New Tank, Please help - Pics tell better story
- Thread starter nemo kid
- Start date
-tara33-
Member
you say that you test for ammonia every week, well the spike of ammonia may have only gone for 2-3 days, without you noticing. as your rock may be cured with very little die of, you might find that you wont have much of a cycle, and the damsel may have died while the ammonia was high without you knowing, or you might want to take your water to the lfs to test your amm. test kit may be faulty
scottallert
Active Member
you should put more rock in there, the little amount of rock you have may only cause a small cycle 2-3 days like stated above.
And gradually through doing water changes bring your salanity to about 1.025
And take out the bioballs and replace them with small pieces of live rock.
And gradually through doing water changes bring your salanity to about 1.025
And take out the bioballs and replace them with small pieces of live rock.
C
cmaxwell39
Guest
I think that you may have a bad ammonia test kit. When I do my test for ammonia after I put in the second solution and shake it up it turns cloudy at first and then slowly (over the 5 minutes you are supposed to wait) turns to its end color. I have never had an ammonia test come back with a clear color. Maybe try to get a different ammonia test kit to see if that helps.
I know a lot of LFS will tell you to cycle a tank with damsels, but I would not cycle a tank that way. There is a very good likely hood that the fish is going to die if it is in the tank during the cycle, and damsels can get very mean as they get older.
There are a number of different ways to cycle a tank. Some people use live rock that is uncured and let the curing of the live rock cycle the tank. Others "ghost feed" the tank (feed the tank fish food as if there is a fish in it even if there is not). Others use a raw shrimp. There is a lot of info on the boards here about cycling if you do a search.
If it were my tank I think I would take out the fish that is in the tank, get the rest of your live rock and make sure the tank is cycled. Then start adding fish slowly (one or two fish every month or so). Patience pays off when starting a new tank. Hope that helps and good luck.
I know a lot of LFS will tell you to cycle a tank with damsels, but I would not cycle a tank that way. There is a very good likely hood that the fish is going to die if it is in the tank during the cycle, and damsels can get very mean as they get older.
There are a number of different ways to cycle a tank. Some people use live rock that is uncured and let the curing of the live rock cycle the tank. Others "ghost feed" the tank (feed the tank fish food as if there is a fish in it even if there is not). Others use a raw shrimp. There is a lot of info on the boards here about cycling if you do a search.
If it were my tank I think I would take out the fish that is in the tank, get the rest of your live rock and make sure the tank is cycled. Then start adding fish slowly (one or two fish every month or so). Patience pays off when starting a new tank. Hope that helps and good luck.
dustyboy316
Member
Originally Posted by cmaxwell39
http:///forum/post/2900057
I think that you may have a bad ammonia test kit. When I do my test for ammonia after I put in the second solution and shake it up it turns cloudy at first and then slowly (over the 5 minutes you are supposed to wait) turns to its end color. I have never had an ammonia test come back with a clear color. Maybe try to get a different ammonia test kit to see if that helps.
I know a lot of LFS will tell you to cycle a tank with damsels, but I would not cycle a tank that way. There is a very good likely hood that the fish is going to die if it is in the tank during the cycle, and damsels can get very mean as they get older.
There are a number of different ways to cycle a tank. Some people use live rock that is uncured and let the curing of the live rock cycle the tank. Others "ghost feed" the tank (feed the tank fish food as if there is a fish in it even if there is not). Others use a raw shrimp. There is a lot of info on the boards here about cycling if you do a search.
If it were my tank I think I would take out the fish that is in the tank, get the rest of your live rock and make sure the tank is cycled. Then start adding fish slowly (one or two fish every month or so). Patience pays off when starting a new tank. Hope that helps and good luck.
Your right about the test kit. I have the same one and it goes cloudy and settles.
If you've had it 2 months I would say your good to go if you have a 0 reading for the ammonia.
http:///forum/post/2900057
I think that you may have a bad ammonia test kit. When I do my test for ammonia after I put in the second solution and shake it up it turns cloudy at first and then slowly (over the 5 minutes you are supposed to wait) turns to its end color. I have never had an ammonia test come back with a clear color. Maybe try to get a different ammonia test kit to see if that helps.
I know a lot of LFS will tell you to cycle a tank with damsels, but I would not cycle a tank that way. There is a very good likely hood that the fish is going to die if it is in the tank during the cycle, and damsels can get very mean as they get older.
There are a number of different ways to cycle a tank. Some people use live rock that is uncured and let the curing of the live rock cycle the tank. Others "ghost feed" the tank (feed the tank fish food as if there is a fish in it even if there is not). Others use a raw shrimp. There is a lot of info on the boards here about cycling if you do a search.
If it were my tank I think I would take out the fish that is in the tank, get the rest of your live rock and make sure the tank is cycled. Then start adding fish slowly (one or two fish every month or so). Patience pays off when starting a new tank. Hope that helps and good luck.
Your right about the test kit. I have the same one and it goes cloudy and settles.
If you've had it 2 months I would say your good to go if you have a 0 reading for the ammonia.
oceansidefish
Active Member
First of all your salinity is to low. Should be around .023-.025. I would get the fish that are still alive out and take them back to the store for a few weeks. Then add at least another 50 pounds of live rock. Let it cycle for a few weeks and get your salinity up. You probably never saw much of a cycle. Also the brown stuff on the sand is diatoms and is normal in a new tank.
dustyboy316
Member
Originally Posted by Oceansidefish
http:///forum/post/2900306
First of all your salinity is to low. Should be around .023-.025. I would get the fish that are still alive out and take them back to the store for a few weeks. Then add at least another 50 pounds of live rock. Let it cycle for a few weeks and get your salinity up. You probably never saw much of a cycle. Also the brown stuff on the sand is diatoms and is normal in a new tank.
Completely agree. This is the first step you should take.
http:///forum/post/2900306
First of all your salinity is to low. Should be around .023-.025. I would get the fish that are still alive out and take them back to the store for a few weeks. Then add at least another 50 pounds of live rock. Let it cycle for a few weeks and get your salinity up. You probably never saw much of a cycle. Also the brown stuff on the sand is diatoms and is normal in a new tank.
Completely agree. This is the first step you should take.
westwind77
Member
Originally Posted by FishyTim
http:///forum/post/2900086
take your water to your LFS and have them test it.. while you are there, buy a new Ammonia test kit... even a 0 ppm should come up yellow...
+1
http:///forum/post/2900086
take your water to your LFS and have them test it.. while you are there, buy a new Ammonia test kit... even a 0 ppm should come up yellow...
+1
nemo kid
New Member
I didn't expect this much help, this quickly. Thank you all for the great advise. Can someone tell me if my life support tank will do for this 90 gallon tank. I will replace the bio-balls with some live rock. I really hope this works. I see a lot of fancy sumps in this forums. Thanks again.
C
cmaxwell39
Guest
I think that the life support system will be fine. You may eventually want to change it out for a custom made sump or sump/fuge. You will want to change out the bio-balls for live rock rubble for sure. There will be a lot less maintanance this way.
One more thing on your life support system. I do not see any space for a skimmer. I am not sure if you could redesign the chambers to have room for one or not, but if you can I would highly suggest it.
One more thing on your life support system. I do not see any space for a skimmer. I am not sure if you could redesign the chambers to have room for one or not, but if you can I would highly suggest it.
bountyhunter23
Member
Where do you live? That sump look like it came from a place right down the road from me? Just wondering
stanlalee
Active Member
make sure you take out the clown unless your 100% sure the rock you buy is completely cured otherwise he probably wont make it. you can stop testing ammonia until you get the additional liverock, its been two months and you still have a clown alive, your nitrites look to be zero. you either already cycled or your rock was cured and your not going to have a cycle. I would also get another ammonia kit as suggested just to make sure.