New Tank Cycling With Fish

[Jfranks09]

so i was given a tank, live rock, and fish all in really bad shape. it's a 55g tall with approximately 60-70lbs of live rock. i replaced all the sand and water, 3 weeks in and i'm starting to see nitrites and nitrates from the 4 green chromis and few snails in the tank. my nitrates are around 3 right now and the nitrates are around 80. should i move the fish and snails to a buck with a bubbler, i'd perfer not to kill the fish or torture them? not sure how long the spike has lasted, i'm using api testing strips and they don't seem to be the most accruate.

thanks in advance.

 

[nuttyd]

Think you are better off doing a few good size water changes over a few days. Maybe 10 gallons a day for three days.

 

[GimpyFin]

IMO, before anything else, I'd get a decent test kit so you know whether what you think you're seeing is accurate or not.

 

[Jfranks09]

Yea going tomorrow to get my water tested and buy a new test kit. Will dumping the water affect the cycle?

 

[GimpyFin]

Yea going tomorrow to get my water tested and buy a new test kit. Will dumping the water affect the cycle?

Replacing the water won't have much effect on the biofilter in the tank. Most of your bacteria is in the sand, rock, and other surfaces. If you have 60-70 lbs of live rock and nothing was done to compromise the bacteria in the rock, the tank's biofilter should be ok for a few chromis. Again, an accurate test will help tell for sure what is going on.

 

[Sk8r]

THere's often a cycle in a tank move, usually about 5 days in. I'd move the fish to clean water until the tank settles down. Ammonia is lethal, even in small amounts.

 

[Capt.Nemo]

You say you would prefer not to kill or torture the fish.....but aren't you?

Your tank and you can and will do what you wish, but to me, you sent those fish out to be your sacrificial lambs.

Could have QT'd them while you cycled any other way.
That's all I have to say about that.
Good luck.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[gone fishin]

THere's often a cycle in a tank move, usually about 5 days in. I'd move the fish to clean water until the tank settles down. Ammonia is lethal, even in small amounts.

I agree with Sk8r. There is a sticky at the top of the forum called setting up, look for the big red arrow. It is chocked full of good info. Keep asking questions, Good luck and welcome to the forum.

 

[CStrickland]

The API strips read ammonia too. Are you only giving numbers for nitrite and nitrate because the ammonia is zero? If so I wouldn't worry. Your nitrates might not be that high, as they are difficult to measure accurately while there is nitrite in the water. In any case, nitrite and nitrate are not harmful to fish at those levels.

I really like these seachem badges https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000255R5G?pc_redir=T1 because you can just look at the tank and be reassured that ammonia is zero. It's not a bad idea to have another test just to confirm.

Another good product is this water treatment called Prime https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00025694O?pc_redir=T1 you can use it if you do see an ammonia reading, and it will make it nontoxic until the bacteria have a chance to process it.

If your ammonia is zero you are not torturing the fish.

 

[mhurley]

I realize you're new here jfranks, but posting like that again will surely shorten your tenure here. Not in this playground....