need help ASAP PLZ!!! Need to know if i need water change

[Jonathan G.]

I added live rock, cured about 20 lbs, a week and a half ago and had no change in water parameters. i added two percs about a day and a half ago and am now reading about a .1-.15 ammonia reading. I started running some water a few days ago in case something would happen to where i would need a water change. my other parameters read as follows: pH = 8.1, nitrite = 0 ppm, nitrate = 0 ppm. should i do a water change or let it ride and see if the water parameters will adjust to the newcomers? also what is considered too high for these parameters? well i know that pH should be around 8.3

 

[Jonathan G.]

if you were wondering the clowns look to be doing great and aren't shy at all, guess they are loving the 75 gallons all to themselves. well that is except for this tiny brittle that isn't any bigger then a half dollar and a snail that is no bigger then an eraser on a pencil... lol they came on the liverock, now thats what i call hitch hikers.

 

[electrikat]

You will have a minor spike everytime you add new fish, that is why you only add one or two at a time. The heavier your load gets and the better your bio filter gets, the less you will notice the amm spike. You should still be doing the weekly water changes anyway.

 

[Jonathan G.]

so is this ammonia level too high? should i do a water change or just let the tank ride out for a few days since it is newly established?

 

[steve-s]

Do the water change. Ammonia should be undetectable or at the very least short lived if the biofilter is properly established.

If the ammonai does not subside in a day or so, the tank may not have properly cycled in the first place. Did you get the proper ammonia>>nitrite>>nitrate stages after the initial set up?

Cheers
Steve

 

[Jonathan G.]

no but i didn't cycle with shrimp i just added live rock that was already cured. My lfs told me that i don't need to do that cause the bacteria is already on the rock that i put in

 

[steve-s]

My lfs told me that i don't need to do that cause the bacteria is already on the rock that i put in

That is a very subjective opinion I see conveyed by many. Personally I disagree with it for the most part. LR is typically kept seperate and has no nutrient to fuel it after the die off process is complete. If there is no ammonia source, the bacteria that was there quickly dies back. Adding well cured rock to an established tank is one thing, adding it to a newly set up tank is quite another.

I think you'll find that your tank does not have suffiecient levels of bacteria to deal with waste producing animals. I could very well be wrong but time will tell. Be sure you are testing for nitrites, if you end up with those after a few more days, the rock no larger has enough bacteria and the tank is actually just starting it's cycle.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Jonathan G.]

yea i have no nitrites but just a shade of ammonia.... let me know what you guys think it has been 5 hours and very few replies. Is it just like this cause i added two fish and will it go down after time? or should i do like a 5% water change?

 

[lando]

or should i do like a 5% water change?

I would do the water change as well. You need to get your ammonia down. try 15-20%.