New saltwater tank!!!!!

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Saltwaterfish56

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
May 17, 2012
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I set up a 60 gallon saltwater tank a month and a half ago and I have a few fish in there from my old tank , same rock from my old tank also , but brand new sand, I added BIO-SPIRA to speed up the cycle and so I tested my water, here is what it's reading

Ph- 8.3
Ammonia- 0
Nitrite- 0

But NITRATE - 20 ppm

A few weeks ago is was at 80 ppm
And I did a big water change and now it's seems to have lowered but I want to do corals and I know corals need to be between 5 ppm and below , what can I do or what am I doing wrong ? Or is my tank still young and cycling ? PLEASE PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!!!!!
 
I've been doing water changes about every 3 days and it went from 80 ppm to 15ppm but does that means I'm gonna have to be doing water changes this often to keep corals or will my tank settle ?
 
What fish do you have in the tank and what is your filtration? Do you have a protein skimmer? You should only have to do one 20% chance every week or two
 
I have a yellow tang , naso tang , 2 clowns , 2 chromis and a squirrel fish , I know I shouldn't have added them this early but I already did and they seem really happy and healthy , they were from my old tank and I didn't have more to keep 2 tanks running at the same tone while my new one cycled , about 40 pounds of live rock and 2 inches of sand bed , a regular freshwater filter that actually works pretty good and a remora protein skimmer , which has been on my tank for 2 weeks and have seen it do nothing , idk of there's something wrong with it but it's getting frustrating now
 
Saltwaterfish56 said:
I have a yellow tang , naso tang , 2 clowns , 2 chromis and a squirrel fish , I know I shouldn't have added them this early but I already did and they seem really happy and healthy , they were from my old tank and I didn't have more to keep 2 tanks running at the same tone while my new one cycled , about 40 pounds of live rock and 2 inches of sand bed , a regular freshwater filter that actually works pretty good and a remora protein skimmer , which has been on my tank for 2 weeks and have seen it do nothing , idk of there's something wrong with it but it's getting frustrating now

That is your problem right there. In a nutshell tangs have large bioloads which means they are very messy eaters and poop like mad. Poop=nitrates. On a side note a tank for those tangs needs to be 6' long, but that is beside the point, i just wanted to throw that out there. Could i have more detail on the filter? What size? And i bet you the skimmer is just getting broken in, it should produce waste soon
 
Yeah I know that is true and I have had the tangs since tiny babies , I had them on a 20 gallon and they outgrew it so now there in a 60 gallon and still look pretty small compared to the tank ,and when they outgrow this tank I will get even a bigger tank and it's a regular tetra whisper filters up to 60 gallons and a remora protein skimmer that keeps filling up the collection cup with water from my tank , it's been two and a half weeks and still hasn't broken in , anyways , money is not the issue ,so what else do I need to lower my nitrates and to keep corals , more filtration more sand more rock ? Idk I just need help haha , I
My fish seem really happy but I know that ,that nitrate is still bugging me and won't stop trying til I get it where I want it
 
Nirtate doesnt really effect fish until it goes over 20 so first thing i would do is get an aquaclear 110 hang on back filter for your tank. Great brand, great filter. The protein skimmer should break in, bu i cant really help you there considering i am in the same position as you, waiting for my skimmer to do something. First thing to do is upgrade filters, second thing is weekly water changes.
 
I think I'll keep my filter and just get another one like you said , that way I have more filtration , I keep up with the water changes and hopefully soon I can do corals , but thanks for all the help man !!
 
No problem, good luck with your tank im sure it looks great. Good to hear people upgrade tanks as their fish grow, that is comforting. One more thing, my corals are all doing great and i have 10-20 nitrates. I know it isnt ideal but my corals all look fine so im sure you can get some. I you want to experiment start off slow with cheap and expendable corals that are low light and very easy to take care of. Some examples are kenya tree, muchrooms, toadstool, maybe a frogspawn/torch/hammer. Stay away from sps at first ;) good luck
 
Thanks dude , and seriouslly ? I thought they had to be under 5ppm , well in buying my lights next week , and I'll buy some cheap corals and post pics so you can check it out but hey thanks a lot for the tips !!
 
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