New tank that was passed on by a friend

[hackteck]

if its brown its diatom ( brown algae)

 

[Brenden]

First off I hope the NH3 is .5 and not 5? CC does "hold" food but will cause NO3 problems more than anything. I read back through all your posts and the only thing I can come up with is your feeding. What are you feeding, and how often? How large are the WC's you are doing? First thing I would suggest and I am sure you are tired of is a WC. You have to get that NH3 down now. The fact that you tested bottled water and it was "good" shows your test is working. Let me know your feeding schedule and how much etc.

 

[princess4880]

Unfortunately it is 5 I had it at .5 3 days ago even at .25 7 days ago. Talked to lfs in knoxville she said it sounds like it is having to go through cycle again since it was moved. Feeding every 2 days 1/2 cube of brine shrimp & have gave them a pinch of flake that they eat immediately in between. WC has been as lg as 50% and as small as 10%. Can't figure out why NH3 went up since lady at lfs told me to use ammo-lock and siphoned gravel with wc. Also why ph is going down while everything else is going up. Put bacteria starter in with WC Friday and now stuff is growing. Think it is little more green than brown should I do anything to it?

 

[Brenden]

I would put the algae problem on hold until you get the NH3 problem corrected. Bacteria starter, bio-spira etc is junk. Save your money for something useful like lottery tickets. I have no experience with ammo-lock but I assume it is the same as prime. I have never had CC but I would stop vacuuming it until you get this under control. You may just be stirring up "stuff" and causing more harm than good since the tank is already on the skids. If someone thinks diff please advise. Do you have inverts in this tank? LR? If it were me I would be about at the point to ........Put the fish in a hold tank with any LR and inverts. Clean the current tank out throw the CC away put some sand in and start over. One thing that has not been asked. Does the tank have LR? If so how was it transported from friend to you. Point I am getting at is LR dieoff causing the NH3. Worst case if you do clean out the tank and replace the CC. Buy some "Cured" LR (if you do not currently have any). They would be better off than what they are living in now. They will not live long at all at current levels.

 

[princess4880]

So what would I need to do to get another tank going pretty quick for them? Also best place to get LR?

 

[Brenden]

location? PM'ed you back.

 

[princess4880]

yes location to get rock thanks pm'ed also

 

[Brenden]

What is the situation now?

 

[princess4880]

got 7.5 lbs live rock and 20 lbs live sand just waiting on nitrogen cycle to complete.

 

[Brenden]

Where are the fish?

 

[princess4880]

Unfortunately still in it right now trying to get another tank. They seem to be doing okay considering. I have seen no change in there behavior or breathing except seems like they like the sand much better. Well gotta go try and get water tested.
Oh yeah if something does happen and one dies what do I need to do?

 

[Melissamustang]

Get the fish out

 

[princess4880]

Need advice!!!
Levels are now much better
Ammonia .25
Nitrate 50
Nitrite .5
PH 8.2-8.3
ALK High
must have put it back in cycle moving tank and cleaning too much although levels have been really high fish seem to be doing great. Where can I see pictures of ick and stuff like that so I know what to look for on the fish?

When can I get a clean up crew to help clean up brown stuff(from other posts think this must be the diatom that is talked about) on rocks and glass??? Where is good place to get crew from? Also need suggestions of how many of clean up crew and what to get(shrimp, crabs, etc..)

Also is it 1.5 lbs live rock per gallon water?

How long does it take to setup 10 gallon qt tank? Also can I use water from pwc of main tank for qt tank once levels are great?

Also what size powerhead and how many for 30 gallon tank? Also what about lighting? (have a 30w natural glo bulb right now)

 

[angelscrx]

IMO you are doing too much to your tank all at once. There are too many things that can cause a tank to cycle, move, changing substrate, dead fish etc.... Cutting back on the feeding was a good start and doing the water changes is another. Have you tried testing your top off water and your WC water before adding it to the tank? Do you have an RO/DO unit or are you using straight tap water? How long was the tank set up before it was moved? Tanks left uncared for usually have high salinity due to evaporation not low as you mentioned so I am guessing someone was topping off without testing or doing water changes without testing salinity. Are you testing all levels around the same times of the day? The PH in a tank changes with the light cycle. Keeping smaller tanks stable can be a challenge due to any small change in chemistry can have a major impact to the tank. Whereas a large tank any small change is just that due to the large volume of water. Also you mentioned the decor in the tank so I have to ask do you have fake corals or decor in the tank? And finally the algae bloom is a natural part of the cycling process. Continue with the water changes (best weekly or every three days at most) to bring your levels in line and I wouldn't do more than 25% at this point. Just my 2 cents.