All my Fish Died...NEW tank & need help cycling....please help!

[sarahgibbons5]

Hi,
I need help cycling my tank, as the fish store here gave my incorrect advice.
Here's what's going on...
I just got a 90 gallon tank with dead rock and not live salt...I put dead coral and fake coral in it and bought my RO Salt water from a fish store so no tap water.
They had me put 5 damsels in it right away to start cycling it (I know after reading on here, this was a BAD idea). I found them all dead this morning (the next day).

• 
  Ammonia level is now high at .25 (not sure if this is so high because it's a brand new tank or because the fish all died, probably a little of both).
  • 
    PH seems low as it's 7.8...that's low right?
  Nitrite is 0ppm and Nitrate is 0ppm.

PLEASE HELP me with how I need to cycle this and what to do now with such high ammonia, etc...I read Snake's article (reading tons more now) on cycling but I am a little concerned how it's going to cycle because I have nothing live in there.
Thanks so much for any help.

 

[geridoc]

You have ammonia in there, so your cycle will just have to run its course. I wouldn't add any life until the ammonia and nitrite levels are zero. Then add one fish at a time, with 2-4 weeks between each addition. Take your time - nothing good happens fast in a marine tank!

 

[snakeblitz33]

Add some actual live rock to your tank. 10lbs is pretty good start.
Add a small piece of raw shrimp to your tank and let it decompose.
Test your water once a week (lets say every Sunday) until Ammonia and Nitrite are 0ppm.
After they are Zero, ghost feed your tank as if there were one small fish in it for a week. Once the week is done and you have re-tested your water and it yeilds results of 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and some nitrate, then add a small fish.
Double up your mechanical filtration - using two filter pads and changing only one out at a time. This is so that you don't throw your tanks biological balance off too much.
Now is the best time to start reading and researching. Find a few good books and some articles and find what makes you happy. Start researching your fish and start deciding what direction you want to take your tank in.

 

[sarahgibbons5]

Ok thanks for the advice...I will do that! Does it matter if the shrimp is frozen?
Also, should the lights be on or off while I'm doing all this?

 

[snakeblitz33]

Quote:
Originally Posted by sarahgibbons5 http:///t/393170/all-my-fish-died-new-tank-need-help-cycling-please-help#post_3495626
Ok thanks for the advice...I will do that! Does it matter if the shrimp is frozen?
Also, should the lights be on or off while I'm doing all this?
It will thaw in the tank regardless if it is frozen or not. Most shrimp from your local grocery store is pre-cooked though, ... make sure it's raw. Frozen raw...
Doesn't matter if the lights are on or off. Some lights from a decent lighting system will keep good algaes like coralline from dying. Other things on live rocks include potential corals - that may come back from the dead if provided an adequate environment.

 

[sarahgibbons5]

One more question....so when I put the raw shrimp in there to create ammonia, will the bacteria (to breakdown the ammonia) just grow on it's own without any live rock or sand in the tank?

 

[snakeblitz33]

Quote:
Originally Posted by sarahgibbons5 http:///t/393170/all-my-fish-died-new-tank-need-help-cycling-please-help#post_3495639
One more question....so when I put the raw shrimp in there to create ammonia, will the bacteria (to breakdown the ammonia) just grow on it's own without any live rock or sand in the tank?
It doesn't take much shrimp at all... just a very small piece. The more you throw in, the higher your ammonia will go - and the longer it may take your tank to cycle. Bacteria has to be present in your aquarium in order to grow - that's the purpose of adding live rock. Live rock not only has beneficial bacterias, but it also contains life that populates your sandbed, other rocks, and even provides some nutrition for your fish. No, you don't HAVE to have live rock - but even one pound is better then none. You *can* get bacteria from a bottle or even some from the water your fish was in. But, I advise against bottled bacterias and suggest at least one pound of live rock to start off with.
Since you won't have hardly any live rock in your tank at all to begin with, expect a long, long cycle and a long, long time to get your tank to maturity.

 

[sarahgibbons5]

Thanks so much for your reply...I will be getting some live rock in there tomorrow!