Moved 75 gl. I have problems.

[oceangrl11]

Ok first of all there are a ton of questions here
I recently moved a 75 gallon salt water aquarium from orlando fl to Mississippi. while moving the tank the 8 fish and live rock were kept in small 15 gallon tank ( only about 20 lb live rock). After about a week the ammonia levels started to peak in the 15 gallon so they were moved to the newly established 75 gallon. By this time I had begun the 75 gallon tank and added a turbo 900 'cycling' additive to speed up the cycle. It has been two 1/2 weeks since i added the turbo 900, living rock, sand from the previous salt water aquarium and then finally the fish. The ammonia level is testing at 5.0 but the fish seem to be doing ok? The turbo 900 said that it would take inbetween 3-5 days to 'cycle' the aquarium. I waited the five days before adding the fish. Then when the ammonia started to peak (after the 5 days) i added a 'Ammo Lock' which claims to detoxify the harmful ammonia. However, it says that ammonia test kits will still test positive for the ammonia ( but this high?). Why in the world is the ammonia testing at 5.0? Also i have a protien skimmer but I do not think that it works. Should i purchase one to help the ammonia levels? please help if you can

 

[fishieness]

what type of skimmer is it?
there is also a product called "bio-zyme" which is basicaly freeze dried benificial bacteria. If you can find that, add it in.

 

[oceangrl11]

Hmm. What kind of skimmer? I have no idea. It was bought from someone that had it made for them by a friend. It is rectangular and stands about 18 in high and the inside has a labyrinth and then the water exits out of a hole in the side: I have never really been sure how exactly it works and I have had it for five years. Also there is no kind of sponge or ne thing in the 'skimmer' that i have that i can see being used to filter stuff out :notsure: Freeze dried beneficial bacteria? The stuff i put in is also 'beneficial bacteria' and i think is supposed to work the same as the bio-zyme. The stuff that i put in it is called Fritz-zyme turbo 900. fritzpet.com Does ne one else have any tips? I checked the Nitrite and it was pretty high as well as the nitrates ? I am so confused.

 

[iceemn360]

Try biospira from marineland systems. It has seemed to correct many uncycled tank problems

 

[oceangrl11]

The reason i am so confused is that the tank already seemed to have cycled with the fritz-zyme so i am not sure that it is that the tank has not cycled. My concern is that the sand that i had in the tank previously and then put back into the tank after it was moved 13 hrs away is causing the spike in ammonia and it is not able to go down b/c of any decaying live rock 'worms.' Also some of the green algae that was on the live rock is no longer green but the purple seems to be doing fine.....also the fish seem to be doing fine. No white spot, no increased breathing or swimming and they are not fidgety any more. If the tank already did cycle will adding another cycling additive cause problems for the tank? I have had this tank for five years and set it up multiple times after moving and never had this problem.
so....
1) is the sand causing problems?
2) would the decaying green algae cause an ammonia spike?
3) is it really that the tank has not cycled?
4) Why are the fish not freaking out if the Ammonia is testing so high?
5) If the tank already did cycle will adding another cycling additive cause problems for the tank?
I am still not convinced what the problem is. Does anyone else have any other suggestions or does it really sound like it has not cycled.
Btw the fish i have are as follows : two orange clowns, 4 chromis, 1 bangai cardinal, 1 pygmy angel.

 

[reeffeer]

first things first dont panic. there are so many questions and variqables when moving a tank.. the goal is not to just get the fish there alive but to get the things you cant see also alive. without bacteria surviving the trip your basically starting over. granted your tank might cycle quicker but it still needs to cycle. please dont add any more stuff to the water fritzzyme is good stuff so follow the instructions on that one product only. you dont wqant to fowl your water with a laundry list of goods. it will still take alittle time for thebacteria to extablish itself. just keep your parameters in check...temp ph salinity etc. everything will eventually fall back into place but your cant rush the unrushable like cycling.
i went through the same thing...where all my live stock arived well but the temp in the vehicle was too high(winter move) and i probably baked my beneficial bacteria. to boot i did not bag my filters i just left them floating in the 3 inches of water at the bottom of the tank. nevertheless aupon putting it all back together again my amonia also peaked but i didnot panic. i cut down on feeding(a little once a day) and let whatever seeds i had left in the tank take root it was about 11 days before things turned around. the bigge the tank the slower the process.
as for the skimmer get one! one that works! i have several tnaks and my 55 has a cyclone venturi skimmer. it takes alittle tweeking but when you get it right it does a nice job.plus it wont break the bank under 80 bucks. believe it or not i run one of my systems with only live sand live rock and a skimmer. my sump is only there for water circuolation. its whats inside that filters the waste as well as a good skimmer!
good luck
jer :cheer:

 

[oceangrl11]

Greeeeeat So dont panic and have patience. OK

Just kidding. I will just leave it alone and hope that the fritz did its job. I did add that stuff called 'Ammo Lock' ????? Is this going to mess up the Fritz? thanks reeffeer glad that someone else has moved a tank with live stock sorry to hear that i have to start over, but worse things could have happened.

 

[oceangrl11]

BTW reeffeer where did you get the skimmer ? I have not seen one under 80

 

[reeffeer]

your very welcome! just stick with the fritz. it sometimes require several doses so buy a larger bottle to save a few bucks. but dont go crazy with the stuff it migh slightly cloud the tank if you over do it. also go out and get another tester kit. it might be that the shelf life it killing the accuracy and besides if the kit is bad you might going nuts over nothin!

 

[reeffeer]

[LINK VIOLATION - out of respect to the owner and operator of this board, please do not post links to competitors, thanks]

 

[petjunkie]

I would check the back of the bottle of that Ammo-Lock because some ammonia removers say that test kits can still read it, it's just in a form that doesn't hurt the fish.
Good Luck!!

 

[oceangrl11]

Howdy there.
LOL. I know that the ammo lock says 'test kit will still test positive for ammonia.' So i think this is why the ammonia is so freaking high. I have never had it this high before and not had the fish freaking out so i am just going to say its the ammo lock But the good news is that i figured out how to get my skimmer to work! Hurray There was a little tube missing from the bottom that needed to be attatched to take in the outside air and mix it in the water to create the little bubbles ! LOL. Silly me.
Yeah, but the Ammonia is still testing really high and I have done two water changes. I am just going to hope that continueing the water changes will remove enough of the Ammo Lock so that the test kit can test acurrately. Do you think this will solve the problem or am i pretty much screwed b/c i put the ammo lock in there?

 

[ophiura]

There are no quick miracles in a bottle that will, IMO, cycle a tank in only a few days. This is extremely risky to rely on. JMO.
You probably had die off from the move, and the tank cycled. Give it time at this point, IMO. You've add all you can other than more CURED live rock or biospira or whatever. But I would, in the future, NEVER rely on something like biospira or similar to cycle the tank faster. In this case it may have been unavoidable. But patience, and light feedings/water changes will help now.

 

[latino277]

your skimmer will more than likly get the ammo lock out of the water. I would try and find an LFS that would be willing to hold your fish.... just to be on the safe side... if things get worse. but Like reeffer said... "cant rush the unrushable like cycling"

 

[oceangrl11]

(Latino277):
Yeah. I know that the cycle cannot be rushed and usually takes about a month to finish even though i added the fritz. Unfortunately I live in a remote part of Mississippi (NE) and there are not any nearby LFS Some carry fresh water but the population density is so low they cannot afford to keep salt water (low income population) Kind of sucks moving from Orlando Florida to missi-freakin-sippi....oh well.
(Opiphura):
Ne how. I really hated to put in the fritz-zyme in but because of the poor water conditions in the small 15 gallon tank i had them in after the move I really had no other choice. The ammonia levels were better in the 75 gallon than the 15 gallon and did not fluxuate as much. The fish had completely lost their appitite and were barely swimming around in the 15 gallon so i said what the hay and put them in the 75 even thought it had not finished cycling
The closest saltwater dealer is about an hour away And i have not been there yet nor do i know if they are going to take good care of their livestock. So right now i'm just holding my breath in hopes that they dont die. But they seem to be doing ok.
I know that everything died from the move because i scrubbed out the tank and fliter with a sponge myself Unfortunately it was a USAF move and we had movers and there was no way they would transport the tank with green stuff in it on at 15 or more hour drive in a moving truck. I was able to save the sand in the tank and the LR but that was about it. Sadly I am having to start from scratch all over. Ahhhh the military life....gotta love it. By the way, when i do get more LR how exactly do you cure it? I have never put any in with livestock already in the tank. (cept after the move) :happyfish

 

[ophiura]

From reading your post, it didn't sound like you could avoid the situation you are in particularly well. So you had to work with what you had...but I always throw in post like these that the bottled stuff won't cycle the tank fast just so people don't get the idea that it is the way to go. You've done, so far as I can tell, what you can do. You'll get wacky ammonia readings but keep on the water changes, light feedings (probably not daily) and you should hopefully make it through OK.
New rock is generally cured in something like a rubbermaid container with some powerheads and heater if cool.
I can imagine how difficult it was to move, but thanks from me for making that sacrifice

 

[oceangrl11]

Well so far as the military move goes....i am just the wife, my husband gets all the thanks Rubbermaid huh? and the heater if cool....does that mean put a heater in the rubbermaid if the water is too cool? Powerheads? Im sorry i know what this stuff is if i see in LFS but not online

 

[oceangrl11]

By the way, when begining a fuge do you have to allow the tank to cycle first?

 

[ophiura]

Originally Posted by oceangrl11
Well so far as the military move goes....i am just the wife, my husband gets all the thanks
He definitely get thanks, but so do you. :yes: Most definitely.
AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT!!!

Yeah, basically the rubbermaid thing is like a rubber tank. Some people will use a big rubbermaid trash can as well but the rectangular one's might be easier to work with, IMO. So you would put powerheads, heater, even a skimmer on there if you had a hang on. Keeps temperature stable, keeps circulation/pH/oxygenation just like in a regular tank. As for the refugium, you can plumb it in at any time, and add your sand, LR bits, etc.

 

[oceangrl11]

Cool awesome. I am trying to find threads about this stuff but it takes me a while b/c i always end up reading a bunch of other things and getting distracted If i used the rubbermaid bins after they were finished being used could i use them (one) as a sump? Do persons usually have just a sump or a fuge or both ?