New/Used 46 Gallon Tank

J

Jingleheimer

Member
Just bought a tank from someone that didn't want it any longer.
They had live sand and about 55 pounds of live rock.

I had to clean it up as they kind of let it go. So after doing all of that and introducing new water today I wanted to do a test of my levels. Just to see what y'all recommend I do. Besides wait lol.

Ammonia - 1.5
Nitrite - .25
Nitrate - 5-10
Need a new PH kit as that wasn't included in what I got today.

Picture should be below, I hope!

Thanks in advance for the help and suggestions!
 

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flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Hi,

Congratulations!

Nice rock. Bow fronts can be difficult to get the flow right. Get a stick with a plastic ribbon attached to the end and move the stick around in the tank. if the ribbon drops, it means a dead spot, adjust the power heads accordingly. Some areas will have strong flow and some low flow, but all areas must have some flow or you will have nutrients settling in that area causing cyanobacteria build up.

Wait is about all you can do right now. You have ammonia, so as soon as that and nitrite drop to 0, your tank should be ready for that 1st fish. Now is the time to set up a quarantine tank.
 
J

Jingleheimer

Member
I put in another PH late last night. So I will check the circulation here this morning to see how it is flowing.

It has cleared up nicely and don't see much sediment settling anywhere so far.

I'm nervous to see if there was anything unwanted from transferring this over that was under someone else's care!
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
I only see one picture. It's a small Fireworm. They are quite beneficial but they have rows of bristles (commonly called Bristleworm) that can puncture skin and cause irritation. Other types of these worms can be mildly venomous and cause pain similar to a bee sting. Just don't touch them and you'll be fine.

If it were me and I had that much expensive live rock I would not allow ammonia to climb above 0.5ppm. Water changes instantly reduce the ammonia level.
 
J

Jingleheimer

Member
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Sorry Bang, hopefully the picture shows up now! But here is the tank. I did add another PH in late last night after the picture was taken.

I seem to have pretty good flow now. Will add one more to hit the lower back behind the rocks.. Only place i see sediment settling on the sand.

I'm gonna test my water again now and post the results.
It's all new water. Literally about 18 hours old. Think a water change is still in store?
 

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J

Jingleheimer

Member
Ok, just did all my tests again.. And it look s like they all went down about half. Hopefully good news?

Ammonia - 1.0
Nitrite - 0-0.25
Nitrate - 5

Still do a water change?
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
I'm just saying that's what I would do. In my opinion ammonia levels above 0.5ppm harm the more delicate animals residing in live rock. These same animals start dying above 1.0ppm.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Do what's comfortable to you. If it were my tank I would change 50% of the water to get ammonia down below 0.5ppm. That said, 5 gallons is better than 0 gallons ;)
 
J

Jingleheimer

Member
I did that! Well not 50% I did about 15% change or so!
After a bit or letting it circulate my new readings are

Salinity - 1.020
PH - 7.8
Ammonia - .25
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 10
Temperature - 80
 
honu808

honu808

Member
Very nice set up of live rock. Make sure its all stable and wont topple over. As Bang guy said, just keep doing water changes as you can. Any amount of water change is better than none. Always use RO water for your salt mix and not tap.
As stated earlier, perfect time to set up a QT. I learned the hard way. I bought fish that looked great in LFS that I had watched for a while so didn't qt them. Ick broke out once I got home, so now they are all in qt and my new display tank is up and running fishless for a minimum of 60 days to kill off ick since I cant treat display as I have inverts and soft corals in it.
Patience, patience, patience is your best friend.
Congrats on new tank and welcome to swf. Look forward to seeing your progression.
 
J

Jingleheimer

Member
Thanks Bang and Hanu for responding!

I don't know if I mentioned the sand and rock were in an established tank already when I got them. She had an engineer goby and a clown fish in the tank. But moved them out when I purchases the set up from her.

That being said I will set up a QT.

The rock and the sand is primarily why I bought the whole setup! She had a lot of rock to give me and it was only $200! I made a bunc of caves and what not for fish to be able to swim in/out of and heard it helps with circulating the water! I hope they like it once I'm able to get fish!
 
honu808

honu808

Member
I did the same thing. I bought a used 60gal cube with a sump, return pump, 125lbs of live rock, stand and lights all for $300. I recently upgraded to a 90gal cube and love it. Just add fish slowly after qt'ng them. Always be patient. The old saying, "nothing good happens fast in sw except disaster" is true. lol
 
J

Jingleheimer

Member
Great deal!

I'm fine not adding anything yet!
I've never bought a used system before.. So this is new to me. I don't know if I still should wait a couple weeks or not?

Just did my testing for the morning..

PH - 7.8
Ammonia - less than .25
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 10

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J

Jingleheimer

Member
honu808 said:
I would wait several days and test again.
Click to expand...
Sounds good!!

I did put in another PH today! 900 gph. My flow is now about 1600gph. Hopefully sufficient! It's so crystal clear tonight! Makes me want to put snails or something in to have something else to watch besides bristle worms! Hahaha :)
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
It resembles a Nassarius snail. That would be a good find. I'd need to see the opening with the snail retracted for a positive ID though.
 
J

Jingleheimer

Member
bang guy said:
It resembles a Nassarius snail. That would be a good find. I'd need to see the opening with the snail retracted for a positive ID though.
Click to expand...
Thanks man! I'll take it! Nothing like watching a snail cruise around! Lol

So after my ammonias hit zero do a water change and I'm ready to go?

Also, mushroom and fish acclimation. What is the best way to do this?
 
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