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billymoss970

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Hello, My name is Billy and I am new to the hobby...very new. And I need your help. So I am also new to the forum but have noticed in order to help me ya'll need to know what I got. Tank: 35 gallon bowfront with sectioned off back section for off the back filtration. Filter: Floval 206 canister filter. Filter media: carbon, ceramic filter rings, and another filter media for phosphate and silicate. Light: marineland LED. In Tank: 15lbs live cultured rock, 10lbs live sand, and 10 pounds of reptile sand. Tank creatures: 39 dwarf ceriths, 11 nassarrius, 12 Florida ceriths, 10 nerites, and 9 hermits. Also have a small power head and another current device (one side is a pump with long tube and plastic L shaped tip). We let the cleaner crew adapt to tank for 2 weeks and clean up crew is doing great. We than added 2 blue green chromis. The fish survived 4 days and this morning have died. I had been testing ammonia levels every night and last night had a reading of 0.50 ppm. With a positive reading I went ahead and added the appropriate amount of Amquel plus ammonia detoxifier. 12 hours after adding the detoxifier the fish were dead. What do I do now? I want to know if the tank will cycle now. And how long do I wait to add new fish?
 
Please read the stickys at the top of this form "setting up a new tank". You need to educate yourself on the nitrogen cycle. You should not have fish, crabs or snails in the tank until the cycle is complete (usually 4-5 weeks). Putting anything in the tank before the cycle is complete is cruel as it subjects the livestock to a painful ammonia poisoning death.
 
No, you don't need live creatures. You can toss in a fresh raw shrimp and let it decompose to begin the cycle. You'll want to remove any snails/hermits you have in there because the ammonia will kill them. Maybe the LFS can hang on to them for you while the tank cycles.
 
Wrong. Most of us use either a raw dead shrimp from the grocery store, a daily pinch of dry flake fish food or add pure ammonia to k to start the cycle.
 
No local fish store in the area. This has been a nightmare. I have received so much conflicting information that it is hard what to believe. Here is my problem...I have a tank of a clean up crew and need to know where to go from here. Unfortunately the clean up crew has no where to go.
 
To be honest the live rock was in the tank for two months and I did a pinch of fish food every other day for the two months. I thought the tank to be cycled. Clean up crew came in and did great. Its fish that have kept dying. So if the tank is cycled anyone know why fish would dye but invertebrates live? There were no detectable ammonia levels while it was just the clean up crew. But I get a spike when I add fish
 
If you have not yet removed the dead fish, leave 1 of them in the tank instead of getting a shrimp. Accomplishes same thing which is creating a source of ammonia which will cycle your tank.

You can always get a 10 gallon to house the snails in until cycle is finished. Could also serve a s quarantine later.

What is your eventual plan for the tank? Fish only? Corals?
I ask because your choice of filter (Fluval 206) and choice of sand (reptile sand) could create major problems for keeping corals.
 
billymoss970 said:
To be honest the live rock was in the tank for two months and I did a pinch of fish food every other day for the two months. I thought the tank to be cycled. Clean up crew came in and did great. Its fish that have kept dying. So if the tank is cycled anyone know why fish would dye but invertebrates live? There were no detectable ammonia levels while it was just the clean up crew. But I get a spike when I add fish
Click to expand...

Ammonia free is not cycled. Ammonia becomes Nitrite. Nitrite becomes nitrate. Nitrite is also deadly. Nitrates are typically controlled by water changes.

Are you using RO/DI water?
 
I would order a bottle of bacteria to get the ammonia and nitrites down, it should help well, and you will have to keep an eye on the nitrate levels after that.
 
Fish have been removed. I have used tap water up until three days ago. I recently found a source of RO water. So I have slowly started using it for water replenishment because of water evaporation. The plan for the tank is coral and fish. I know I am a super noob but learning as I go. I had negative nitrate and nitrite levels as well, up until I added fish.
 
It might not be just that your tank hasn't truly cycled and it would be normal that the ammonia would creep up with the addition of the fish, however, I don't think that .5 ammonia would be the cause of death. What is your nitrate reading?

How did you acclimate your fish? this may be where the problem is...
 
Too many CUC for a 39 gallon tank (?). Why did you use reptile sand when live sand is better? I never heard of anyone using reptile sand for reef tank.

Ditch the canister filter (they notoriously known for being nitrate factories) Invest in a protein skimmer for they do a far better job keeping your tank clean.
 
billymoss970 said:
Fish have been removed. I have used tap water up until three days ago. I recently found a source of RO water. So I have slowly started using it for water replenishment because of water evaporation. The plan for the tank is coral and fish. I know I am a super noob but learning as I go. I had negative nitrate and nitrite levels as well, up until I added fish.
Click to expand...

The negative nitrite & nitrate until adding fish confirms the tank wasn't cycled.
 
Before buying anything else, get yourself test kits for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, along with a notepad to track the cycle.
 
Testing Nitrate now. Acclimation to tank included temperature acclimation and drip acclimation. Fish were doing awesome last night and today dead. None of the clean up crew seemed affected. Salinity is 1.024. Temp=79. How about underfeeding? The food I used for the blue-green chromis was HBH super soft krill pellets that I slightly ground into smaller floatable pieces. I did do smaller amounts because I did not want to overfeed. Nitrate levels are negative
 
And yes, we all made these super huge mistakes when we started. The best way to get past them is to learn. I am currently fighting a Dinoflagellate outbreak because I did something noobish when vodka dosing my tank.

On the Fluval, remove the ceramic media. This will trap detritus and cause excess nitrates. Leave the carbon and phosgard, but change out or remove the carbon about every 2 weeks.

The first big investment I would plan would be a RO/DI system for your home. I bought a decent one with pressure guage from SpectraPure for about $125.00 new.

Next investment is a good Hang on Back (HOB) protein skimmer.

Next, stay away from Instant Ocean salt. Many may disagree but it is not what it used to be. I use Kent but many are really good.

Don't sweat that you used tap water just yet. As you do water changes, the solids will decrease. You can always get the RO/DI and redo the water but not a major issue until corals.

You will need different lighting and what you get depends on what corals you want to keep. Marineland LED's tend to be underpowered and good for a freshwater tank. Don't sweat that just yet either.

Slow is the number one rule. Don't worry about ammmonia detox (as long as you can get the crabs into something else for safety. Even a bucket). Let the tank come along naturally. Get a bottle of Seachem "Stability" and use it all. Just bacteria. Kick start your bio load.

The reptile sand may be an issue depending on what it was crushed from. Aragonite is always best. Anything else can put metals / organics in your water. Carbon will help with this.

All for the moment as to not completely overload your brain. Feel free to PM me if needed. And remember, A lot of the stuff you read on here is opinions (mine included). Many have done the same thing a different way and it can be done more than 1 way and get good results. Don't take everything you read for absolute. Luckily you are not asking these questions with a tank full of fish and corals..........
 
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I am surprised the CUC is alive, that is a very high amount for such a small tank. Your cycle didn't complete and that reptile sand... I would say take all your sand out and get aragonite sand.

Also, not everything on this forum is opinion: a lot of it is fact. Read stickies as those are there for a reason and that is because they are based on fact.
 
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