Help!!!!

[aileron98]

I'm new to the hobby so any info appreciated.... I have 3 tanks, a 26 gal I am turning into a reef tank, 20 gal. SW, 10 gal. QT. I added a baby snowflake Eel 7 days ago. I had the H2O tested and all levels were at 0. I then added a small damsel 4 days later. On the 17th, I had my H2O tested at LFS who said it was "pristine". Yesterday the LFS told me OK to add baby puffer so I did. This morning tested the H2O using dry-tabs and have ammonia level about .25 and NO2 at .25. Should I do a water-change right away? Living on west coast and the LFS isn't open yet to get DI water? Should I use tap water to do my water change? My 20 gal has: 20lbs. LR, whisper 20 filter (waiting on better filter I bought through internet), 1 power head, CC bottom. 1 damsel, 1 sm eel, 1 sm puffer, 4 hermit crabs.

 

[birdy]

First welcome, you have come to a good place for help.
How long has the 20gal been set up? Did you cycle it, I would say if the tank was cycled it was proably a matter of too many fish too fast. You are going to have a really hard time keep up water quality in a 20 gal with one eel, let alone a puffer and a damsel. I Think you probably should go ahead and do a water change, you should be fine waiting until the LFS opens, but I think you are always going to have problems with such a large bioload in such a small tank.

 

[miles o'reef]

Welcome to the board!
So in the last 7 days, you added 3 fish to the 20 gallon?
You added these fish too quickly. It is recommended that you wait at least 2 weeks between adding fish to allow you tank to adjust to the new bio load.
A small ammonia spike is normal when adding a new fish but, your nitrite reading is reason for concern. I agree with Birdy, do a water change pronto!
Also, never just take the LFS word for it- always do your own water testing yourself - maybe use them as backup but always do your own testing first.

 

[aileron98]

Thank you for your reply, I feel like an idiot, I thought that was the case, I wasnt planning on putting the damsel in but had 2 damsel in qt tank they were fighting so i moved one to my 20 gal. 2 damsel dont work in a 10 gal tank, husband thought he was doing me a favor. These tests are so confusing I test almost everyday ( i know I shouldnt lil paranoid abt water) then i take it to the lfs to see if the test come out the same. I kept waiting for a spike test came out showing zero thought that was kind of odd. I even bought liquid test, dry tab test, they all read differently, hard to get same reading. I plan on moving the puffer and eel to a 70 or 80 gal tank in abt 2 months. the 20 gal with that many fish is only temporary until I can get my other up and running and stable. I know I will need to stay on top of it becuz of size and bio-load. Will my tank even out since I added too many fish too soon? I will do water changes as often as I have too. Thank you for your input

 

[miles o'reef]

I sympathize with you regarding the confusing water tests - they can be frustrating. I used to drive my wife nuts with the constant testing and bugging her with "what color do you think this matches"
So how long has the 20gal been setup? Has it fully cycled?
Cycles can vary from tank to tank depending on your setup. My 29g w/LR had no real spikes during its cycle while my 10g QT had huge spikes in ammonia, nitrates, nitrites and took 6 weeks to fully cycle.
IMHO, your tank should even out in time but you will have to monitor your water levels frequently.
Miles

 

[aileron98]

I know i'm driving my husband nuts testing my water, and my lfs, but i know with such a sm tank and bio-load things can change fast. I i'm a test freak. My 20 gal has been set up for abt 3 wks and i keep a log of everything date, time, etc. The lfs store kept testing and told me my cycle was finished and i could add a sm eel that this would be fine and he seemed knowledgable. I wasnt planing on adding a damsel but he was being picked on so i moved him into the tank. then lfs sd wld be ok to add baby puffer to tank, now water not good. too many fish to soon, i should have known better. tests are tricky to read, I will wait for lfs to open and buy water and do water change. thanks for your input

 

[miles o'reef]

Having patience and taking things slow is a vital key to success in this hobby. I know it's hard to practice this (I should know) but you'll be happier and have less headaches.
One other thing, I know that you moved your damsel out of the other tank because of concern for its health but, it could also be in danger with the eel and puffer.
Miles

 

[birdy]

Try not to beat yourself up too much sounds like you are trying to get the right info, a lot of LFS are very uneducated and will give you bad advise, I would see if you can return the puffer to the store. Just keep the eel for now, and yes the damsel may become eel dinner. What process did you use to cycle your tank?

 

[aileron98]

I used 20lbs of cured live rock, and CC, lfs kept testing my water and said my tank had cycled. I thought that was kind of quick a cycle 5 days, but he knew where I got my lr and said its great stuff that this wasnt unusual. some can cycle in 5 days or 5 weeks. In the meantime I went and got a protein skimmer and will run my whisper at the same time. other lfs said wld be ok, unless i got some more bad advice. puffer, eel and damsel are really small. They seem to be happy and i had some more tests run and they say everythings is zero. He used the strips that you dip in water. How accurate are these tests. Anyway let me know if you think the protein skimmer with the whisper will help reduce the bio load enough to get through a week, I have another tank i could put the eel in, but i want to make sure this tank is stable and water is good. (26 gal. 20 lbs cured lr 2/5 snails and 5 crabs) this tank has cycled but sm trace of no2. Thanks again for your input

 

[birdy]

as far as the strips go I have never used them but I don't think they are as accurate as other types of test. I personally like to test my own water, I only have LFS test it if I question my test results. A tank can cycle quickly with LR but, I think you really pushed the limit when you added all that livestock so quickly. A protein skimmer will always help. I would move the puffer into the 26gal when it is finished cycling. Puffers and eels are both some of the messiest eaters around and you will always have water quality issues with both of them in a small tank. Just be sure you do not overfeed and try to clean up any leftovers quickly. Do weekly water changes and check your water quality at least once a week. Good luck!
Also you said your 26 had cycled but had a trace of NO2, this means the tank has not finished cycle, should be 0 NO2 and 0 ammonia, and nitrates below 20, these levels should be this way for a least a week before adding anything to the tank.