LR and a dead shrimp now what?

[samspades]

So I have added abot 40 lbs of LR and 20 lbs of base rock, then I tossed in a dead shrimp. So now what?
Ok, I know it is time to test the water and wait but what am I looking for?
What should I expect?
And will the shrimp decompose or just create amonia? Do I ever take him out?
Any sugestions while I am waiting and watching.

 

[arkey.d]

Just leave the shrimp in there to decompose... No you need to test your water every other day for Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates..
The Ammonia will spike first, then Nitrites will spike, then Amonnia and Nitrites will go down to Zero and your Nitrates will increase to 10-20. After which do a 10% water change to bring down your nitrates.......

 

[caillou]

Waiting is the hardest part. Relax, don't try to rush it. I'd be planning a list of everything you want to put in the tank. You've got 3 -4 weeks of waiting ahead of you. You could possibly add something before but why risk it. This is the foundation of what you're tank is to be built on.

 

[bigarn]

Once the ammonia spikes, take it out. No need to let it decompose further.

 

[verde_ad]

I agree with Caillou, waiting is the hardest part. I am cycling a tank right now and I am chomping at the bit. Trust me though, if you add things too soon and too fast they will die. That means hard earned dollars down the drain, not to mention one of the beautiful creatures we love to care for, dying.

 

[samspades]

Thank you for your responces.
A couple more questions, the shrimp is bloating, or actually there is about a 1/4 inch of fuzz rising around it looks like the shrimp is enclosed in a bag of fuzz. I hope this is normal. no change in Amonia, nitrites and nitrates.
However salidity is increasing. Should I add fresh water (I use distilled) or leave it alone?
Also The protein skimmer is full of waste is this normal for an initial cycle? I did clean that out.
I do apreciate all the advice.

 

[woodymdt]

Originally posted by SamSpades
Thank you for your responces.
A couple more questions, the shrimp is bloating, or actually there is about a 1/4 inch of fuzz rising around it looks like the shrimp is enclosed in a bag of fuzz. I hope this is normal. no change in Amonia, nitrites and nitrates.
However salidity is increasing. Should I add fresh water (I use distilled) or leave it alone?
Also The protein skimmer is full of waste is this normal for an initial cycle? I did clean that out.
I do apreciate all the advice.
Hey Sam,
The bloating is normal. The shrimp will just decompose, no need to mess with it.
Salinity is sometimes difficult to get right...if it's too high, then take out a gallon of salt water and put in a gallon of fresh water...see if that brings it down some.
Don't have a skimmer yet, so I can't help you there.

 

[scubadoo]

As your water evaporates from the tank the salt stays behind and your salinity rises. You can place a very small mark for your water line and gauge how much is evepaorating each day. You should top your tank off daily with non-tap water...RO/DI water can be purcahsed at the supermarket.
You will need to do this after the tank cycles to keep your animals happy. You can get an early start now. THe more familiar you are with the dynamics of your system the easier it is to keep things stable.
I

 

[zenway9]

Originally posted by woodymdt
Salinity is sometimes difficult to get right...if it's too high, then take out a gallon of salt water and put in a gallon of fresh water...see if that brings it down some.
Don't have a skimmer yet, so I can't help you there.

I have never heard of taking out the salt water and adding regular RO/DI water...but it makes sense to make the salinity drop. Right now mine SG is at 1.027...too high right?

 

[jester805]

Originally posted by zenway9
I have never heard of taking out the salt water and adding regular RO/DI water...but it makes sense to make the salinity drop. Right now mine SG is at 1.027...too high right?
When you take saltwater out and put fresh water back in, then you're diluting the existing salt a little more. That's what makes your salinity drop.
I think 1.027 is a little high. You can top your tank off with some fresh water to help reduce that.

 

[woodymdt]

I think most of the opinions around are that 1.025 is probably the highest you want to go with your salinity.
I think there are some reasonings or occassions when you raise it, but I think that's for fighting diseases and other problematic situations.

 

[bigarn]

Specific gravity 1.025
Temperature 80
This should give you a salinity of about 35ppt... about perfect for a reef tank. If you're not already using one, I suggest a refractometer.

 

[samspades]

Originally posted by bigarn
Specific gravity 1.025
Temperature 80
This should give you a salinity of about 35ppt... about perfect for a reef tank. If you're not already using one, I suggest a refractometer.
I think I'm ok on salidity, I added fresh water and that brought it down, but now I am confused about temperature I am planning on a FOWLR tank and I have been trying to keep the temperature right at 78, should I increase it to 80?

 

[scubadoo]

80 degrees with lots of water movement.

 

[zenway9]

So in order to decrease your SG from 1.027 to 1.025, how much water would have to be replaced? Is there a conversion formula for this?

 

[samspades]

Ok, the shrimp is almost completely gone but still no change in water chemistry.
Ammonia has gone up just a tad, but no nitrites or nitrates, Salinity is way up so I added more water and I am having problems keeping the temperature below 80. Am I doing something wrong?

 

[zenway9]

Sam,
At this point you and I are in the exact same spot. My shrimp has also disintegrated and my ammonia has gone up slightly and no nitrites or nitrates. At this point all I have in there is 50 lbs of LS and the 25 lbs of LR should be here tomorrow. How many days has it been? It has been exactly 2 weeks for me.

 

[samspades]

Ok, dumb questions time:
The shrimp is completely gone all that is left is the membrane sac floating around the top of the aquarium. Do I take it out or wait untli it gets sucked up by either the filter pump or skimmer?
Also since amonia has only increased to 0.25 would it hurt or help if I threw another shrimp in?:notsure:

 

[caillou]

Take it out, no need to get it stuck in the filter or anything. With a 50 gallon I'd probably have added another shrimp. It wouldn't hurt and most likely help.

 

[wbilton]

Do a search in the key word type in 101 the user name is 007, there is a lot of good information there. the tread is closed or I would bump it for you and i don't know how to attach it to this post.