New to Marine

[TJustice86]

Hello All,

My neighbor had to move and could not take his tank with him. We had to move it rather quickly with out much preparation. It has a live rock wall, existing gravel, refugium, and wet/dry filter/sump. I have had freshwater aquariums before, though even that's been over ten years ago.

We drained pretty much all of the water out of the aquarium and added new. The only water conditioner I could get my hands on was Walmart Tetra Aquasafe. The water has been in the tank for ~48 hours and the fish ~24. It is a 90 gallon tank with 3 fish in it, surprisingly the fish are still alive.

My current readings are :
Salinity: 1.025
PH: 7.8
Ammonia: 4 ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 80ppm


Is there anything I should do right away to get my numbers down, or should I just continue to monitor for a few days in hopes that it will cycle/level out. Thank in advance for any help and I can't wait to get into this hobby further.

 

[Noah_Reefing]

what are you testing with, did you pre mix the water? did you use RODI water? id say if you put freshwater in the tank then added salt, you are totally screwed & only way to fix it is trash all the rock cause everything on it will be dead. also, did the sand get stirred? that will create nitrogen sulphide

 

[TJustice86]

what are you testing with, did you pre mix the water? did you use RODI water? id say if you put freshwater in the tank then added salt, you are totally screwed & only way to fix it is trash all the rock cause everything on it will be dead. also, did the sand get stirred? that will create nitrogen sulphide

Testing with an API Saltwater test kit.

Did not premix water, added water then salt, as that is what he said to do... Oops, I suppose I'll wait it out and see what happens.

Sand might have gotten stirred slightly while adding water, but tried not to as best as we could.

Thanks for your response, and If I have to start new, that's okay too!

 

[JohnL]

I would get some poly filter pads right away. Place them where the water is forced to flow through the pads. They will absorb the toxic ammonia.

 

[TJustice86]

I would get some poly filter pads right away. Place them where the water is forced to flow through the pads. They will absorb the toxic ammonia.

Will have some tomorrow, thanks!

 

[Noah_Reefing]

what are you testing with, did you pre mix the water? did you use RODI water? id say if you put freshwater in the tank then added salt, you are totally screwed & only way to fix it is trash all the rock cause everything on it will be dead. also, did the sand get stirred? that will create nitrogen sulphide

 

[JohnL]

Will have some tomorrow, thanks!

Good luck ?

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Testing with an API Saltwater test kit.

Did not premix water, added water then salt, as that is what he said to do... Oops, I suppose I'll wait it out and see what happens.

Sand might have gotten stirred slightly while adding water, but tried not to as best as we could.

Thanks for your response, and If I have to start new, that's okay too!

For future reference, you want to mix the salt with with the RODI water with a powerhead for at least 24 hours prior to a water change. At the very least mix for at least an hour.

 

[TJustice86]

Thanks for the responses/insights guys/gals.

Right now ammonia is still really high. Even if I do lose the fish is there anything else I should be doing or will it still cycle on it's own?

Thanks!

 

[JohnL]

Thanks for the responses/insights guys/gals.

Right now ammonia is still really high. Even if I do lose the fish is there anything else I should be doing or will it still cycle on it's own?

Thanks!

Did you add the poly filter? What fish are alive? Can you setup a small tank to house them until you get the ammonia down?

 

[Noah_Reefing]

+1 the ammonia is going to be at like a gazillion ppm cause you killed everything on the rock (unless you added the rock after the salt water) see if you can board your fish at a LFS until the water is stable

 

[TJustice86]

Did you add the poly filter? What fish are alive? Can you setup a small tank to house them until you get the ammonia down?

Yes I added the poly filter, there is a clown fish, blue tang, and a black and white damsel. I do not have a small tank, but could probably go pick one up.

 

[TJustice86]

+1 the ammonia is going to be at like a gazillion ppm cause you killed everything on the rock (unless you added the rock after the salt water) see if you can board your fish at a LFS until the water is stable

Unfortunately I live in podunk Iowa and there are zero LFS within a 100 mile radius.

 

[JohnL]

see if you can board your fish at a LFS until the water is stable

This is a great idea ?

 

[JohnL]

Yes I added the poly filter, there is a clown fish, blue tang, and a black and white damsel. I do not have a small tank, but could probably go pick one up.

What is your ammonia currently?

 

[JohnL]

Do the fish appear distressed?

 

[TJustice86]

Do the fish appear distressed?

They don't appear distressed to me.... Probably hungry as they haven't been fed since the move.

Ammonia is currently 8 PPM

 

[JohnL]

Ammonia is currently 8 PPM

Wow

 

[Noah_Reefing]

where would you pick up another tank if theres no lfs in a 100 mile radius

 

[JohnL]

It might be worth setting up a small tank to save those fish.