New setup- help

[Brandon91]

I'm starting a new 75 gallon tank and have a couple questions. I added water first(newbish move, I know) then sand and rock. The sand clouded the tank for about two days then cleared up. It's really fine carribsea live sand 80 pounds of it. Now after two days of it settling it has a thin layer of film that chunks up when bothered. It can really cloud it up. Is this normal? Will it hurt fish? Should I try to remove it? All my levels are fine and I feel like I'm ready for fish but this film bothers me. Maybe there are critters that clean it up? Any help would be great. Thanks in advance. Really looking forward to getting something in there!

 

[Kio707]

Have you cycled the tank?

 

[carey]

Good link for cycling a sw tank

Cycle your salt tank

 

[Brandon91]

I'm am currently cycling, although I didn't go with the method in the article. I'm using three yellow tailed damsels to start. Just added them an hour ago. I'll keep an eye on ammonia and nitrate. I've done some fair reading on having a tank so I know some things. I just added about four gallons of water and disturbed that layer of silt on the sand. Now my water is cloudy again. It's a little scary. Will it hurt the fish? Really feel like I should've just left it alone it would've been fine if the water was a little low.

 

[melosu58]

Read that link on cycling and you`ll see how the fish react to that type cycling. Once you are done cycling the sand should stay put on normal flow.

 

[carey]

The filter will take care of the cloudiness and it shouldn't harm the fish.Was that 4 gallons from a water change or top off from evaporation? Seems like an awful lot of water. What I try to do when pouring in alot of water is to pour it over the rocks to kinda buffer the sandstorm you got.

Any reason why you went with fish to cycle? It's usually a lot less work and faster to go without fish.

You may also wanna rethink those damsels, if you manage to keep them alive through a cycle they are mean little fish, they tend to take over a whole tank. lol

 

[Brandon91]

The four gallons was because I didn't completely fill the tank in case rock and sand raised water level. I chose fish because of a reference by a family member. He has a really nice 165 gallon tank with lots of coral and fish. Seemed like the best route at the time. Well I will definitely keep you updated. I got my fingers crossed the fish pull through. I heard damsels were mean but they are cheap and hardy. Hopefully they won't be to aggressive.

 

[carey]

Well good luck! make sure you do your water tests daily and do your water changes when the ammonia gets to .25 or above, same with the nitrites. Nitrates will be fine if they go up though so don't worry about that.

 

[Brandon91]

Will do. Thank you

 

[Brandon91]

Threes days into cycling and fish are doing great. I'll be adding more rock sometime this week. I'm sure the fish would like that because it's pretty bare at the moment. My water is still not as clear as I want it but it looks a lot better. Any tips to clearing it up? It still has a whitish tint to it. I heard that it will eventually become clear as long as I keep up the water changes.

 

[Kio707]

Threes days into cycling and fish are doing great. I'll be adding more rock sometime this week. I'm sure the fish would like that because it's pretty bare at the moment. My water is still not as clear as I want it but it looks a lot better. Any tips to clearing it up? It still has a whitish tint to it. I heard that it will eventually become clear as long as I keep up the water changes.

This is true... Plus ur filter system will help.

 

[Unicorn]

Maybe add activated carbon to ur filter. Helped me alot!

Hope ur fishies pull through. I think it's animal abuse but oh well...

 

[Brandon91]

I might try the carbon. I'm sure the fish will be fine...

 

[Brandon91]

Hello again. My fish are doing great and my water is finally crystal clear. My only problem now is what is what I'm pretty sure is a diatom bloom. I've done some research on it and I'm thinking of grabbing a couple snails or peppermint shrimp. Any advice? Should I wait a little longer? My ph is 8, NO2 is .50ppm, NO3 is 30ppm and ammonia is .25.

 

[carey]

To be totally honest, I would address the parameter readings first. A water change is a must. there should never be any ammonia or nitrites. ever.

If you add shrimp they might not like it too much, they are very sensitive.

The brown algae or diatoms will burn themselves out shortly also, so don't be concerned about it unless it really doesn't appeal to you.