I have a 55 gal. for about 2 months.It finish cycling about a month ago,everything seems to be fine since a friend have an emergency on his house and I keep all the livestock he has all at a time.I ad to my tank about 7 fish(small)3 Ricordeas(small)10 fether dusters(big)3 stars and 5 zoanthids.I put all this in my tank yesterday and today I test and .50 amonia(was 0).25 nitrite(was 0)and 10 nitrate(same)I made a 15 gal water change.Is this enough or is something else needed.Please help,Thanks Ray.
Too many livestock,please help
- Thread starter raypadro
- Start date
Swanwillow
goby girl
I don't think I would leave it at this time...
what are the species of these 7 fish?
how small are they?
I agree with lots of small water changes to keep the ammonia down. Otherwise, yes... leave it.
what are the species of these 7 fish?
how small are they?
I agree with lots of small water changes to keep the ammonia down. Otherwise, yes... leave it.
What type & size are the fish?
PatMayo
New member
Anytime you get ammonia in a tank you have trouble.
Changing water has nothing to do with the tanks ability to reduce ammonia and nitrite. The organisms that grow on/in the liverock, substrate and glass etc. is what does this. By changing water you are reducing the poison that will kill fish. There are also products that will make it so that ammonia is not poison. I am unsure how they work but it may be a stopgap, but they also may inhibit the growth of nitrifing bacteria, so that may not work or be beneficial.
I would feed very lightly if at all for at least a couple of days and then retest. I would do partial water changes every day.
Thats my take on things.
Regards,
Pat
Changing water has nothing to do with the tanks ability to reduce ammonia and nitrite. The organisms that grow on/in the liverock, substrate and glass etc. is what does this. By changing water you are reducing the poison that will kill fish. There are also products that will make it so that ammonia is not poison. I am unsure how they work but it may be a stopgap, but they also may inhibit the growth of nitrifing bacteria, so that may not work or be beneficial.
I would feed very lightly if at all for at least a couple of days and then retest. I would do partial water changes every day.
Thats my take on things.
Regards,
Pat
Swanwillow
goby girl
and I second what Pat says.
nitrITES are also just as bad, if not worse than ammonia, and is something that seems to get lost in the mix.
daily water changes... but I'd do 25%. daily.
the tank will still have ammonia in it, the bacteria will still multiply, and the fish will hopefully make it.
its what I had to do for my seahorses in my quarentine tank. I had nitrites at .1-.5 if I had not done any water changes, I'd have no seahorses, and nitrites will still have gone up to 3+
and I agree with the no feeding thing. The fish will not starve in a weeks time. if you do feed, only feed once every 3 days or so, until the ammonia is under control.
nitrITES are also just as bad, if not worse than ammonia, and is something that seems to get lost in the mix.
daily water changes... but I'd do 25%. daily.
the tank will still have ammonia in it, the bacteria will still multiply, and the fish will hopefully make it.
its what I had to do for my seahorses in my quarentine tank. I had nitrites at .1-.5 if I had not done any water changes, I'd have no seahorses, and nitrites will still have gone up to 3+
and I agree with the no feeding thing. The fish will not starve in a weeks time. if you do feed, only feed once every 3 days or so, until the ammonia is under control.
kbmdale
In Memoriam
Re: Too many livestock,please help
lol..did you guys actually read this. He had nothing in the tank, then added all this which shouldn't be to much for a 55. YOU ARE GOING TO SEE A SMALL CYCLE...The biggest problem in this hobby is over reacting to problems that will work themselves out. I bet if he leaves it for the next 2-3 days and retest it will be back to normal.
lol..did you guys actually read this. He had nothing in the tank, then added all this which shouldn't be to much for a 55. YOU ARE GOING TO SEE A SMALL CYCLE...The biggest problem in this hobby is over reacting to problems that will work themselves out. I bet if he leaves it for the next 2-3 days and retest it will be back to normal.
Swanwillow
goby girl
I agree, it will be normal in a few days-a week or so...
but 7 fish in a 55 is a huge bioload, unless they are all clown gobies or something.
but in one day his ammonia went from 0 to .5 which means its going to go pretty high...
but, he hasn't replied back, so lets see what he says.
but 7 fish in a 55 is a huge bioload, unless they are all clown gobies or something.
but in one day his ammonia went from 0 to .5 which means its going to go pretty high...
but, he hasn't replied back, so lets see what he says.
PatMayo
New member
I hate the flu, I had it during Thanksgiving 2 years ago. Everyone still came over. That's all I remember.
Water changes are the way. Light feeding and wait and see.
I think we are all in agreement.
My only issue was this "Your tank has to adjust, by doing water changes you are not allowing the tank to process the change, you are preventing it."
Doing water changes will in no way affect the biological system and it's ability to process ammonia and nitrite. The bacteria grows on the liverock, substrate and glass including any sump or refugium that one may have in the system.
I hope you are feeling better soon.
Regards,
Pat
Water changes are the way. Light feeding and wait and see.
I think we are all in agreement.
My only issue was this "Your tank has to adjust, by doing water changes you are not allowing the tank to process the change, you are preventing it."
Doing water changes will in no way affect the biological system and it's ability to process ammonia and nitrite. The bacteria grows on the liverock, substrate and glass including any sump or refugium that one may have in the system.
I hope you are feeling better soon.
Regards,
Pat
Swanwillow
goby girl
aye, we're all agreeing...
I am not worried about ANYONE being crabby-I'm preggy, so if ya want to be crabby, ya should look at some of the other posts I've made today (and I'm sick of stupid people
)
I am not worried about ANYONE being crabby-I'm preggy, so if ya want to be crabby, ya should look at some of the other posts I've made today (and I'm sick of stupid people
)
kbmdale
In Memoriam
hopefully the flu will be gone in another day. It hit hard so mayne it will go fast. I was under the impression the biological filtration our tanks have will only build up to the level needed to process the amount produced. If this is the case and you are manually removing ammonia then you aren't allowing a full build up of whats needed. Now granted you don't want to endanger the inhabitants so if it gets high then I'd take it in my hands and do a change, but if it stays acceptable then let the tank build up the needed bacteria. I could be wrong. And if I am please feel free to correct it so I wont continue to be wrong. But yeah we're all in agreance...
THE FLU SUCKS...lol...Congrats on the bun in the oven SWAN.
THE FLU SUCKS...lol...Congrats on the bun in the oven SWAN.
Yes that is true, water changes will not effect the biological system and is ability to process ammonia. But if ammonia gets to high it can stress out tank inhabitants and they may die, so water changes are a must if ammonia gets to high.
Yes in normal circumstances it is best to leave the tank and let it level out on its own. Because you have such a high bioload keep a close eye on Ammonia, and remember to check your Nitrites as well, this will let you know when the Ammonia cycle is on the way down.
Yes in normal circumstances it is best to leave the tank and let it level out on its own. Because you have such a high bioload keep a close eye on Ammonia, and remember to check your Nitrites as well, this will let you know when the Ammonia cycle is on the way down.
Swanwillow
goby girl
well, you can cycle a tank and keep the ammonia levels down.
if yu have little die off, and the tank cycles-ok, thats fine. NOW, in theory, lets say ya put nothing in the tank-but its done cycling.
some of the bacteria will die because there is no ammonia, so YES that is right!!! if you 'feed' that same tank (heck, pee in it=protiens and ammoniea going into it) that same tank will have a higher bacteria colony.
since he added so many fish at one time, there will be a constant source of ammonia that the bacteria need ANYWAY, with or without water changes. yes, water changes will bring this down, but bacteria can only reproduce SO fast. Thats why it takes so long for tanks to cycle. The bacteria eat, then split, then eat, then split. Its limited in both how fast it goes because of the reproductive cycle of the bacteria, and how much ammonia is in the system over time.
If the fish were suddenly removed in, say, two days, there will still be ammonia for a week. The bacteria will peak at that time, then.. when the ammonia falls off, the bacteria will begin to die off. Thats when the nitrite becomes higher than the ammonia... hence the cycle
sorry, I was a biology major, and understand that part of relationships between food-predator...
if yu have little die off, and the tank cycles-ok, thats fine. NOW, in theory, lets say ya put nothing in the tank-but its done cycling.
some of the bacteria will die because there is no ammonia, so YES that is right!!! if you 'feed' that same tank (heck, pee in it=protiens and ammoniea going into it) that same tank will have a higher bacteria colony.
since he added so many fish at one time, there will be a constant source of ammonia that the bacteria need ANYWAY, with or without water changes. yes, water changes will bring this down, but bacteria can only reproduce SO fast. Thats why it takes so long for tanks to cycle. The bacteria eat, then split, then eat, then split. Its limited in both how fast it goes because of the reproductive cycle of the bacteria, and how much ammonia is in the system over time.
If the fish were suddenly removed in, say, two days, there will still be ammonia for a week. The bacteria will peak at that time, then.. when the ammonia falls off, the bacteria will begin to die off. Thats when the nitrite becomes higher than the ammonia... hence the cycle
sorry, I was a biology major, and understand that part of relationships between food-predator...
Swanwillow
goby girl
mr? not one of those...
I ain't no major.. and I said WAS (I failed, and am not afraid of admitting it-too much fun at college, I'm afraid)
so there
HA
oh, and I wasn't talking to you, I was trying to talk about the cycle in general, and why its ok to do water changes... actually, in response to this statement
"Now granted you don't want to endanger the inhabitants so if it gets high then I'd take it in my hands and do a change, but if it stays acceptable then let the tank build up the needed bacteria. I could be wrong. And if I am please feel free to correct it so I wont continue to be wrong. But yeah we're all in agreance..."
its just talking, and discussion now... since we ARE all agreeing!!!
I ain't no major.. and I said WAS (I failed, and am not afraid of admitting it-too much fun at college, I'm afraid)
so there
HA
oh, and I wasn't talking to you, I was trying to talk about the cycle in general, and why its ok to do water changes... actually, in response to this statement
"Now granted you don't want to endanger the inhabitants so if it gets high then I'd take it in my hands and do a change, but if it stays acceptable then let the tank build up the needed bacteria. I could be wrong. And if I am please feel free to correct it so I wont continue to be wrong. But yeah we're all in agreance..."
its just talking, and discussion now... since we ARE all agreeing!!!
