Water help ...

L

LJC6780

New member
I currently have a newly set up BC29 with some live rock (with corals), live sand, a bag full of Matrix and 3 large Damsels. I had planned to do a fishless cycle in my new tank but the 75 gal I bought came with the rock, corals and fish. I plan to rehome the 2 largest fish but might keep the smaller one for a while. Anyway, since the tank came with all of that I sort of had to jump right in. Thankfully the rock came from the guy's 600 gallon tank and was cycled. I also used a bottle of biospira and added some new Matrix in the sump area. Water testing of just a while ago is:

Temp 76.5
pH 8
Ammonia


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Oops, I didn't realize you couldn't edit posts here.

Temp 76.5
pH 8
Ammonia <0.25 (was 0.25+ yesterday)
Nitrite 0.5-0.75 (was 0.25 yesterday)
Nitrate around 30
Kh 7-8
SG 1.022

The biospira didn't give any water changing instructions so I'm wondering if I need to do a water change to lower nitrates or if I need to just let it be for a certain amount of time and just keep using Prime daily to protect fish and corals.

Can someone help me out?


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Don't do any water changes until your ammonia and nitrites hit zero. Let nature take it's course.

Patients always supersedes a quick fix in a reef aquarium.

You may lose some coral but the damsels will be fine.

Water changes will only per long the natural cycle to a good and stable bio filter colony.

I'd run purigen though.

Matrix and Purigen is great stuff not a fan of Phosgard.
 
GoVols said:
Don't do any water changes until your ammonia and nitrites hit zero. Let nature take it's course.

Patients always supersedes a quick fix in a reef aquarium.

You may lose some coral but the damsels will be fine.

Water changes will only per long the natural cycle to a good and stable bio filter colony.

I'd run purigen though.

Matrix and Purigen is great stuff not a fan of Phosgard.
Click to expand...



I'd rather not lose anything if possible! I did go ahead and do about a 10% water change and added some other bacteria I had forgotten I had. I'll test tomorrow and see where it stands.

I also have some purigen I can add. Will that help with nitrates?


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:fish1: Raise the SG to 1.026, and do it before you add any fish or corals. 1.022 is to low, you should try to keep the Specific Gravity as close as possible to NSW. :fish1:
 
Green Chromis said:
:fish1: Raise the SG to 1.026, and do it before you add any fish or corals. 1.022 is to low, you should try to keep the Specific Gravity as close as possible to NSW. :fish1:
Click to expand...



I am raising it slowly with small water changes. Fish and corals are already in as they came with the tank purchase.


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Eek! Just tested the water and it seems as if I am cycled in the BC29 already!!
pH 8.1
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 30ish
SG 1.024

I did about a 10% water change and moved the corals around, shaking the stirred up sand off and adding a rock that had been cycling in a bucket. It may kick up the numbers a bit but it was a clean rock so no debris really to spike ammonia, hopefully!

Water change raised SG up to about 1.025. Everything currently looks great! Sort of surprised it cycled so quickly!


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It can happen with enough good LR. And congratulations.

However, the ammonia and nitrite cycle is just the start. You will now have some diatom, other algae and/or bacteria blooms. I had a 6 year old 180g DT full of LR and lots of sps corals. That tank broke. I set up a new 125g DT with my LR and added coral, some CUC and a couple of small fish right away. I never saw any ammonia or nitrite at all. But after a week or two I did have a diatom bloom that lasted about 3 weeks. And now, 3 1/2 months after the set up, I do have some minor issues with some nuisance algae.

It takes a good 6 months to 12 months for a new tank to really reach maturity. As GoVols paraphrased: Nothing good ever happens quickly in a reef tank!
 
Ron Reefman said:
It can happen with enough good LR. And congratulations.

However, the ammonia and nitrite cycle is just the start. You will now have some diatom, other algae and/or bacteria blooms. I had a 6 year old 180g DT full of LR and lots of sps corals. That tank broke. I set up a new 125g DT with my LR and added coral, some CUC and a couple of small fish right away. I never saw any ammonia or nitrite at all. But after a week or two I did have a diatom bloom that lasted about 3 weeks. And now, 3 1/2 months after the set up, I do have some minor issues with some nuisance algae.

It takes a good 6 months to 12 months for a new tank to really reach maturity. As GoVols paraphrased: Nothing good ever happens quickly in a reef tank!
Click to expand...



Oh I agree! I'm still keeping an eye on everything. I was wondering if I should get a shrimp or snail to help with the green sand and walls that have shown up over the last few days? I assume that is diatoms or some sort of algae (I honestly don't know what diatoms are! Need to go google!) I wiped the walls before doing the water change yesterday. Should I limit light exposure? Just keep doing water changes? Get an animal to eat the algae?

Also, all corals seem to be doing well except for the one in the shell. I'm not sure what it is or what its requirements are.
e6d80b16685f4d5b6d45ff5f0028ec41.jpg


This was the other day and it just seems sort of shriveled. I moved it up onto the rock I added to see if it wanted more light. I also haven't been feeding them. Do I need to be adding something to the water for them. I've been feeding the fish 1-2 times a day and rotating between 3 different dry foods.


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How long has it been where it is right now? Moving it around every day will **** it off more than giving it some time to adjust IMO.
 
Patrick.S said:
How long has it been where it is right now? Moving it around every day will **** it off more than giving it some time to adjust IMO.
Click to expand...



I haven't been moving it around. I just added the large rock and set it up on top with a couple others that kept getting sand stirred up on them from the fish. Plus, it looked like the pic when I got it and after being on the sand floor for about a week it almost looks shriveled up now. Like not plump like the pic. Since moving it up to the rock it seems to have plumped up a bit but I just want it to be in a happy place.

I'll try to post a new pic tomorrow.


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So I texted the guy I got them from and asked what everything was again. He said, bicolor hammer, trumpet and green zoa. The one in the shell is a very unhappy zoa! And of course after I talk to him today I look closer and I see tiny green dots in the middle of tiny almost opening "mouths" or whatever ... this has been closed since I got it!
c476595e7b8c3dd73e24d19513c36865.jpg

2bd0846d60d535115c0490b2600ec931.jpg



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