Okay guys thanks to everyone help and advice I finally got my tank running, that was a lot off mixing saltwater to get the salinity just right for the 75 gallon! Took a sample to the fish store, they said it was perfect between .19-.20, I have 2 little clowns and 2 Fire fish, what do u guys suggest for the next couple of fish?
New tank is up and running
- Thread starter stern
- Start date
flower
Well-Known Member
Hi,
Your water should be so crystal clear, that you can't tell there is even water in the tank....Did you just add water then fish???? You have to let the tank cycle before you add anything alive...If you didn't, in a few days your fish will die from ammonia poisoning.
Just in case that's what you did:
Do ammonia water tests every day, and the moment you see any ammonia, do a water change...this is called soft cycling, back in the old days we used to use a live fish to get the cycle kick started, then we had to keep doing water changes to keep the fish alive. If you can take the fish back, do so and use a chunk of raw shrimp to kick start the cycle...it's faster, easier and it won't cause so much suffering for a live fish.
Also whatever fish store sold you live fish right after you just got the salinity right...DO NOT ASK FOR ANY HELP FROM THOSE PEOPLE! Ever, never, they only want your money, and they don't care if you kill the fish you buy.
Get your own test kits and Hydrometer. Refractometer is better, but at least get your own hydrometer.
Your water should be so crystal clear, that you can't tell there is even water in the tank....Did you just add water then fish???? You have to let the tank cycle before you add anything alive...If you didn't, in a few days your fish will die from ammonia poisoning.
Just in case that's what you did:
Do ammonia water tests every day, and the moment you see any ammonia, do a water change...this is called soft cycling, back in the old days we used to use a live fish to get the cycle kick started, then we had to keep doing water changes to keep the fish alive. If you can take the fish back, do so and use a chunk of raw shrimp to kick start the cycle...it's faster, easier and it won't cause so much suffering for a live fish.
Also whatever fish store sold you live fish right after you just got the salinity right...DO NOT ASK FOR ANY HELP FROM THOSE PEOPLE! Ever, never, they only want your money, and they don't care if you kill the fish you buy.
Get your own test kits and Hydrometer. Refractometer is better, but at least get your own hydrometer.
Okay flower, thanks for the advice, I used the live wet sand that came with a packet to empty into the sand, instead of the regular live sand, they said that would help the cycle, I let it cycle for 24 hours and the next morning the water was very clear, that is a bad pic I took, they did test for ammonia as well, they even put the strip up to the color chart so I see for my self. I will test it today when I get off work, I bought the test kit as well.
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silverado61
Well-Known Member
At 24hrs you shouldn't see any ammonia because the tank hasn't begun to cycle yet. It takes up to a month, maybe more, for a tank to properly cycle.
Follow Flowers advice and take the fish back. The one fish they sold you was bad enough but four? Don't ever follow their advice again. They'll come up with every excuse in the book as to why your tank is going crazy and fish keep dying as long as they can get you to keep buying from them.
Plus, all that rock and the ornament should be on the tank bottom. Not on top of the sand.
Follow Flowers advice and take the fish back. The one fish they sold you was bad enough but four? Don't ever follow their advice again. They'll come up with every excuse in the book as to why your tank is going crazy and fish keep dying as long as they can get you to keep buying from them.
Plus, all that rock and the ornament should be on the tank bottom. Not on top of the sand.
honu808
Member
Beautiful set up. I would suggest adding alot of live rock that is loaded with beneficial bacteria. The tank does have to cycle BEFORE fish are added. Any lfs that said it would be fine adding fish right away ONLY want your money sad to say.
I would suggest either taking all the fish back. They most likey will not survive the cycle. If they do they will be damaged.
Do you have a hang on the back filter? Heater? Powerheads for water movement?
Testing your water is going to be very important. Nothing and i mean nothing GOOD happens fast in saltwater. Bad things. happen quickly.
Im also going to suggest always placing new fish in a cycled quarantine tank to check for parasites or illnesses for a minimum of 2 weeks.
We are here to help not yell at you so please dont take it that way. We all here have no financial ties to you or your tank. We all want you to be successful.
I would suggest either taking all the fish back. They most likey will not survive the cycle. If they do they will be damaged.
Do you have a hang on the back filter? Heater? Powerheads for water movement?
Testing your water is going to be very important. Nothing and i mean nothing GOOD happens fast in saltwater. Bad things. happen quickly.
Im also going to suggest always placing new fish in a cycled quarantine tank to check for parasites or illnesses for a minimum of 2 weeks.
We are here to help not yell at you so please dont take it that way. We all here have no financial ties to you or your tank. We all want you to be successful.
It's all good, thanks for being honest with me guys, I know your not yelling but trying to get me on the right path! I really appreciate the good advice.
flower
Well-Known Member
Hi,
No we are not yelling at you... It will take a few days of fish being in the tank, pooping and wasting food before you see the ammonia spike, 4 small fish in a 75g may take a week. The bacteria loaded sand will "HELP" , as well as the live rock you added, but it isn't enough good bacteria to balance the tank and prevent a crash. It takes time for a colony of good bacteria to grow and build up, and it will only balance enough for what is in the tank.
That means that each time you add a new fish, the tank needs time to rebalance out....ONE fish at a time, and give it a week to allow the tank to build more bacteria to handle the new bio-load...you added 4 fish at once in an un-cycled tank. A quarantine tank not only will prevent contaminating your system with disease, it will also help you space out the time you are adding new fish. SLOW is the only way to go if you want to be successful.
The solution is to either return the fish (best solution), or have plenty of mixed and ready saltwater in a separate tub, to be able to do a water change the moment you see an ammonia spike on an ammonia test you do daily. It will take a little over a month of doing that to SOFT cycle the tank and not harm the fish. They will not be damaged if you do what I'm telling you...it's the old way that folks started tanks for years and years, before we figured out how to do it without so much work, and suffering for the poor fish. Many fish have died during those dark ages, because it takes vigilance to prevent a crash.
Just so you know:
To cycle a tank takes more than 24 hours...you have to let the ammonia spike first...then wait for it to return to 0. Until you have an ammonia spike nothing has happened, so a 0 reading means nothing before you actually see ammonia....
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bang guy
Moderator
Very good for you to take it this way. These guys really do have you and your fish's best interests in mind.
I'm quite angry a fish store would sell you 4 fish to put in a brand new system. I fine it highly unethical as they know that these fish are going to suffer if you leave them in there.
So, either they are ignorant of saltwater setup or dishonest. Either way I would recommend not listening to any advice they offer.
flower
Well-Known Member
+1 on that! I wouldn't be giving them any more of my business.
aduvall
Member
I love that I have 2 LFS that I can trust!
They've told me not to buy certain fish thy didn't think I was ready for, and have never pushed anything on me!
I'll say this stern. No one here is trying to sell something to you, most are pretty knowledgable and care about the fish and the hobby, not just making a buck.
They've told me not to buy certain fish thy didn't think I was ready for, and have never pushed anything on me!
I'll say this stern. No one here is trying to sell something to you, most are pretty knowledgable and care about the fish and the hobby, not just making a buck.
Thanks again guys, ok the next day I check for Ammonia it was like .50 so I did a 15 gallon water change. Let it run for a couple of days, water is crystal clear and here are my readind based on the color chart, except High PH, or yeah they also gave me a fresh water API kit, is anything on there different since it's not saltwater kit? Could I be getting the wrong readings? And I'm running a cascade 1000 canister in the corner, not the hang-on Fluval you see in the pic, I turn that on after feeding to help clean up the left over food, thought that would be a great idea
flower
Well-Known Member
Why in the world would they sell you a freshwater kit??? Yes it makes a difference. You really NEED to find another fish store, they are selling you junk that you don't need, and fish before you even cycled the tank. Saltwater kits are geared for SALTWATER and it's readings, they are not the same.
Also API reads nitrates high...like 4Xs higher then it actually is. So stay away from API and Redsea kits, both have bad reputations. Go on-line and purchase a saltwater test kit, master kits are cheaper then trying to buy them all seperate...Seachem, or Salifert I know are good brands. You can purchase SALTWATER ammonia test strips, that way checking ammonia takes seconds. ONLY ammonia, you need the lab drop type kits for everything else.
PH
Alkalinity or DKH
Calcium
Nitrites
Nitrates
Phosphates
Ammonia
The only thing you need to worry about right now is ammonia.
As for taking care of the extra food...a CUC (clean up crew) is what will take care of that. In saltwater the cleaners actually do a great job. Serpent or brittle stars, a variety of snails...Turbo, nassarius, nerite, and Cerith to name a few. There are cleaners in the live rock as well, bristle worms, bivalves, sea slugs, and tiny micro-stars. The uneaten food that sinks deep into the rocks, is not being gotten out by the HOB, that's the CUCs job.
The different CUC critters feed on different types of algae, some feed on uneaten food and dead stuff. I don't recommend hermit crabs, they kill snails, and it gets expensive to replace them all the time.
Also API reads nitrates high...like 4Xs higher then it actually is. So stay away from API and Redsea kits, both have bad reputations. Go on-line and purchase a saltwater test kit, master kits are cheaper then trying to buy them all seperate...Seachem, or Salifert I know are good brands. You can purchase SALTWATER ammonia test strips, that way checking ammonia takes seconds. ONLY ammonia, you need the lab drop type kits for everything else.
PH
Alkalinity or DKH
Calcium
Nitrites
Nitrates
Phosphates
Ammonia
The only thing you need to worry about right now is ammonia.
As for taking care of the extra food...a CUC (clean up crew) is what will take care of that. In saltwater the cleaners actually do a great job. Serpent or brittle stars, a variety of snails...Turbo, nassarius, nerite, and Cerith to name a few. There are cleaners in the live rock as well, bristle worms, bivalves, sea slugs, and tiny micro-stars. The uneaten food that sinks deep into the rocks, is not being gotten out by the HOB, that's the CUCs job.
The different CUC critters feed on different types of algae, some feed on uneaten food and dead stuff. I don't recommend hermit crabs, they kill snails, and it gets expensive to replace them all the time.
silverado61
Well-Known Member
If you need proof that they are different look at the highest pH indication on your chart card. It reads 7.6. The api saltwater chart reads the highest at 9.0 or higher. With your current test kit, your pH could be 9.0 and you wouldn't even know it.
aduvall
Member
It does have a high range PH to the right of te PH.
Stern how much live rock did you say you put in?
Ok guys thanks again, I took them a sample of the water today, the only difference on the color chart was the ammonia, my water was actually perfect compared to the (saltwater) chart, didn't need to do a water changes, I will look for the other Master kit, the current rocks are all dead which will eventually turn live, the live sand I used was fast cycle live sand.