May have a problem

[OhTheHumanity]

I added 80lbs of LR, 20lbs of LS and about 35gal of water from my cycled old tank to my new tank last night. After 24 hours my readings are:

PH 7.8

Ammonia 1

Nitrtate 20

Nitrite .25

Is this going to hurt the anemones on my rock and the other critters? Can I do anything to get these numbers down? Or do I just wait it out and see what happens?

Shouldn't the rock and sand clean up the water quality?

 

[cj10488]

I would just do a 50% water change and that should in theory drop your levels down in half... I would continue to monitor the levels.. Its possible that they could still be falling and be completely gone by tomorrow morning.. If it were me I would have some water ready to change and check the levels tomorrow morning. and if they havent fallen or have gone up I would then change the water..


HTH<
JAmes

 

[OhTheHumanity]

So it's possible to have a qiuck spike after adding the new rock? Will the critter be ok for a couple days? What do I do about the PH?

 

[reefrunner69]

So it's possible to have a qiuck spike after adding the new rock?

The rock is new? I got the impression it was from your cycled old tank, from the way the first post was written. Yeah, there is die off from the shipping process.

 

[cj10488]

So it's possible to have a qiuck spike after adding the new rock?

yes that is very possible and if the rock was bought cured then pretty normal.. If it was bought precured or uncured then the levels will go much higher..

Will the critter be ok for a couple days

that all depends I have seen some survive a full cycle and i have seen others die real quick.. but IMO if they survived the transit they should be fine..

What do I do about the PH?

Was this in the morning or evening.. Generally low ph is due to you tank cycling which it looks like yours is or because there is not enough gas exchange at your water surface... I would just watch it.. Measure it in the morning and then at night and record how much difference there is between the 2 measurments.. It shouldnt really very no more than .2 in any 24hr period..
Until you get your levels down and actual fish and livestock in there your pH could truely be all over the place..

HTH,
James

 

[OhTheHumanity]

It was new rock from Liverocks.com it was only in transit for about 20 hours before I got into the tank. The Ph reading I got was from a test I did about 7:45 pst. I'll check Ph in the am and then run a full test again tomorrow night and let you know where my levels are then. Then we can go from there since that will be 48 hours since the LR and LS have been in.

 

[cj10488]

It was new rock from Liverocks.com it was only in transit for about 20 hours before I got into the tank

That would Explain it.. I had very very little die off from my LR from them but I would still expect your tank to go thru a min of atleast 1 week cycle if not a bit longer.. It all depends on how it was in transit.. It may have only been in transit for 20hrs but how many of those hours were below freezing? Even though they pack with heat packs ect there is going to be some die off.. I would recommend that you watch your levels.. The stuff that come on the LR should be just fine... I would do a water change if the levels get too far out of hand... As if your levels are still the same or higher tomorrow i would continue with a 50% water change.. and wait a few days and check again..

HTH,
James

 

[OhTheHumanity]

Thanks cj. that helps a lot. I'll monitor and update.

 

[OhTheHumanity]

I checked my levels again today and there was some good change.

PH 7.8

Ammonia dropped from 1 to .25

Nitrite went up from .25 to .5

Nitrate still at 20

Do the nitrites go up as the ammonia goes down? Do I have that right?

Should I wait another day or 2 and check again?

Should I still not worry too much about the PH?

 

[cj10488]

Do the nitrites go up as the ammonia goes down? Do I have that right?

Nitrites go up as ammonia goes down.. When nitrites go down Nitrates go up... I wouldnt worry too much seesm liek your cycle is going rather smooth and quick..

Should I wait another day or 2 and check again?

I would check again tomorrow..

HTH<
James