Cycling problems/questions

[indy]

duh, I'm tired and didn't notice this post was 3 pages long and I was answering things on the 1st page. time for bed I think

 

[seacat]

I dont have time right now to go get the snails cause it is bout 60 miles away. But i will do the water change sometime today.

 

[mattmku]

Hey jr5018 thanks for understanding that i had no other option. I just got back from the trip and i'm proud to say my fish appear to be doing really well. I had a friend take car of the fish while i was gone. He tested ammonia Nitrite and nitrate while i was gone. I'll come back to that in a minute... On my way out of town i stopped in Kansas City at a few aquarium stores. I was told at both of them that if you use to proper amount of live rock, cycling occurs almost overnight. And then they also said with my set up (3 lbs rock and 2 fish) it should take a few days at max. From the measurements my friend and I have taken this appears to be correct. I measured the day after placing the fish in the tank any ammonia was at about .2 ppm. Nitrites and Nitrates were at 0. A day later Ammonia and nitrites were at 0 and Nitrates were at 20 ppm. While my friend took car of it the nitrates increased over a week to 30 ppm and then he made a 20% water change. Today i tested when got home. Ammonia, Nitrites - 0 Nitrated 20 ppm.

Any input?

Oh yeah - I'm using wet dry filter with biowheel.
I have quite a bit of brown alge forming and i noticed just a little bit of red alge, is this ok?
Also Alkalinity is a little low at about 80 KH, but pH is fine, how do i get that up?

 

[steve-s]

I have quite a bit of brown alge forming and i noticed just a little bit of red alge, is this ok?

Pretty much normal in a newer tank especially after the cycle.

Also Alkalinity is a little low at about 80 KH, but pH is fine, how do i get that up?

A few water changes with welll aged SW will correct the chem depending on the saltmix you use. It will also help bring down the nitrate a bit more and allow the addition of some snails to help with the algae.

Cheers
Steve

 

[mattmku]

We made a 50% water change 3 days ago and added a snail yesterday. He hasn't done much besides sit on a rock though.

 

[steve-s]

We made a 50% water change 3 days ago

I would still suggest a few more 25% water changes then as well as testing the new SW to be sure the alk level there is fine. Might not be a bad idea to take a sample of your tank water to the LFS to be sure your test kit is reading correctly.

and added a snail yesterday. He hasn't done much besides sit on a rock though.

The 20 ppm nitrates aren't the best conditions for a snail but depending on how slowly it was acclimated, it may adjust. Was the snail drip acclimated?

Cheers
Steve

 

[mattmku]

i set the back with the snail in it in the tank for about 30 minutes. Then i added a few ounces of water every few minutes about 5 times. Then i netted him and put him in the tank. Nitrates are testing 10-15 now.

Alkalinity is a little low but I plan on making a water change tomorrow.

 

[steve-s]

i set the back with the snail in it in the tank for about 30 minutes. Then i added a few ounces of water every few minutes about 5 times. Then i netted him and put him in the tank.

Acclimating inverts too quickly as you've done will often lead to their downfall. Sometimes they will adapt but not as a rule. You will just need to wait and see.

Cheers
Steve

 

[mattmku]

for next time, could you tell me what the appropriate way to acclimate them would be? Is it ok to acclimate a fish the way I did?

 

[mattmku]

also one more question. How can you tell if a snail is dead. (just in case)

 

[ClamKnuckle]

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=18

That's a good article on acclimation from the articles section

http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/general.cfm?general_pagesid=19

There is another one from liveaquaria.com

the only way i can usually tell if a snail is dead is when theres a crowd of hermit crabs eating it, so i cant be of much help there....if you pick him up you should be able to tell if he is actually on the rock or a dead shell just sitting there

how many snails did you get, just the one, and what type (forgive me if you already mentioned it but i dont remember and am too lazy to read the 3 pages again)

 

[steve-s]

for next time, could you tell me what the appropriate way to acclimate them would be? Is it ok to acclimate a fish the way I did?

Inverts should be >>drip acclimated<< for several hours. The more sensitive the longer the acclimation time. For fish what you did was fine but be sure the bag is floated for 15-20 min before opening the bag which will allow the pH to come up and stabalize a bit.

also one more question. How can you tell if a snail is dead. (just in case)

Depending on the snail it will be quite appearant. If you cannot tell visually, pick up the snail and smell. You won't mistake the smell of a dead snail.

Cheers
Steve

 

[mattmku]

i have only 1 turbo snail since my tank is only 20 gallons but he seems to be doing better now. I'm having more problems figuring out what kinds of hitch hikers i recieved from my new live rock today.

 

[blorkiemom]

I know zilch about SW snails but I know that FW snails have a habit of looking "dead" for up to a week at a time . . . I had a snail that just floated for a week, his little foot not quite pulled in. I kept waiting for something to happen, either for him to start decomposing or moving or something, and then just when I was sure he was dead the next morning he's crawling around like nothing happened. Beats me. Mostly, I know they're dead because one morning there's an empty shell. (I don't know what happens to the tissue, and I'm not going to ask. But my GF don't each much the next day . . . )