HELP!!!!!!

[polka]

Hi I would appreciate any comments on this asap.
Having problems with hi nitrate, was looking into l/s. LFS said loose 1/2 of c/c, vacuum as much junk as possible add some l/r. I Added approx 15# l/r yester day (10/3), and did a 10 gal. water change. At that time I had high nitrates of .40 and all other tests were 0. Now, today 10/4, ammonia is .50, nitrite is .25 and nitrate is down to 5.
Here is where I have???
1. How soon can I or should I do another H20 change?
2. Will this affect the 2 small fish I have (marron clown & yellow damsel) also cleaner shrip and crabs.
3. Should I put l/s on top of c/c, take out remaining c/c. LFS said as long as substrate was about 1" whatever was in there didn't matter. Yes? No?
sorry just realized I didn't tell you the basics once again! 40 gal f/o now with l/r
Thank you in advance I am getting a little panicked.

 

[mr . salty]

Sorry to say,but your LFS's advise was not good advise.By removing 1/2 of your CC you removed 1/2 of the bacteria needed to sustain the bio system in your tank.That is most likly why your readings are indicating a recycle.The tank is trying to replace this lost bacteria.I also think that the live rock they sold you was not fully cured,or the bacteria in it would have taken over for the removed CC...I think at this point you should just remove the rest of the CC,and replace it with 40-50lbs of GOOD live sand.Your tank is allready in a mini recycle,so if anything,this change will speed up the process.Your two fish should survive this change.And your tank will be much better off in the long run...OH,And find a new fish store...This guy is giving you BAD advise that could cause your entire setup to crash..You are lucky it hasn't happened by doing this.But he did sell you the rock...$$$$$$$$$...Sorry to say,but alot of stores out there are not at all interested in how good your setup is doing.But how quickly,and easily they can separate you from your money.I think this is what has happened here...

 

[polka]

DAMN..................Okay now that I have that out of my system, some more questions. How would I have known if the rock was cured?
Is it okay to leave the rock in the tank?
Another question, I am going to get l/s from this site, when I receive it how do I add to the tank? Just pour in?
What about another water change....how soon?
I thankyou for your help and wish I had a reliable place in my area!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[polka]

just thought of another ??
How long before the readings come back to normal?
thanks!

 

[polka]

Anyone with any other information!?????

 

[tinman383]

As far as adding sand to a tank that is already running, you can take a piece of pipe and stick it down in the tank and use it like a funnel to place the sand where you want it. I did this and there was very little cloudiness as I added the sand to areas that needed it.

 

[polka]

Thanks Tinman! I would still like to know how do you know the diff between cured l/r and un-cured? Also, Mr. Salty says my recent purchase of l/r was not cured, how long will it take to cure in my tank, or won't it? Should I put l/r over whats left of the c/c?

 

[partonks]

I'll answer you with my limited knowledge, as I am in the process of curing 75 lbs of live rock in my 50g setup. I don't know visibly how you can tell if rock is cured or not, but I know that the smell my rock was giving off when I first got it has decreased a good bit. If it is uncured, you will see the ammonia spike really quickly after its introduction to the tank, mine came the next 2 days. As far as I can tell, if the bacteria exists in the tank and you get that initial ammonia spike followed by an increase in nitrites, your tank is cycling and the rock will cure. I have been told 4-6 weeks for the curing process, but right now, mine seems to be going pretty quickly, I'm down to very low levels of nitrites and ammonia after 1.5 weeks. Anyone can correct this information if they believe it to be erroneous, I have very low pride of authorship, just trying to help.
Kevin

 

[polka]

Thanks Kevin, I just did another water change (10 gal). Ammonia is back to 0 but nitrite are still high. Nitrate is climbing and is at 20.
How soon can I do another water change? I did one on Wednesday, I was going to do another one today (Friday).
Would it help if I added l/s? Still on the fence with the l/s.

 

[polka]

Okay.......I've done three water changes since this whole fiasco began with the removal of some of the c/c. Today I am happy to report that after readings being through the roof they are now awesome. Am I celebrating too early? Amonia - 0; Nitrtite - 0; Nitrate - 0. Can it be that I have finally beaten the beast?
Now without jumping the gun, can I ad another fish? if so.....what? I currently have a small marron clown and a small yellow damsel, cleaner shrimp, some crabs.
Also, Should I still put in the l/s. have not done it yet....didn't want to rock the boat too much.
Now that the water is better.....every two weeks ok for water changes?

 

[fishymissy]

Don't jump the gun, wait a week and check your parameters again. You will know if you need to do another water change if your readings are climbing again.
I know alot of people in this hobby only do water changes every couple of weeks or so, there are some who claim they never do changes, just top-offs, but me, I'm one of the old fashioned types, once a week without fail!