Time for my first fish...

[MarkW19]

I'm adding two false percula clowns, they'll be the first fish in my 35 gallon tank

I was speaking to a guy today, and he said that it'll be ok to add these 2 fish, with them being quite hardy, even though my nitrites are still at 1ppm (and going down to 0 of course).

Is this true? I thought that ANY levels of nitrites were very harmful to fish?

FYI:

Temp: 78 - 80°F, SG: 1.023, pH: 8.2, Alkalinity: 10, Ammonia: 0, Nitrates: 15, Nitrites 1.

Cheers.

 

[BillyZ]

yes, you should wait until your nitrites are down to 0. then do a small water change before adding any fish. but you can get your fish now as you're going to QT them for a week anyway, right? (check out our article here on Quarantines)

 

[MarkW19]

OK, I'll do a 30 - 50% waterchange before I add fish then, that ok?

hehe, I wasn't going to quarantine my first two fish. Not set up my QT yet, but will for my next fish (I'm adding them slowly over 6 months).

Will wait till 'trites are at 0 then

 

[michealprater]

What if your new fish have ich and you don't know it. Are you going to treat your show tank? You may want to rethink the quarinteen.

 

[MarkW19]

OK...

 

[srgetz]

We're not trying to rain on your parade, only prevent you from a lot of agony if ich or a disease is introduced. That agony would be dissasembling and sterilizing tank & equip. or leave tank empty 6-8weeks. Sound like fun? This is why we preach qt, qt, qt! You can get a 10g for next to nothing, then use your main sys heater / ph. Check out the qt article, better to be safe!

 

[MarkW19]

OK...currently deciding what to do.

My nitrites are now at less than 1, and all other levels spot on. If they're not at 0 by tomorrow morning, which hopefully they will be (ie. a tiny bit above), would it be ok to do a 30% waterchange, then take another reading when the water has mixed in a few hours later. If nitrites are THEN 0 after the waterchange, am I ok to add fish? ie. will I have cycled?

 

[MarkW19]

So do you guys think that with nitrites currently being at less than 1, if I do a 30% waterchange tomorrow morning, and my nitrites are then at 0 (and all other levels correct), I can add my first 2 clowns?

 

[MarkW19]

I actually have enough mixed saltwater to do a 40% waterchange...should I do that?

 

[MarkW19]

OK...Nitrites have no gone to less than 0.5ppm, hopefully they'll be down to 0 by the morning.

If they're not quite, am I ok to do a 30 - 40% waterchange to get them down, then put my 2 clowns in a few hours later when everything has settled down? Would you change 30 or 40% of the water?

 

[steve-s]

Wait until the nitrites read zero on their own. I would not be in a hurry to add animals so quickly after the tank has cycled. Once the nitrites are gone, do the 30-40% water change and let the tank sit a few more days ( a week would be better) to make sure everything remains stable.

You can then either introduce the first fish after properly quarantining for 4 weeks or begin deciding on the clean up crew.

Cheers
Steve

 

[michealprater]

Patience is the number one thing you need in saltwater. If you don't have it, you picked the wrong hobby.