Help with new tank and owner

[mh5150]

I have a 30 gal saltwater tank for 3 weeks now just added 3 chromis a week ago. levels have been
ph-8.2
am-.5-1
nitrite- .25-.50
ntrate-5.0
temp-76*
hydrometer is in range
So today i did 20% water change when should i expect levels to come down?
Fish are fine .
mike

 

[mh5150]

Are these levels high?

 

[rdnelson99]

Am and Nitrite should be 0 with nitrate bellow 10 before adding fish. Here is a good article you should read if you haven't already.

Cycle your salt tank

 

[mh5150]

Am and Nitrite should be 0 with nitrate bellow 10 before adding fish. Here is a good article you should read if you haven't already.

Cycle your salt tank

they were at 0 before i added fish. Then i added 3 chromis and levels have been consistent for about a week now just did 20% water change this morning. Levels still didnt change.

 

[rdnelson99]

Did you see a spike in the Am and Nitrite while cycling? Looks to me like it started to cycle but wasn't done. Keep up with the water changes to keep all three levels as low as possible but don't add anymore bio load. Once you see that AM and Nitrite stay at 0 and Nitrate has come down (from test done before water changes) give it another week or so and then you should be safe to add more livestock. Just add very slowly to give the BB time to recover. Hope all works out for you.

 

[huma-huma]

+1 .. you need to keep the ammo levels down so the fish don't die...it doesn't take alot to kill them

 

[mh5150]

trying to get levels back down did a 25% change yesterday and a 50% today still a bit high. patience i guess

 

[rdnelson99]

trying to get levels back down did a 25% change yesterday and a 50% today still a bit high. patience i guess

Stick with it. Do the best you can. I would have made the same mistake if I hadn't of been lucky enough to find this site before I got too far into it. Now, just do all you can to keep them comfy and realize that it is going to take you longer to get to a point where you can add the things you want. But, the up side is that gives you time to follow lots of threads on this site and learn from the mistakes of others. LOL Been a HUGE help to me.

 

[rdnelson99]

Oh and one more thing occurred to me. Would you LFS or a friend take the fish for a few weeks while you let the tank finish cycling? If so, that would make life a lot better for them. Just a thought.

 

[mh5150]

I thought i did it right the first time . tank sat 2 weeks and right before i put the 3 chromis in all levels were good. not one person i talked to said anything about cycling tank. Thats why i started with a 30 gal . around xmas im going to do a 75 gal. Better to learn on small tank rather than a big tank. I will get it down just need more time. Thanks for everyones help . Keep info coming please

 

[mh5150]

I am going to fish store tomorrow i will ask. But i doubt it . They dont seemed stressed but what do i know. Im down to lowest levels before zero on chart so maybe its just about done.

 

[rdnelson99]

I thought i did it right the first time . tank sat 2 weeks and right before i put the 3 chromis in all levels were good. not one person i talked to said anything about cycling tank. Thats why i started with a 30 gal . around xmas im going to do a 75 gal. Better to learn on small tank rather than a big tank. I will get it down just need more time. Thanks for everyones help . Keep info coming please

That is how I am learning too. One surprise I learned is that the smaller tanks are actually harder than the bigger tanks. Less water means all the parameters swing quicker and with bigger swings. More water helps even it out. Going into this I thought I had a "Big" tank. It is a 45 gal. Now I learn many on this site think that would be a "Small Sump". LOL Most important thing, have fun doing it.

 

[carey]

Yep, if you can home the fish for a few weeks that would be your best bet. You can cycle properly and won't have to worry about doing water changes everyday.

The fish are currently your ammonia source as far as cycling and it's a fine line cycling with fish in. Without them you can dose up your tank to 4ppm ammonia and not worry about it. It's just a waiting game after that.

Just my opinion! lol

 

[mh5150]

I really dont wanna lose the fish and i have no one to take them so for now its the slow road. Im gonna give 2 weeks and see what happens . If after that levels are still high i will get rid of fish and start over .

 

[carey]

Just keep those ammonia and nitrite levels down with water changes and they should be fine. It's just alot more buckets of water and time you have to commit now.

Good luck!!!

 

[mh5150]

I am a stay at home dad so i have plenty of time but very little patience ( I am working on the patience). Once i get this tank set im gonna use it for a quaratine tank.

 

[mh5150]

Thanks for all the help. Looks like the cycle is coming to an end am + nitrite levels way down but not yet zero and nitrate going up.
Thanks to all

 

[carey]

Good for you! it's always a rush getting to the end cause fish and livestock are in the near future! You should be done in a few days I'd guess. Then it's the water change and youre ready to slowly add fish.