and the live rock has like some stuff growing off it.. pretty interesting- maybe i'll take some pics tonite...

suggests/cmmnts plz

 

[ronj]

thats pretty funny and also aggravating(to you).....i bet you will be glad to be done w/ the water changes!!!!!! hope the readings are better w/ the right kit

 

[Meche]

ok- well- i'll be testing my water tonite to see where its at...

didn't get to test water last night...

Why are you testing at night? Coincidence or do you get better results? I just so happened to test my tank tonight (first time at night) and for the first time I got readings for nitrate and nitrite. I've never seen nitrite before and that seems odd that I would get nitrate at the same time; no? I haven't tested in almost a week and I am using thoes 5-1 strips. I added fish to a new FO tank on 7/17 is this about the right time frame?

Sorry to hijack jrzymuscle but I'm freakin a little like you. Do you think they make stress coat for humans?

 

[jrzymuscle21]

An Update- about 3 months later..

So after trials and tribulations.. here is my tank now:

My Stock:
1 3" blue lined tomato clown
1 3" Lyretail male anthias
1 1.5" Yellowtailed damsel
1 3" Engineer Goby
1 Blood Shrimp
1 Cleaner Shrimp
1 Brittle Blk Star
3 Hermit Crabs (that kill everything it can get its claws on... free to anyone who wants em)
Snails--everywhere! They're multiplying!

Water Conditions:

1.024 Salinity
80 degrees
5-10 Nitrates
0 Nitrite
0 Ammonia

NO MORE CC - now Reef Sand Bed with some LR

Running 2 Emporer filters (approx 300GPH total)
Hangon Octopus Needle Protein Skimmer (for up to 65 gal)
300 watt heater
110Watts compacts


Questions:
1> Can I start adding Anenome yet?
2> How about maybe one or two corals??
3> Do I need something to make more of a current in my tank??
4> Wat will be a good bottom cleaner for sand??

And most importantly -from the experienced.. how am I doing? LOL

Thanks all- this site is great and I've learned alot from here!!!

 

[varpanus]

to answer question 3, i've got 400gph flow in my 10g. talk to krish about flow. he's the scientist at it. no matter what kind of flow you got goin on, I'm sure it won't hurt to pump it up.if all you have is the 300 total from the 2 filters then yes, you need more. there's alot of debate on how many Xph you should have; but i think with sand you shouldn't go tooo high. my sand likes to move around because of the flow. But with my 40Xph, I have 0 dead spots. i suppose it matters where the flow is directed too. 110w lighting doesn't seem like much to me, but I dunno alot about lighting. as far as corals are concerned i wouldn't see why not. as long as it's not something really delicate. certain fish eat coral, so I would research what you can keep with you current livestock. the clown will inhabit a number of corals too. or so I've heard.

 

[NaH2O]

The tank is looking good! I would think about adding another powerhead in there, to add an additional circulation pattern, and a bit more flow.

What kind of snails did you purchase? How many? Marine snails in aquaria don't multiply like crazy, so I'm curious to find out what species you have in there. For your sand you might try some Nassarius snails. They don't "stir" the sand per se, but their movement to get food that falls to the bottom of the tank will help a bit.

You could probably start adding some corals now, perhaps some mushrooms. How deep is the tank?

As for the anemone, as I stated eariler in the thread, I would wait until your tank is at least a year old, and your tank will meet the anemone's needs. Get to know the requirements of the species you wish to keep, and know what to look for when purchasing them.

Here are a couple of articles to get you started:

Anemone Care and Tips

Anemone FAQ's (very detailed and requires Adobe Acrobat)

 

[Krish]

Tank looks nice and clean! Good job

talk to krish about flow. he's the scientist at it.

ROFL! I'm not a scientist at it, I just have issues and love tons of it because I've seen what too little flow does to a tank:shock: (LOL) In any event, you will need a bit more flow. You'll want to eliminate all deadspots in your tank as these spots become problem spots for nuicance algae to grow. Also, if you plan to add corals, thy will require flow to some degree depending on the species (some more than others) to bring their food to them etc. I'd atleast pop one more powerhead in there and see how it works for you. Sometimes I'll just drop a pinch of flakes in the tank and watch where the flow takes it and that way I'll now which areas need the extra attention.

Good luck

 

[jrzymuscle21]

The tank is looking good! I would think about adding another powerhead in there, to add an additional circulation pattern, and a bit more flow.

What kind of snails did you purchase? How many? Marine snails in aquaria don't multiply like crazy, so I'm curious to find out what species you have in there. For your sand you might try some Nassarius snails. They don't "stir" the sand per se, but their movement to get food that falls to the bottom of the tank will help a bit.

You could probably start adding some corals now, perhaps some mushrooms. How deep is the tank?

As for the anemone, as I stated eariler in the thread, I would wait until your tank is at least a year old, and your tank will meet the anemone's needs. Get to know the requirements of the species you wish to keep, and know what to look for when purchasing them.

Here are a couple of articles to get you started:

Anemone Care and Tips

Anemone FAQ's (very detailed and requires Adobe Acrobat)

My tank is about 3 feet deep.. pretty deep to think of it. I have a REALLY hard time reaching the bottom unless I take out like 10% of the water in the tank so that my shoulder is not in there (and I'm a tall guy with long arms..6'1")

Anyways-- how about zoo's? is that a type of coral? I want something like that.. and also maybe something else...

How about a powerhead? maybe something that can add at least another 200gph? Do I just mount it in the corner?

Thanks for the compliments and suggestions! Let me know....

 

[jrzymuscle21]

update: just bought a 295GPH powerhead that I submerged in the corner to make a nice current... and also my first coral.. get back to you in a while on it... so exciteD!

 

[ronj]

Looks good!! hey, we were just talking about the Octopus hang-on skimmers the other day!!! how is that one working out for you????

 

[jrzymuscle21]

Looks good!! hey, we were just talking about the Octopus hang-on skimmers the other day!!! how is that one working out for you????

from what I know- its working.. Every other week I'm emptying out half a cup full of brown/green mushy fluid.. nasty.. i guess thats working? lol

 

[ronj]

i guess that probably is good for a new tank. i am thinking of getting one..i just moved my garbage skimmer(prizm) to another tank (30g)