Cycling new tank

[sandymya]

I have started a new 55 gallon tank. It has been 3 weeks. Sgravity 1.027, no2 .25 n03 0 ph 8 Ammonia .25 I have 3 crabs, live rock and sand and 4 damsels. I think that might be too much added already but can i add anything else? snails or crabs or shrimp ? I have alot of brown algae whats the best thing to do for that?

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by sandymya
I have started a new 55 gallon tank. It has been 3 weeks. Sgravity 1.027, no2 .25 n03 0 ph 8 Ammonia .25 I have 3 crabs, live rock and sand and 4 damsels. I think that might be too much added already but can i add anything else? snails or crabs or shrimp ? I have alot of brown algae whats the best thing to do for that?
NO, you should not have added anything yet. Your salinity is a little high (it should be about 1.025-1.026) You still have measurable ammonia. 4 damsels are way too many.They are territorial and become more so with age. They will also likely harass anything else you put in your tank now that it is becoming their territory. Please tell me you didn't cycle the tank with them. Was your LR already cured? When did you add it?

 

[sandymya]

What do you mean by cured the LR? The Lr was added last week. The problem is that my mother wanted the tank and she paid someone to start it up but i soon realized they did not know what they were doing after researching a bit. I realize the salt was too high, they also added too much salt water , so i am slowly trying to add fresh water to bring it down. So I should not add anything for a while I am assuming. Also, the damsels are always fighting. I did cycle with them. I am in too deep to repair I was going to buy snails. When is the cycling complete?

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by sandymya
What do you mean by cured the LR? The Lr was added last week. The problem is that my mother wanted the tank and she paid someone to start it up but i soon realized they did not know what they were doing after researching a bit. I realize the salt was too high, they also added too much salt water , so i am slowly trying to add fresh water to bring it down. So I should not add anything for a while I am assuming. Also, the damsels are always fighting. I did cycle with them. I am in too deep to repair I was going to buy snails. When is the cycling complete?
Live rock needs to be cured. Live rock are pieces of a coral reef that have broken off over time. Then live critters start to inhabbit the rock. When it is collected off of the ocean floor and shipped there are things on it that do not survive shipment. It is called the "curing" process when you alow the rock to just sit in saltwater (it is often shipped in damp newspaper) and allow what is already dying/dead to decay off of the rock. The ammonia will spike (how high depends on how much die-off there is) You say you did cycle the tank with 4 damsels. Do you have any test kits? Ammonia and Nitrite both need to spike and then be at a steady zero to be sure the tank has cycled. Please don't take any of this as rude, I am just trying to help you understand what is going on in your tank. Do not buy anything untill you know your water parameters.

 

[sandymya]

Thanks for your help, I am just trying to correct the mistakes that were already made. The rock was bought at a local store, do you know if they cure it? . I have ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and ph tests. The ammonia is .25 the NO2- .25 and NO3 is at 0 . Is purified tap water the best to use?

 

[gen1dustin]

Some places have it either way un-cured is a bit cheaper. RO/DI water is the best to use. Tap water is not normally recommended, what do you mean purified?

 

[sandymya]

purified with a water purifier is what I meant, the ones you can attach to your faucet. Thanks

 

[sandymya]

DI is deionized what is RO?

 

[gen1dustin]

Originally Posted by sandymya
DI is deionized what is RO?

Reverse Osmosis, I use Reverse Osmosis/De-Ionized water. Though some people just use Reverse Osmosis water either is good.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by Gen1Dustin
Reverse Osmosis, I use Reverse Osmosis/De-Ionized water. Though some people just use Reverse Osmosis water either is good.
While I do think RO/DI water is best, I use tap water settled for 24+ hrs and have no problems with it at all. No weird algae like some people say will happen, no problems at all.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by sandymya
Thanks for your help, I am just trying to correct the mistakes that were already made. The rock was bought at a local store, do you know if they cure it? . I have ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and ph tests. The ammonia is .25 the NO2- .25 and NO3 is at 0 . Is purified tap water the best to use?
Well your ammonia and nitrite are a definate issue. You can try all of the water changes in the world, but the fact is that this tank is not cycled fully yet. Can you take the damsels back to your lfs? They probably won't give you a refund, but they will most likely take them. I will be very surprised if the crabs make it as well. Give your tank time and be patient. It will need at least a month or so to stabelize. In the meantime please set up a QT tank so you can quarentine all new fish. Trust me, it is alot easier, cheaper and will cause you and your fish less stress in the long run!

 

[gen1dustin]

That is crazy that ya'll paid someone to start it up & they did it wrong & didn't know diddly-squat. I hate to hear these stories. That is just wrong of people. Pretty much I would follow Sepulation's advice.

 

[sandymya]

So the damsels should not be in there at all huh Are they producung too much Ammonia and Nitrite or is it because they might die? Does a QT need to be cycled as well? Yeah good thing she didnt pay too much for the set up so far, only lost like 50 bucks. We have been using tap water dechlorinated and letting it sit 2 days or so.

 

[sandymya]

the LFS told my mom that adding LR , damsels and crabs was ok and she knew how new the tank was

 

[gen1dustin]

Well really you want to have a tank cycled before you add fish. You could do this by adding uncured LR. If the rock is already cured then you could add a raw shrimp. You can also cycle tanks with fish like damsels. This is frowned upon these days, for one the fish have to stress a lot to go through the cycle & will have a shortened life span. Next damsels are extremely agressive fish & if they have been the only fish in the tank for a while they might go on a killing spree with anything added in there. Thirdly even if you paln on taking them out after the cycle they are very fast fish & almost impossible to get out with LR in the tank. A QT tank will also need to be cycled before QTing a fish in there. Another way to quickly cycle a tank, but it will kind of be weak at the beginning so you must watch what you add is adding cured live rock & live sand to a tank, along with seeded water. Meaning water that has been running through a system.