24 Nano, please help!!!!!

[albacore]

I have a 24 Nano Cube and its been up and running since Feb 05. I cannot keep anything alive in it but crabs, snails and a sand sifting star. The only problem I have run into with my water was the ammonia and we did 2 water changes and I put stuff in it to help with it!! Please give me some suggestions!! This is my first salt water tank. Give me a fresh water and I can make it beautiful and wont have any problems!!!! :help:

 

[bigarn]

Did the tank ever cycle? Did you ever have fish in there, if so.. how many at one time?

 

[albacore]

Yes, it did cycle for 8 weeks, per request of LFS. I started with a clown and a damsel after the 8 week and the most I have had in there was 2 clowns and a red scooter blenny. My clowns have just recently bit the dust. They (LFS) told me that if the clown and damsel lived for two weeks in the tank ok then I could bring them back and get something else. Thats when I started with the other three.

 

[bigarn]

You have to find the cause of the ammonia ... Do you have crushed coral or sand? Undergravel filter?

 

[albacore]

I have sand, and I dont mean to sound dumb but I have the filter that comes with the Nano!!! Its in the back of the tank and has the bio balls in it. After talking to the LFS store I think my ammonia problem was overfeeding. Which I have since corrected. Each time I did a water change and changed 5 gallons at a time.

 

[bigarn]

Overfeeding will do it .. IMO get a flter without bio-balls.. They tend to become a nitrate factory after awhile. I'd do weekly 2 gallon water changes and keep checking for ammonia and nitrites. Once you get this under control you can attempt fish again.

 

[jacksdad]

Albacore:
I also have a 24NC that I started in Feb. My suggestion would be to remove everything from the back except the sponge. I cut that in half and put it back in chamber 1 on top of a bag of chemi pure (which I change once a month). How much Live rock do you have? The more the better, it will act as a natural filter. I would suggest about 40 Lbs. In chamber two I have about 4 lbs of live rock rubble along with my heater. Chamber three is nothing but the pump. I haven't lost any fish since I started due to water conditions. If your not using it already start using RO water and don't add any fish until you can find out what is causing the ammonia. I had a small yellow clown goby get stuck in my skimmer mod and it died. It was less than an inch long and I had a small spike in ammonia. Have the fish that have died been removed or not? If not that could be part of your ammonia problem.
Good luck and don't give up. It's a great tank and you will love it once these issues are taken care of. Again good luck!!!
Bob