Help With Small Office Tank (I'm new)

[danieljames]

Hello,
New to hobby here, and decided to start up a very small tank (12) gallon Eclipse to ad a little ambience to our workplace. I have done my reading on the hobby for the last 8 months or so and know a fair amount, however as people have said, impatience will ruin everything!
Started the tank about a week and a half ago, (fish only)
- Bio-wheel wet/dry filter (included)
- Crushed coral substrate
- No live rock or sand
- Heater was included
- used pre-mixed "ocean water"
As instructed by LFS, we added a couple small damsels. For first few days levels remained stable. We got ancy, and decided to ad a very small perc. clown. All fish were acclimated properly and are currently doing well. However, I have begun to see the amonia spike and know the tank is now cycling.
Getting to my question, me being paranoid, I freaked out. I would hate to lose the fish (especially the clown) so I bought water treatment solution, (Ph stabalyzer, and nitrate,nitrite, amonia, clorine, and cloramine remover. Applied the solution, and tested levels a few days later. Still showing above desired Amonia levels however I have read that these medications will de-toxify amonia without being detected by test kits. Is this true? If so, should I worry as much?
Performed a few water changes (about 20%) and am still showing signs of amonia. What steps can I take to make the conditions for the livestock as tolerable as possible? I know that this is part of the cycling process, I just don't want the fish to pay for a beginner mistake.
Also, recently our clown fish has begun to swim up to where the water comes into tank from the filter. This is the only current in the tank as it is so small. It almost looks as if he is playing in it. Is this common? Or is this a sign of stress or a plea to get out of the tank?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thank You,
Dan

 

[darknes]

First off, welcome to the boards.
Unfortunately, you should have let the tank cycle before adding fish. They may or may not make it, I can't give you any promises. It does sound like the clownfish is stressed out.
Don't add any chemicals into the tank...you can't do anything about a cycle, adding things will only make it worse.
I would also suggest getting some cured live rock and adding it to the tank, it might speed up the cycle. Make sure it is fully cured at the LFS, though. I think live rock is the most important part of a healthy saltwater tank.
Good luck.

 

[krista921]

i disagree about the clownfish
they love the current and love to play in it !

 

[cubsfan]

you are deff. going through a cycle and it has a good chance of killing your fish. I would also remove the crushed coral and use live sand and live rock. i would also never go to that fish store again. It sounds like they gave you all the wrong information. The crushed coral will trap all waste and will give you problems down the road. But I wish you good luck and hope that everything lives for you.

 

[scsinet]

Those ammonia neutralizing products do detoxify the amonia, but it will still read on a test kit.
However, the products will disrupt your cycle. Ammonia is a critical part of cycling, and you can't avoid it by using your detoxifiers. In fact, you'll just make it last longer and cause the fish more problems.
Your best bet at this point is to just either leave things alone and let the cycle complete on it's own, or to remove the fish, take them back to the pet store, yell at them for letting you buy fish to cycle a tank, and cycle your system using table shrimp.

 

[t316]

Take the clown back to the lfs and let them hold it for you, or give you a credit. The damsels are pretty hardy, so they should be fine, but my guess is that the clown won't make it thru a cycle (of course it has to be the most expensive). While at the lfs, buy a small piece of live rock and add to your tank. Not only will it speed up the process, but you might have some hitch hikers (surprises coming out the rock later).

 

[geridoc]

SCSI and I disagree on the ammonia neutralizers. They should permit a cycle to occur while protecting the fish from the nitrogenous waste. However, I do think that the lfs you went to should move to the head of the "I hate your guts" class. Abusing fish in order to house fish is plain contrary to what we aquariasts should be about. We should respect all fish, whether cheap guys like damsels, or multi-hundred dollar angels. They are all alive, and deserve our best care.

 

[danieljames]

Thank you for all the replies....it's been two days and fish are still looking good....I did treat water with detoxifyers....and whether or not it slows the cycle....All i care about is the life of the fish....So with that said...I have a 36 gallon cycled tank of my own...(at home) with live sand and live rock....so I'm going to take out at least the clown and bring him home until the tank at the office cycles...thanks for all the help...
Dan

 

[t316]

GeriDoc...note that I never said it's okay to KILL the Damsels because they are cheap. I never said kill them for any reason. I said they are "hardy", meaning they could handle it a lot better than other fish.