Stock Question

[kylew]

Well I have had my tank up and running for about 4 weeks when I started I killed two damsels and then one green chromis who jumped to his death so I don't count him. Now for the past week I've had 4 hermit crabs and the green chromis happily living together with no problems in the 65 gal tank with about 50lbs live rock and 40lbs live sand. Now my question is my levels are
Ammonia - was below .25 but not zero ppm
Nitrite - .05ppm
Nitrate- 25ppm
What would be more benificial to add to the tank now a clownfish or more clean up crew. Every store I've asked has had mixed responses to this question
Another thing to note is I did a 5gal water change lastnight and cleaned 2 of my ammonia filters and removed the charcoal completly

 

[trigger11]

Originally Posted by kylew
Well I have had my tank up and running for about 4 weeks when I started I killed two damsels and then one green chromis who jumped to his death so I don't count him. Now for the past week I've had 4 hermit crabs and the green chromis happily living together with no problems in the 65 gal tank with about 50lbs live rock and 40lbs live sand. Now my question is my levels are
Ammonia - was below .25 but not zero ppm
Nitrite - .05ppm
Nitrate- 25ppm
What would be more benificial to add to the tank now a clownfish or more clean up crew. Every store I've asked has had mixed responses to this question
Another thing to note is I did a 5gal water change lastnight and cleaned 2 of my ammonia filters and removed the charcoal completly
Well, it sounds like your tank is still cycling so I wouldnt add anything to the tank. Both ammonia and nitrite should read zero. Ammonia is deadly toxic to the fish. I would say give the tank another week then test your levels again.
As for the question of what to add next:
I think you will need more hermits and also some snails. (Dont add until tank has finished cycling).
Then after you get the rest of the cleanup crew I would wait one week and then could add the clownfish. If you are thinking of having two clownfish at all I would highly consider get 2 of the same kind at the beginning. That way you have less risk later on for them to get along.

 

[mcbdz]

Originally Posted by trigger11
Well, it sounds like your tank is still cycling so I wouldnt add anything to the tank. Both ammonia and nitrite should read zero. Ammonia is deadly toxic to the fish. I would say give the tank another week then test your levels again.
As for the question of what to add next:
I think you will need more hermits and also some snails. (Dont add until tank has finished cycling).
Then after you get the rest of the cleanup crew I would wait one week and then could add the clownfish. If you are thinking of having two clownfish at all I would highly consider get 2 of the same kind at the beginning. That way you have less risk later on for them to get along.
Agreed. Wait for a few days and do another water change. You want to stablize your water before adding more. And inbetween each add wait a few weeks. You must go slow and give your biological filtration time to catch up. I'd go with clean up crew when water is ready.