MOR C 42
Aquarium Advice Newbie
I set up a 46g saltwater tank 3 weeks ago. There is currently about 40 to 50 pounds of live rock in the tank. I also have a Cascade 700 canister filter.
After a few days I introduced a couple damsels and a few mollies and attempted to allow the tank to cycle. A couple of days ago (2 1/2 weeks after the first ounce of saltwater was added) the ammonia and nitrite levels read zero. Out of inexperience, I decided to introduce a tang to the tank. Not surprisingly, (after reading many of these posts and other sites) all fish, besides the mollies, died. The ammonia level read only about .25 to .5 at that time, however, I've now been told that the simple introduction of a tang this early will release enough ammonia to wipe everything out. It has been about 4 days since this happened and the only fish in the tank that are surviving are 3 mollies who constantly gasp at the surface of the water. The ammonia level, however, has been increasing. I've also read that after a week, there should be no ammonia whatsoever in the tank. It has been three weeks. I decided to do a 20% water change yesterday. Today, the ammonia level is around 2 - 3 ppm (a mid to dark green on my test kit and a bit higher than it was before the water change). Would it be wise to send these mollies over to my nephews guppy tank and try to let my tank cycle out the already existing ammonia? Also, I've tried ammo-lock once but am apprehensive to continue using it. What do you think?
After a few days I introduced a couple damsels and a few mollies and attempted to allow the tank to cycle. A couple of days ago (2 1/2 weeks after the first ounce of saltwater was added) the ammonia and nitrite levels read zero. Out of inexperience, I decided to introduce a tang to the tank. Not surprisingly, (after reading many of these posts and other sites) all fish, besides the mollies, died. The ammonia level read only about .25 to .5 at that time, however, I've now been told that the simple introduction of a tang this early will release enough ammonia to wipe everything out. It has been about 4 days since this happened and the only fish in the tank that are surviving are 3 mollies who constantly gasp at the surface of the water. The ammonia level, however, has been increasing. I've also read that after a week, there should be no ammonia whatsoever in the tank. It has been three weeks. I decided to do a 20% water change yesterday. Today, the ammonia level is around 2 - 3 ppm (a mid to dark green on my test kit and a bit higher than it was before the water change). Would it be wise to send these mollies over to my nephews guppy tank and try to let my tank cycle out the already existing ammonia? Also, I've tried ammo-lock once but am apprehensive to continue using it. What do you think?