My 1st adventure in to salt water

king_neptune

king_neptune

Active Member
Oh and I stress water changes in the QT tank.
If its a little cramped, say a 10 gal, not the end of the world, its a temp solution. Just keep lots of hiding places. I see fish stores keep tangs in 10-20 gal sized all the time. Not a good idea...but for a temp means, its doable.
I would personally recommend a large Rubbermaid bin, or brand new plastic trash can...who said it had to be glass. Its a cheap easy alternative to QT the fish.
Weekly changes of %10 or more and they should live fine.
 
firefighter15

firefighter15

New Member
Thank you everyone for your advise, i did have a few die. It looks like im going to drop back and punt. ... Sigh I guess I should have come here 1st and figured it all out but we all have to start somewhere.
Ps Its not gravel its 40lbs of live sand and 40 more pounds on black sea sand. (Forgot the name brand)
Since it seems to be spiking, my PH dropped ALOT amonia whent up but i caught that, nitrates stayed at zero. I will add 10lbs of live rock to try and jumpstart the "dead" rock.
Thanks Again!!!
 
V

vinnyraptor

Guest
Originally Posted by King_Neptune
http:///forum/post/3100899
thats a little harsh to the new comer, he came here for help. i cant spell anenomies either. I hope that was meant in humor, and not anything aggressive.
Anemone, lol, i think....
 
S

shrimpy brains

Guest
Originally Posted by firefighter15
http:///forum/post/3102057
Thank you everyone for your advise, i did have a few die. It looks like im going to drop back and punt. ... Sigh I guess I should have come here 1st and figured it all out but we all have to start somewhere.
Ps Its not gravel its 40lbs of live sand and 40 more pounds on black sea sand. (Forgot the name brand)
Since it seems to be spiking, my PH dropped ALOT amonia whent up but i caught that, nitrates stayed at zero. I will add 10lbs of live rock to try and jumpstart the "dead" rock.
Thanks Again!!!

Ok, take a deep breath and relax. IMO, I would not add anything to the tank right now. Your choices, as I see it, are:
1. Bury your dead fish in the sand, or add a raw grocery store shrimp to the tank, and take all surviving fish back to the lfs(assuming they will take them)
2. Continue from where you are. To do this, remove dead fish(hopefully you did already) Keep a close eye on ammonia and nitrates. If you don't have a test kit for these, get one. I would test for these twice daily.
Get a large rubbermaid garbage can(new and clean) and mix up as much water as you can. If you can, drop a powerhead and a small heater in there.
Keep as much water premixed as possible so, you can do alot of water changes. Every time you see a rise in ammonia or trites, do a partial water change. (20% for small spikes up to around 50% if large spike happens.
My thought is, that it should'nt take long for your cycle to complete. When ammonia and trites, reach and stay 0, your nitrates will rise. Do one more w/c and get yourself a clean up crew(i.e. snails, hermits)
Be patient, at this point, you can slowly add fish. Get some experience maintaining your levels. I would wait at least 6 months to add any corals, and start with the easier ones such as mushrooms, leathers, etc. and at least a year before trying an anemone. Also, read the threads above.
This is all my humble opinion and I'm sure some people will disagree, we are not experts, some have more experience and some have less. We are all here to share and learn. Hope you enjoy it and stick around.
 
deejeff442

deejeff442

Active Member
why would you add a raw shrimp after the cycle has obviously started?
that will just add more ammonia to a toxic tank.
live sand sitting in a bag of water has next to no live anything in it anymore its a selling stunt.
this tank has now become a qt.with base rock
you really just need to do a water change 20%-30%.
then around 20% everyother day.
if you wait a week for water changes with a tank cycling with fish in it they will die .
get some amquel plus it is cheap $10 this will help the fish with the ammonia.
pet-co and pet-smart sell it.
once the ammonia turns to nitrites the tank should start to really mature fast.
nitrites are no where near as harmfull to the fish as ammonia is and nitrates even less.
 
S

shrimpy brains

Guest
Originally Posted by firefighter15
http:///forum/post/3102348
Thanks again
How long do I leave the shrimp in? Should I only add one?
Adding the shrimp was only a suggestion, IF you remove all fish. Either the dead raw shrimp or the living fish each add a bioload to your tank which will prompt the desired bacteria to grow. ( This can also be achieved with one of your fish that have already died.)
Any ONE of the above options would continue the cycling process. If you keep anything alive in your tank, you will need to continually test(IMO twice daily) and keep premixed water on hand for water changes as needed.
Hope this helps!
 
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shrimpy brains

Guest
Me again! lol
After looking back over my post # 24, I can see where it would seem misleading.
To clarify, the numbers 1 and 2 are meant to display choices as in either do 1 or do 2.
Not meant to be steps!
 
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