Help me...with 90g

[bsagecko]

Hello i got a 90g complete just saturday..but i had to move the tank and all the livestock from st pete to ocala (2 hour trip one way)

I got a
reefdevil skimmer
sump
and all the other stuff


Plus 100-150 lbs of liverock

hermits and snails

1 peru clown
1 blue damsel
2 purple sea urchins

The guy i got it from was an idiot and let all the bioballs and liverock rubble dry out...so my amonia levels are at like 1.0+
ph: 8.2 ish
nitrite- 0
nitrate: .5 ish
ammonia: 1.0 ish

The livestock fish and urchins are in a different containter that i am currently adjusting there water to a stable safe level.....

The liverock was covered with water during the trip...how long do you guys think it will be until i can get the amonia and everything down to a safe level for fish....
Also the container i have the fish in has ammonia as well in the water...therfore i have been doing small water changes every 1hour to bring it down.....but how much of a water change can i do at one time and not kill the fish......

Also what do you guys think is the best way to boost ph?

Also how dangerous is it for the salinty of the water to be above 1.023-1.025?


What do i need to do to keep the urchins alive or should i just give them to the lfs?

(i want to do corals later on when the tank is ready so if the urchins are going to eat my corals i rather get rid of them now)

 

[kar93]

To boost PH i have used Reef Buffer but 8.2 isnt really bad. As long as it doesnt go over say 1.027 the salinity should be fine. Urchins should just eat algae so if there isnt enough in the tank they will eat algae sheets.

 

[bsagecko]

thanks for the info bump any other opinions?

The water had like a film and a sludge and it wouldnt really in 24 hours...so i removed all the water and removed the sand.....now i am going to refill the tank half way and then get brand new live sand tomorrow?

Was i over reacting ?
How long should it tank the water to clear up so that i can see the back

 

[rkelman]

Don't waste your money on live sand. Just get get the dry stuff and seed it with a cup of the old stuff. Ditch the bio balls now while your at it. Why are you wanting to boost the PH when you say its at 8.2? Reef Buffer works good.. I'd do a 25% water change on the fish containers with no worries. You could go more if you have to. All the live rock dried out? Bummer. Your in for a large spike if it did. Dump the Damsel while you have the chance trust me. You may need to beg someone with an established QT tank to take the fish short term or take them to the LFS until things even out. Good luck.

 

[bsagecko]

the liverock didnt dry out it is full of life and ready to go....the livesand is no good though......
I kinda of like the damsel and it doesnt bother the clown
Perhaps i got lucky?

I might tank the zoos to the store and see if they will take them for safe keeping.....I think i am going to take the bioballs out and put in live rock rubble since i have like a ton of live rock

 

[bsagecko]

bump

 

[bsagecko]

bump

 

[Avi]

Re: Help me...with 90g

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11810053#post11810053 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bsagecko


The liverock was covered with water during the trip...how long do you guys think it will be until i can get the amonia and everything down to a safe level for fish....
Also the container i have the fish in has ammonia as well in the water...therfore i have been doing small water changes every 1hour to bring it down.....but how much of a water change can i do at one time and not kill the fish......

Also what do you guys think is the best way to boost ph?

Also how dangerous is it for the salinty of the water to be above 1.023-1.025?


What do i need to do to keep the urchins alive or should i just give them to the lfs?

(i want to do corals later on when the tank is ready so if the urchins are going to eat my corals i rather get rid of them now)

The situation must be a little hectic, since you have some livestock and all of the water you have available for them is showing signs of ammonia. For that reason alone, I'd get the urchins over to a fish store for it to be placed in habitable water so that they don't start to go into decline and lose their spikes. It's up to you whether to keep the urchins once you have coral. I doubt that there is any danger to coral directly from them...many people report that they do that...but from what I've read (I never kept one) they do strip coraline algae off the rockwork. Oh, IMO, you should get rid of the damsel. They tend to get very pugnacious and eventually you may have to get rid of it, so I'd just do it now.

There is no way to reliable predict the number of days that you're going to have to wait until your cycle is complete, though, there is reason to think that it won't be very long. There was apparently some die-off of the live rock that triggered the ammonia generation...a "mini-cycle"...but if it was seasoned live rock that you acquired, it should get things back under control in short order...Keep the circulation to the sump going all the time and have some powerheads or other additional source of water movement in your tank going all the time. Also, keep the skimmer running all the time.

It isn't dangerous at all to have the SG above 1.023-1.025...in fact, keeping it at 1.026 is probably best.

I also use Reef Buffer on those rare occasions when the pH drops a little and you won't have to use it much at all...but now, it's all right to use it to get the pH close to or at 8.3. Thereafter, test your water frequently and maintain all levels in accordance with the info in here....

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php

You can use this to help maintain calcium/magnesium and alkalinity once the pH has been adjusted....

http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chemcalc.html

 

[bsagecko]

ok i am replacing on the livesand right now becuz there was like a 1" sludge that was on the sand and i am replacing the water with new and then starting again....we will see how it goes

(i saw an urchin on top of the corals does that mean he was eating one?) (if so he is gone i will prbly get rid of the damsel by the end of the week if anyone is in the ocala, fl area you can come pick him up for free)

 

[Avi]

The urchin wouldn't be eating the coral. Most likely, there was some kind of algae growing adjascent to the coral and that's what the urchin was eating.

 

[bsagecko]

ok thanks...i got a coraline aglae stimulator from the guy that was running the tank....is this any good or should i just throw it out....?

 

[Avi]

If you started with live rock....which you did...and you're attentive to the calcium, Mg and alkalinity of your water, you'll get the coraline algae that you want. No need for additives, really.

 

[bsagecko]

kk thanks.....do you guys think the lfs would let me trade some of my large pieces (20-30lbs) for a couple of pieces that are like (5-10lbs) pound for pound of course?

 

[rkelman]

Do you have a hammer?

 

[bsagecko]

not a bad idea but i decided to leave the liverock alone i kinda like the way it is now that i see it in the tank?

What coral would like a ton of flow and like 5-6 in off the light?

I want a softy that will grow fast and look nice?

any ideas?

I will post params tomorrrow night