HELP WITH MY NEW TANK!!!

[dhyanne]

Guys i need help, i just got a 20 gallon tank yesterday and set it up,,,
i bought 1kilo of LR, 6 kilos of sand, 3 small live corals and 6 damsel fishes, and 10 gallons of seawater (they said it really is a water from the sea) not sure if this is good though, and bought a filter (motor)

after buying everything someone told me i have to cycle the water first before putting in the fish for about 7 days... too bad i got everything bought already...it will be a waste not to put it as they may eventually die.

Got home and placed everything in the tank,,,i set it up and placed the fish...i know i shouldn't have done this yet but i got everything already so i decided to have a test tank anyway since the fish might die if i won't place them in anyway...

2 fishes died next day after, and the water is so cloudy,,seems like sand particles flying everywhere because of the bubbles caused by filter...

give me advices how to make water clear or did i get a bad water??

 

[adam_keene]

lol bad water.... bad idea! Whoever sold you this setup is a killer!!

 

[canada911]

, putting fish in a NEW tank? lol, whe seem to hear this often these days. Those guys at your LFS really wanted to make money of you! Thats no good...

Sorry but its too late, if there is still some fish alive meaby you could bring them back to the LFS?
7 days for cycle is really low... It is way more than that, you should find a couple of article on Cycle on this forum
Good luck!

 

[mjvincent]

A twenty gallon may not take long to cycle. You need to let the cloudiness settle and get some readings on ammonia, nitrites and nitrates and SG. What is the name of the filter that you bought and what kind of heater and what setting do you keep it at?

 

[midiman]

I don't really find anything to laugh out loud about in your situation. :|

A cycle can last 4 weeks or more. You need more like 10 Kg of live rock (or up to twice that)

If possible, I would avoid that particular LFS in the future. Fish are one thing, but they sold you CORAL to put in a new tank? Geez.

Let the water settle - it will clear up eventually. If you can, add more live rock and monitor your water parameters. READ everything you can on the nitrogen cycle so that you understand the porcess before putting anything alive in your tank (other than the live rock).

Good luck.

 

[lando]

First off, Welcome to AquariumAdvice.com!!
This problem is not too hard to fix. Go ahead and take the remaining fish and the corals back to the LFS that sold y the stuff. Exchange them for some more LR. Leave that store and never, ever go back to it. They are not helping you out at all. Put the LR in the tank and let the tank cycle naturally and slowly. Check out the article on cycling in the "Articles" section at the top of the page. You shouldbe back on track. Good luck! Lando

 

[pearsont74]

WHat kinda filter? do you have a protein skimmer???

 

[Shark Bait]

There are a few thinks that need to be done before you can start stocking you tank. Now I haven't been able to look over the info here but I'm sure there are alot of helpful articles that will get you on the path to success.

Don't get discouraged because we all have bumps in the road in this hobby, I filled my 125 with the wrong kind of sand and already had water in it, not fun emptying and cleaning that up.

The best thing you can do is read up on cycling and stocking a tank, research and knowledge is the key to success. Good Luck and Happy Reefing

 

[midiman]

General rule is 1.5-2 lb of LR per gallon. I order 40lb for a 30 gal and have been adding cherry-picked pieces fom my LFS since. I now have probaly 50 lb. It's the ULTIMATE filter, and the hitchhiker potential is awesome.

 

[Phyl]

Should you decide that you're going to keep the fish (the corals will probably not survive the cycle. Nitrates are very harmful to corals, let alone the rest of the cycle.) get a LOT more saltwater and Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate test kits. Test daily for ammonia and nitrite. Do daily 30% water changes. Twice daily if the number goes up over .4. These animals are not going to be happy, but if you're going to keep them the best you can do for them is to keep their water as clean as possible. The cloudy water is the start of the ammonia cycle and will settle down once the bacteria is well colonized. If they sold you a UV filter don't hook it up yet (or unplug it). Your cycle will work better without it.

The worst part is that you aren't going to want those damsels in the tank once you're done cycling it because with a 33g tank there are precious few animals that you can keep in there and the last thing you want to do is to keep agressive nasty fish. Best to get them out while you still can before there's a good amount of rock in your system.

For the extra rock that you'll need try looking into www.liverocks.com great rock at a great price.

Good luck! The people here are great people. Just a little defensive of the fishies! It is so difficult when the people you see in person schnooker you like that.

 

[dhyanne]

you guys are the best!!! thank you so much!!! 3 out of the 6 fishes survived...but the corals got white spots on them and when i took it off and rinsed it, it looks like the corals have been eaten by fishes or bacteria...don't know... oh well,,,my first try,,,i won't get discouraged... i'll still keep on trying...

il be reading the cycle article...

anyone here from philippines?? people here seems to put these kind of thing on a trial and error basis..LOL... they're not even particular with cycling the water for months... grrrr... i wanna be sure with my next try...il put things you've said here on practice...huhuhu don't want the same things to happen...