Mistake

[jwalters77]

Ok, I admit I made a newbie mistake..I tried to do to much to quickly...I have a 55gal with 2 powerheads and UGF I added to Sargent Major Damsels then two turbo snails....One of the Damsels got a touch of Ich...My lfs recommended Chem-marin which is copper free well i added it and the water had a nice green tint to it...I noticed my Damsels close to the top gasping...When I returned later that evening both were dead...2 days later my snails bought the farm...I did a 25% water change and brought the temp down for a couple of days(70-72F). This all happened 10 days ago since then I added bio-zyme to recycle it. Yesterday my water quality was pH=7.6, temp=75, specfic gravity=1.020, ammonia=.25, nitrate=.25, nitrate=5.0!. When I first started the tank I never had an ammonia spike now it has jumped up to 5.0!! I was told to wait at least 27 days before I put anything else in the tank...but I will probably wait 30 just in case...Is there anything else I can do...everyone has given me good advice before so I would be grateful for any help..
Thanks
Jake
p.s I only have 4 pounds of lr so far but it seems to be ok...

 

[scy]

Hello, I would bring the ph up to a least 8.0,you can use a buffer to do this.Mine runs around 8.2-8.4,sp is ok but i like to run mine at 1.024-5,just take your time and everything will fine.

 

[beth]

Yes, get rid of the UGF and crushed coral before spending more money and time on a tank that will always be problemmatic with this form of filtration. Get sand, and 1 bag of LS to seed the other sand, use your PH's for water circualting, then add LR.
Take it from a former UGF owner...this type of filtration will eventually cause nothing but trouble not to mention the money and time you spend trying to maintain it.
If you are going to keep your present setup, then, yes let your tank cycle before addiing fish. If you want to help the cycle process, use fresh dead shrimp from the local grocery store to cycle with rather than live animals.

 

[jwalters77]

To get the UGF out would I need to drain out all the water and then take cc out. or can i get away with just taking the cc out with water intact and adding sand and ls?
Jake

 

[johnnysalt]

Jake,
I wouldn't drain your water b/c then you'll have to cycle all over again with new water. I did the ugf thing for awhile too....leave your water in, take the cc and ugf out, then put the sand "mixture" in. The way I added my sand was to scoop it out of its bag with a cup then slowly put the cup in the tank and SLOWLY pour it out at the bottom so it cuts down on clouding the water. It might take a day or two for water to clear. You can rinse the sand before putting it in (to minimize the clouding), but NOT the live sand of course!
HTH
[ July 09, 2001: Message edited by: JohnnySalt ]

 

[ll206]

I have a friend that has a 27 gallon FO with a UGF, and it's been running for about 3 years with no problem. But he does water changes every week. The gravel has to be cleaned every week or it won't last.