Need help! am I going through a mini cycle?

[shawna1972]

This was a tank transfer, only to put a new sand bed down and move the sump
anyhow. Purchased all new R/O filters,filled the tank,
got to temp and salinity. Added 120lbs of live sand, let it sit overnight until clear.I. then added my rock that was in the bucket, being fed everyday. Thur- added fish because I had no skimmer on the 55 and besides water quality the tangs were fighting bad and stressed. I also am minus a tang as of thursday.
so I'm down to (scopas tang,hippo,and 2clowns) added fish on Thur and last night fish werre hanging out by power heads, checked ammonia with terra kit ( all I had avail) and it was lime green looks like maybe. 1? Lost color card looked online and it should be yellow.
I added enough amquel plus for 180 gallons and they are doing great now.
my question is #1.......do I put my skimmer on now or will it pull the amquel out?
. #2.........why did I cycle? How do I test now?
#3.........I added a sponge filter that had been in my 180 for more than a year to help with added bacteria and im minus a 6" hippo this time. How long will this cycle last? ?
#4........ . Can I add more amquel or did I put enough in for the duration?

Sorry for all the? ?? I've never went through a cycle with fish in the display before :hmm2:

 

[shawna1972]

here is the 2 tests I did ...the one on the left is ammonia the one on the right is nitrite.....Nitrite is at 0.

Pic of the one coral i wanted to keep.... which seems to be un-effected

 

[jfl14609]

Cant help you with the amquel as I was told never to use it in a reef by an old time and ever since then I have never put anything chemical wise accept two part in my tank. being the fish were by the power head makes me wonder if either the salinity was much higher in your system than the other tank they were in or if there was a very low oxygen level in the system. whenever you do any type of a big change there is going ot be a cycle when I first started I got a small cycle about 6 mos into the life of the system and all I did was move the rock. you have to remember you added 120 lbs of sand that alone is a huge shock to a system. just take a step back breath and ride the wave dont rush into anything in reefkeeping nothing good happens fast

 

[shawna1972]

Thanks Jeff,Actually I matched almost everything salinity >(refract).. ph,temp. Alk was off by a point. I drip acclimated them for 20 min because I was worried about the alk?
Maybe I should have put them right in? anyhow I always thought that doing a transfer
you really shouldnt see much of a cycle,And the fact that I was using all new sand I thought was better? I guess I have more learning to do.

Yeah I'm with you,I never ever wanted to add chemicals to the display but after seeing my ammonia levels, I had to act quick. They seem to be doing great swimming normal,breathing normal,eating the algea sheets. But I'm wondering how the heck do I test now because it sais that after using (amquel Plus)it will give false readings for amm.
Wonder if I can still check my nitrite to see where I'm at or will it effect that as well?
I also used the amquel plus because it said it does not disrupt the cycle it only takes the amm and binds it to non toxic form.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

bad girl!

bad girl!



j/k.

I've never used Amquel so I can't make any recommendations.
I do know that an aquarium set up with live rock/sand can POSSIBLY cycle very quickly (24 hours) but it's not advisable to place fish in a system as quickly as you did here, Shawna. Bad girl

 

[shawna1972]

j/k.

I've never used Amquel so I can't make any recommendations.
I do know that an aquarium set up with live rock/sand can POSSIBLY cycle very quickly (24 hours) but it's not advisable to place fish in a system as quickly as you did here, Shawna. Bad girl

hahaha I Know:uhoh2: and you know me with my fish....Id never would have done it had I known id have a cycle well fishys are doing great but im worried still because of the amquel I cant test:thumbdown Gary would i still be able to get acurate reading from Nitrites? to see if the cycle is over?

 

[shawna1972]

Tested Nitrites..... Not sure if amquel plus threw off the results of nitrites as well but Im still showing 0 nitrites I dont have a nitrates test kit Im going to get one on mon.

 

[block head]

i wouldn't be to hard on yourself. amquel can/will throw your testing off. it also can also deplete o2. turn your skimmer on . try and get good flow and crack a window if you have poor air flow. wait at least 24 hrs betwwen dosing . fish are pretty tough with ammonia short term.

 

[shawna1972]

Thanks,I did just turn my skimmer on and tested the amm for the heck of it (it shows 0) does anyone know if tetra test kits are the ones to use with amquel Plus? I know some are ok to use and some will give false positives? Ill crack a window as well It said it will deplete o2 in the first hour so i threw in some extra air stones to help and they seem to still be fine even after taking them out. I know you said to wait 24 hours but does that mean I have to do a water change first then dose again or not? Thanks for the help

 

[NirvanaFan]

Don't worry about Nitrates. And I would definitely get your skimmer going.

 

[shawna1972]

I meant nitrites (sorry) as nitrites I believe are the only indication i have to where im at in the cycle because i dont believe my tetra ammonia test is compatable with amquel plus

 

[Sk8r]

TO be safe, if you can get a test kit, or test strips, test for ammonia. As a rule, be careful about a chemical solution to a problem.
In the case of Amquel or Prime, it physically uses up the ammonia, converting it to something else, so as long as there's no ammonia or chlorine, it's run out of material. A skimmer isn't going to make any difference, because a skimmer only works on complex amino acids. It will, however, remove organics that I'm guessing might be behind the formation of *more* nitrate/ammonia.
You had this problem imho because of your sandbed. In any bag of live sand there's a lot of dead bacteria, that's one. In a move, in which a sandbed is overturned, bacteria are both killed, and the layering of bacterial types is upset and scrambled. Its efficiency becomes zip. Adding fish and waste adds to the load, which the sandbed can't handle; and a dead fish adds still more. It's a cascade of disasters. In polluted water, oxygen goes short. More dead fish. Turning the skimmer off lowers oxygen. It's a major oxygen source.
So yes, run your skimmer, watch your fish carefully for any sign of distress, and test if you can. I'd avoid adding more amquel until you're pretty sure you need it, but once you think you should, (fish distress) use it.
Always expect a minicycle in a tank move: the sandbed cannot be moved without disturbing it. It should set up quickly, as in 3-4 days, but until it reestabilishes its layers, it won't be able to cope. Above all, do not feed these fish for the next 5 days. If you have fed, don't do it again: food adds to the problem. Get some nassarius snails if you can, about 8 big ones. A fighting conch or two. And once you start feeding again, feed just enough to avoid starvation until it's clear the tank is handling it. Starvation is minor and very slow: suffocation is fast.
Relying on a sponge is likely some part of your problem: sponges take ammonia/nitrite to nitrates, and can't convert it on the last step to nitrogen. Only a sandbed can do that. But it does some good. Look up the ammonia/nitrite cycle and 'sandbed marine tank' to fully understand what goes on.
If you have the opportunity to pull all those fish out to quarantine in clear, sandless, rockless, highly oxygenated water that would be best and safest for them.

 

[shawna1972]

Thanks, that's where im a little lost because I thought your rock carried more bacteria than your sand bed? I moved over all the rock from my established tank plus didn't use the old sand bed ( which I was told could lead to more problems) used all new live we're sand/ plus threw sponges that have been in my tank forever and seeded sand bed with a cup of old sand. Honestly I didn't expect to see any cycle I will continue to test but this was my main? ? What type of test kits will give me an accurate reading the amquel info states nessler ones will not work and im using terra ann and nitrite.

My skimmer is on,the fish seem to be ok for now

 

[shawna1972]

Sorry- tetra ammonia and nitrite