Does this tank seem to be cycling normal. Seems Odd to me

[cj10488]

This seems odd to me.. doesn't seem to be going as it should.. The tank was setup 8/06 and 2 blue damsels and LR was added on 8/13.. On 8/14 i did a 10% water change to try and bring Ph up some. One of the Blue damsels seems to be hanging out on the bottom not really doing much since the 10% water change.. Should I change out another 10% or even 20%.. I don't want to hurt the poor little fishy.. The Yellow tail damsel seems to be doing just great.. Its just my blue devil that seems to be struggling.. I Have a 29gal running a Magnum 350 Filter and a corallife 50/50 Flor bulb..


8/13 8/14 8/15 8/16
Nitrate 2.5 2.5 2.5 5.00
Nitrite 0.05 0.10 0.50 1.00
Ammonia 0.00 0.25 0.50 1.00
Salinity 1.020 1.020 1.021 1.021
Temp 78 80 80 80
Ph 7.8 8.0 8.0

 

[cmor1701d]

Get the livestock out of the tank. Put them in a QT tank for now. Your tank is cyclying from the LR and the ammonia will kill the fish.
WAIT UNTIL the Ammonia, and Nitrite are ZERO and the nitrates are coming down (under 40 at least) before adding any livestock back.

Take some time and read the articles here on fishless cycling, cycling in general, etc.

HTH,

Cmor

 

[steve-s]

I would also add to the excellent advice that cmor1701d has provided that unless you have uncured LR, water changes should not be performed during the cycle process. It will only impede the proper bacteria from forming and prolong the time it takes for the tank to cycle.

Cheers
Steve

 

[cj10488]

First off I would like to say thank you for all the quick replies. I am guessing that what my LFS stated to me was incorrect as is usually found.. I was told to setup my tank and get Salinity between 1.017 and 1.025 and temp approx 80f. I was then told that once that was done add LR and 2 of these damsel fish and monitor levels and if they get too high to do approx 10% water change.. After reading in this Forum i find that this seems to be a moral issue.. I was told by the LFS that the fish would be fine and it would not harm the fish.. I was told after approx 6 weeks of having the fish and LR in the tank it would be safe to add another fish. I am kinda stuck in a bind now as I do not have a QT setup nor do i have another tank setup. And is seems as though the perdictament that I am in Is do i do a 10-20% water change in hopes to try and save this poor fish.. Or do I let my lack of knowledge kill one fish and let the tank take its proper course. I can't take either fish back to the LFS as they are closed for the weekends... Please Help..

 

[cmor1701d]

OK, try doing a 20% water change and then check your levels. It should be possible to keep the levels below lethal doses by continuous water changes. You may need to do 20% water changes every day. This will mean that your cycle will also take longer.

OTOH, is there some place like a local Wal-mart where you can get a 10 gal setup or even a 20 gal container to put the fish in for now. You can mix the existing tank water with 80% freshly made water to get some of the bacteria in the temporary tank.
Read about setting up a QT here.
Forget about running the sponge filter in the main tank for now. Just let the QT tank go through the cycle with JUST the damsels. CHECK the levels every day and be prepared to do 10-20% water changes on the QT tank daily.
Let the main tank go through the cycle with JUST the LR and don't do any water changes till the tank has completely cycled.

On Monday you can see if the LFS will take the damsels back. Ask yourself if you really want them in your tank. They will be hard to remove later and can be aggressive to other fish.

Start another thread with your livestock wish list and then listen to the advice you receive here. Not all of it will be good 8O , but I really respect the advice from the advisors here. Most of the regulars will also have great advice and even better suggestions.

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[kidafius]

You have been given good advice. I would just like to point out for future dealings, people at the LFS are still salespersons. So always take what they say with a little grain of salt. I actually have a lot of respect for my LFS, however. Their employees actually would not sell a few things to some people the other day because they didn't feel like their tank would allow it to survive. The people were pissed, but I kinda chuckled to myself in relief that they actually care about the animals.