Need Advise. My tank didn't cycle?

[njphin]

I'm new to this and I just started a 20 gallon salt water fish tank. I wanted to start small. I have filter setup, heater. I have no live rock. I have no live sand in tank I have Caribsea Aragonite sand at the bottom. I let tank run for 2 weeks without fish. I just added 2 pecular clownfish. The so purpose of my salt water hobby is to just own 2 clownfish, I don't want to add anything else. At least that is my intentions right now. The more I read the more I realize my tank never cycled. Big rookie mistake. The good news for now is that my fish are acting very good. There eating and swimming and looking very happy. Again the more I read the more I'm little scared that something bad is about to happen. My test levels that I just took are:
Nirate= 0
Nirite= 0
PH= 8.0
Amonia= .50

Any advice on what to expect? and if its bad how can I get my fish through it?
Thanks

 

[CaptainAhab]

Lots of testing and water changes or (even better) take the fish back and cycle properly.

You need to continually test for ammonia and nitrites until cycled which will probably be 4-6 weeks. Probably daily water changes so mix up that saltwater in bulk.

 

[melosu58]

Well with .50 ammonia reading your tank is starting to cycle now. Your clowns might not make it through the cycle. Make sure you read our cycle article and you`ll understand.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/articles/3/1/Cycle-your-salt-tank/Page1.html

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

...Again the more I read the more I'm little scared that something bad is about to happen. ...

Well... the cycle is going to happen, so it's just a yes/no question you have to answer: do you cycle with, or without the fish. If you cycle without fish, nothing "bad" will happen at all. If you cycle with fish, something "bad" *may* happen. The absolute easiest way to get through it is take the fish back and cycle the tank without them.

 

[C4t4StRoPhIc]

i made that mistake as well. i had two maroon clowns before the tank was cycled, and one died that night, the other a few days later during an ammonia spike. my tank took about 2 1/2 weeks to cycle properly. i would say take the fish back to the lfs. if you have become attached to the fish, then just ask them to hold them till your tank is done, so as to keep the beautiful fish alive.

 

[toolfanatic]

Cycling with fish is the exact opposite of what aquarists are about. Finding ammonia is not hard to do. GOOGLE!

Oh, you can probably expect your fish to die from ammonia poisoning.

 

[roka64]

I prefer to use 1 raw (per 30 gallons), unseasoned jumbo shrimp for the seafood section of my grocery.

 

[toolfanatic]

Eat the shrimp. Cycle with ammonium chloride! $5.00 will buy a lifetime supply.

 

[njphin]

I never wanted to cycle with the fish and now my lfs won't take them back. So I'm kinda stuck. My ammonia was .50 and now it went down to .25. Being that I have no live rock or sand and 2 fish could .50 possibly be the peak now that it's going down? The fish seem well swimming and eating with no problems.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

With no live rock, I doubt that was the peak of your cycle. Cycling, starting with no bacteria, normally takes 4-6 weeks, regardless of how you do it. I suppose the bright side of this is that your tank is only 20g, so doing water changes to keep your ammonia low won't be too tough. I'd try to keep your ammonia no more than 0.5ppm to minimize the stress on the fish.

Are you planning on adding live rock at some point? And what exactly is the filtration you have now?

 

[njphin]

For filtration I have a Tetra Whisper for 20 gallon tank. I didn't plan on adding live rock. I wanted to start basic being that its a 20 gallon tank and I'm happy with just having 2 clown fish.

 

[C4t4StRoPhIc]

live rock, IMO, is really important and desireable. it will give your clowns a home and keep the tank looking good. it helps with the biological filtration, it gives homes to all the little bugs that will grow in there. im no expert, but thats my $0.02

 

[sqrle]

No Live Rock???????

How could you have a healthy reef tank without it. From what I have read and been told, live rock is essential to the health and natural filtration, and creation of a healthy ecosystem within you tank. I am new to reef tanks, but...... Just one word of advice, well, 2. 1-While your tank is cycling for the next couple of weeks, do some major reading. 2-GET SOME LIVE ROCK!!

 

[njphin]

So I got some live rock. I just got 5lbs of cured live fiji rock from my lfs which has been open for over 30 yrs. They said it was cured and could be placed right into the tank. They charged 6.99 a lb. which seemed kinda of steep buts its the only place around me that sells it. There base rock is $1.99 a lb. I was wondering if its a good idea to have 5 lbs of live fiji rock and 15 lbs. of base rock? The lady at the lfs said the base rock would eventually turn into live rock in my tank. Or maybe I should do half and half. Any opinions?

 

[bluerose]

No help on the LR but I will tell you that filters are very over-rated... in that a 20g filter is probably adequate for a 10g tank.

You also want more current in a SW tank I believe, so I would get another filter and try to get some beneficial bacteria in there ASAP (Bio-Spira would do it as would used filter media from a healthy tank).

 

[tmkx3]

Do you know any one who has a salt tank with filter media? Maybe the lfs has some? You can add already established filter media to your filter. it will have bacteria on it and may keep your tank from having a sever spike. Alot of hobbiest use this method when setting up a qt.
re: base rock will eventually become live but it will take about 100years lol

 

[melosu58]

You will be OK on the 5 lbs live and 15 lbs base. All will be live before you know it. When we say live we are talking about the nitrifying bacteria that will be teeming all over your LR. There is a second meaning and that`s the little critters that come in LR. If you are looking for more of those then more LR will be needed.

 

[tmkx3]

Thanks for making that a little clearer Melosu!!!!

 

[thincat]

I agree totally with Melosu58. Just keep tabls on the ammonia and do water changes as needed to keep it down.