Need Help Confused and frustrated

[kimgpk]

I have a huge flippen problem. I have done 3 water changes in the past 2 weeks varing from 10 to 12 gallons. so my problem water parameters are totally out of wack and everything that i have done doesn't seem to help.
Temp: 78
PH: 8.4
Salinity: 1.022
Ammonia: .25
Nitrite: .05
Nitrate: 20
Calcuim: 380 Got really mad and didn't even bother with Alk
I have a 46 bow front standard light on from 11am to 8pm With a Fluval 304 canister filter Maxijet 900, 40lbs of live sand and 15lbs of live rock (I know it's not enough)
Fish~ 1 coral Beauty Inverts~ 2 Emerald Crabs
2 Perc Clowns 1 Cleaner Shrimp
1 Firefish Goby 1 Peppermint Shrimp
1 Nass Snail
I feed fish everyother day pellets a small pinch full. I have times the fish so I know how much they eat in a 1 1/2 min.
Anyone have any suggestions I am at a loss here

 

[cain420]

sounds like you are cycling.. and by doing water changes you might be extending this..
how old is the tank?

 

[kogle]

How long has the tank been set up? Sounds like it's not done cycling.

 

[hagfish]

Are you keeping the fluval clean? Cannister filters are nitrate traps if not maintained vigorously. I would actually recommend against owning one for SW, they are expensive, require high maintenance, and unecessary.
Also, I'm assuming you are done cycling. If that's true, you need more of a cleanup crew. I would add 15-20 snails and or hermit crabs. I like the nassarius, which you already have one of. I would also get a few cerith's.

 

[hagfish]

What kind of test kits are you using? Maybe take water to LFS to have them double check.

 

[kimgpk]

The tank has been set up since the begining of Jan. After the cycle was over I added 1 perc clown and the firefish goby. 3 weeks later i added coral beauty and other perc clown levels didn't start to raise until after I added second set of fish.

 

[kimgpk]

I cleaned the filter March 9th and changed the carbon in it. If not the canister then what should I have went with what the LFS store told me. I am looking to get more of a clean up crew that was my next thing but was scared to add anyhting with levels as they are. I am using Red Sea Marine Lab test kit.

 

[saltfan]

Pretty crazy numbers, you got anything missing that you know of? Something dead behind a rock perhaps? You are alos missing the bio filter, the canisters wont' do it for you per say. You have a good stock and LR, but without much more LR, you'll need more filtration, biob balls or something of that nature. I'm not saying that you need more rock, if you want the swim room, you'll need to get youself a sump, and a skimmer, which I didn't see you mention on your thread.

 

[kimgpk]

All Fish and Inverts are accounted for. I was told I wouldn't need a skimmer untill I had more fish (bio load). sump sorry have no clue. for the bio balls do I have to add another peice of equipment ( I can't add bio ball to canister)

 

[hagfish]

I don't have total confidence in your test kit personally.
I would definitely add your cleanup crew now.
A protein skimmer is beneficial to any tank. If you are having chemical problems, it's at least worth considering. And your bio-load isn't so small that you won't have considerable waste given your tank size. I've got 5 fish in a 72 with 29 gallon sump/fuge and I can't get the nitrates down below 15 even with a good protein skimmer and macro algae in the fuge.
I wouldn't add bio-balls personally, they are another nitrate magnet if not maintained well. A sump/fuge would definitely be good to add.
You didn't mention flow. You don't have lot's of dead spots where junk is collecting do you? Also, I assume you have 15 lbs of live sand (it says live rock twice). You will want something to stir and sift through the sand. Your nassarius snail is good at that, but you need more.

 

[cain420]

the best thing you could add to help with your bio-load is some LIVE ROCK!! 15lbs of LR in a 46 gallon tank just isnt going to cut it for the load u are putting in there.. I would add at least 30 more pounds.. then I bet you will see a MAJOR difference!
as it is now, you dont have enough biological filtration to keep up with the inhabitants.. nobody could argue that point.

 

[hagfish]

I thought it said 40 lbs of live rock. I have to agree with cain, add 20-30 lbs of rock and that will help a ton.

 

[kimgpk]

This is my plan then I guess. Going to take water to LFS and see what they come up this and then get some more live rock. Then see about a sump/fuge. But need more info about this first. so we will see what my levels are at the LFS.

 

[cain420]

be sure it is CURED live rock, or cure it yourself before adding it... it could make things alot worse then they already are if u drop some uncured lr in there now with the inhabitants..

 

[kimgpk]

can anyone recommened what kind and size of sump/fuge I should use for this tank?

 

[hagfish]

The bigger the better. I'd just go with the biggest you can afford and fit into the space it will reside.
If you're putting it in your cabinet, just measure the inside and any holes you would have to slide it through to get it in there and find a tank that fits. Some people have hundreds of gallons of water just in their sump/fuge, it can only help to have lots of water and space for skimmers, pumps, macro algae, etc.

 

[kimgpk]

:cheer: Alright guys I just came back from the fish store and good thing I went when I did because they were about to close. But they tested my water for me anyway. Everything tested out alright everything came out untraciable except traites and they were between 2.5 and 5.0. So we think I have a bad test kit because of where I bought it they don't have a whole lot of turnaround and the chemicals have gone bad going back tomarrow and getting a different test kit from the correct store. Thanks anyway guys. I will still think about the sump/fuge, and getting more rock and adding on to my cleanup crew. Was just really scared there that my tank was about to crash. I am felling better about my whole experience now.

 

[hagfish]

Originally Posted by kimgpk
:cheer: Alright guys I just came back from the fish store and good thing I went when I did because they were about to close. But they tested my water for me anyway. Everything tested out alright everything came out untraciable except traites and they were between 2.5 and 5.0. So we think I have a bad test kit because of where I bought it they don't have a whole lot of turnaround and the chemicals have gone bad going back tomarrow and getting a different test kit from the correct store. Thanks anyway guys. I will still think about the sump/fuge, and getting more rock and adding on to my cleanup crew. Was just really scared there that my tank was about to crash. I am felling better about my whole experience now.

Glad to hear that! I tend to think that the best test kit is the livestock itself. If there are no obvious problems then there is probably nothing major wrong. But it's good to test every once in a while of course just to make sure.

 

[cain420]

what kind of kit did the store use? some use the little stip tests and they arent very good from what i have heard..
if u wanna try and test your test kit, test the water u are using for your next water change... if it shows all is good, then its not your test kit..

 

[kimgpk]

it wasn't the dip sticks it was aquarium pharmaceuticals. Like Hagfish said Mr. Kee also said the same thing. The fish are showing no signs of anything being wrong. And all the fish are alright and so are the inverts that's why I couldn't figure what was causing the problem even after I did the 2 water changes I figures I would get some kind of different readings but still everything was the same. But anyways I feel better and now I don't have to pull out my hair anymore and going to planning the rest of my tank.