How much longer?

[daftboy]

1. Tank size. 28 Gallons
2. What type of tank and how long has it been running? Fish only Salt water..(for now)..Start 4/17/09
3. Water parameters. Water temp 77 F 1.021 Salinity
4. Set up. Fiji live rock,30 lbs, Live Sand,Canister:Fluval Multi-Stage 05 series 205,180GPH,T-8 over head single fluorescent 20w Pennplax FL20,150 watt heater
5. Livestock.
1 Yellow Tail Blue Damsil
2 Dwarf Blue legged crabs
3 Scarlet Crabs
2 Mexican Turbo snails
4 Margarita snails
4 Cerith snails
Test Results: 4/19/09
pH 7
Ammonia .50
Nitrite 4.0
Nitrate 10
Test Results: 4/21/09
pH looks 7.8-7.9
Ammonia .25
Nitrite 5.0
Nitrate looks like 10
Test Results: 4/26/09
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: .25
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20
Test Results: 4/30/09
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: .50
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20
Test Results: 5/3/09
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: .0 to .25
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20
Test Results :5/7/09
Ph:7.8
Ammonia .5
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20-30
Test Results :5/11/09
Ph:7.8
Ammonia .5
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20-30
Edit/Delete Message

 

[sepulatian]

Did you add all of that stock prior to cycling your tank?

 

[daftboy]

Added on 5/3/09
1 Yellow Tail Blue Damsil
Added on Thrusday 5/7/09
2 Dwarf Blue legged crabs
3 Scarlet Crabs
2 Mexican Turbo snails
4 Margarita snails
4 Cerith snails

 

[errattiq]

Your cycle was well on its way to completion but you added the yellow tail damsel. What was happening was your biological filtration was balancing out with the amount organics in your tank. When you added the fish, the ammonia spiked back up because there wasn't enough bacteria colonized to process the ammonia the fish produces into nitrite then nitrate. Don't add anything now until all your levels read zero, or at least the ammonia and nitrite read zero, nitrates aren't as important, but anything over 20-30 I'd say is pushing it. Keep an eye on your inverts now though, they aren't tolerant to ammonia or nitrite in the water, and they are even more susceptible to nitrate spikes. Patience is key in this hobby.
-Josh

 

[daftboy]

so how much longer do i need to wait now....i swear my day just keeps turning to shi!t every minute

 

[bizzmoneyb]

wait until your ammonia is at zero. i would think it should take more than a week or two. so some water changes, that should help.
and id raise you sg up abit. i keep mine at 1.025

 

[djcanis]

Its not a set ammount of time, could be a day could be a week, the important things is making sure your levels are at zero, every time you add any type of livestock to your tank, you may see a spike, so go slow. Add a fish, test, wait a few days or week, let the tank balance out and then add more. A lot of this hobby is a waiting game. The most important part is always making sure your ammonia and nitrites are at zero.

 

[florida joe]

The most important part is always making sure your ammonia and nitrites are at zero.

 

[stdreb27]

I dunno, maybe I missed it, but did you clean out your canister filter yet? That will catch all sorts of detritus. And can lead to your elevated amonia numbers.

 

[daftboy]

Nitrites are at 0 is just my ammonia....i was told not to do water changes during a cycle also i only just put in the fish about 1 week ago and its maybe 1/2 inch...do you really think he would effect it that much ?...Clean out the canister should i do that i mean its only been running for almost 30 days

 

[stdreb27]

Originally Posted by Daftboy
http:///forum/post/3041700
Nitrites are at 0 is just my ammonia....i was told not to do water changes during a cycle also i only just put in the fish about 1 week ago and its maybe 1/2 inch...do you really think he would effect it that much ?...Clean out the canister should i do that i mean its only been running for almost 30 days
yeah, and all the dead gunk from yoru sand and rocks are in that canister now.
typically when you put your tank together, you're going to have a lot of detritus in your water collumn. Right off the bat. From the rocks, sand and whatnot. So yeah, it wouldn't be a bad idea to clean it.
Long term depending on your bioload, you'll need to clean your canister on a very regular basis. When I had one, I cleaned it every 2 weeks.

 

[daftboy]

How do I go about washing it just rinse under water ... should i do this to all 3 levels or only some as i don't want to kill all the bacteria?

 

[stdreb27]

Originally Posted by Daftboy
http:///forum/post/3041752
How do I go about washing it just rinse under water ... should i do this to all 3 levels or only some as i don't want to kill all the bacteria?
What do you have for media?
I typically just used that porous ceramic media that was a cylinder and had a hole down the middle. I would rinse 1/3 of those. Then clean out all the sponges. Then I'd inspect the rest of the media make sure that wasn't anything major on them then continue on. My tank was stable enough where I didn't worry about killing everything in the canister however.