3 Week Old 15 Gallon

[RISEANDFLOAT]

I was wondering if I could get any opinions on what is going on with my new saltwater setup. Here is what I've done so far. I added "cured" live rock on about day three after I had mixed my salt and had everything running for a little while. I also added live sand at the same time. I have gotten through the brown algae stage and am starting to see like a green seaweed algae produce on my rocks. In the bank of the tank I am seeing a lot of what I believe is "die-off" from the rocks. It is brown and looks as if it has just crumbled off the rock. So that's that, here is my problem.

I have been testing everything from Ammonia, Nitrites, pH, General Hardness and Nitrates since about day 5. I am getting readings of 0 on everything everytime. What should I do? Keep waiting or add something to the tank? Also I have been adding bacteria to the tank once a week as directed. It is Microbe-lift I believe. No other chemicals have been added and I have not done any water changes. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Hi RISEANDFLOAT, welcome to AA.

It's quite possible that your tank is done and cycled, since you used already cured rock and live sand. Since you didn't test before Day 5, its impossible to know if you had an ammonia spike. To test it though, I'd try adding a raw shrimp (like from the grocery store) to the tank and see what happens. The shrimp will start to rot, and you should see some ammonia. Then remove it and see how quickly your tank gets rid of it. If it removes ammonia relatively quickly, you are cycled and ready to slowly add some livestock.

HTH

 

[RISEANDFLOAT]

Ok cool. I have been reading about this shrimp cycle thing since I found this site two days ago. Would it hurt to just leave the shrimp in there and let it just cycle the tank until its almost unnoticable? The reason I ask this is because I plan to cycle the tank for two whole months and I'm not even past month one yet so I am taking my time.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Agree with devilish... you might already be cycled. If you are, the dead shrimp won't cycle the tank again really... it'll just add ammonia which should promptly be converted to nitrites, then nitrates. You might not even see the ammonia or nitrites show up in a test kit if you have a good bacteria population.

I'd probably pop the dead shrimp in there also, just to give it an ammonia source to work with. If you're checking nitrates every day or so, I would only leave the shrimp in until you pick up a trace of nitrates. If you just leave it in there forever, it'll just drive up your nitrate level which you'll eventually want to get down as close to zero as possible before putting fish/inverts in the tank.

My tank started out just about the same way you're describing yours. My cured live rock had no detectable die off, and my cycle was at most a week long.

 

[roka64]

I agree with the rest. I am surprised you are not seeing any nitrAtes.

 

[melosu58]

I have been testing everything from Ammonia, Nitrites, pH, General Hardness and Nitrates since about day 5. I am getting readings of 0 on everything everytime.

You should not be getting 0 readings on PH and general hardness. You might want to take a water sample to your LFS and have him do one just in case your`s is off. If his is the same as yours then you know you are right. Also I would check out the nano forum on this site also.

 

[RISEANDFLOAT]

I'm sorry I meant I was getting 0 readings on my nitrites, Ammonia, and nitrates. My pH is a little above 8.0 and I don't remember what my gH was.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Oh, and don't forget to take pictures.

 

[RISEANDFLOAT]

While I've still got this topic kind of active I was also going to ask about my glass top on my tank. I just read last night that having it on could alter my pH and not allow any gas exchange. If I just lifted the front half that covers half the tank up at night would that be okay and keep it closed during the day? Keeping it closed would still allow about 3 inches of room (between the end of the top and the back of the tank) in the back of the tank.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Besides gas exchange, you also have to worry about the heat of your aquarium and lesser amount of light getting through. Right now it might not be a problem, but I'd look into taking it off when your cycle nears the end.

I'd look into eggcrate, which is what a lot of people use to cover their tanks that still allows a lot of light through, and keep the fish in.

http://www.lightingdiffusers.com/St...intPage=1&sub_dept_id=5&sort=pn&sku=EA-050-14

Ignore the prices on that page, that is crazy. Home Depot should carry them in sheets, relatively cheap.

HTH

 

[RISEANDFLOAT]

Ok thank you. I appreciate it.

 

[loyalrogue]

I agree that by now your tank has already cycled.
I started with cured LR, LS, and bacteria suppliments in each my tanks as well, and they all cycled within a couple of days.
Of course, you're welcome to add a little food/shrimp for the bacteria to munch on as was mentioned above.

Covering the tank with glass is not recommended for the reasons that you've already read about.
As Lindsay suggested, if you are going to keep fish that are known jumpers then get a sheet of eggcrate from Home Depot.
They sell it for $10 a sheet, but if you can find a piece that's been cracked you can ask the manager for a discount.
(I got a sheet that was only missing 2" for less than $5)

Congrats on the new tank and being mature enough not to rush it.
With that kind of cautious attitude you're already two steps ahead of most beginning aquarists.

Oh yeah,... Welcome to AA!

 

[Ziggy953]

I agree with what everyone has said. I too started out with LR and LS and my cycle was so quick I thought I had missed it! Awesome job for taking your time and not rushing things! That above all else will reap you great benefits!!

 

[RISEANDFLOAT]

I would like to thank ya'll for your help on everything. I know it is now the ninth but I have a little situation on my hands now. Today I went and bought two black mollies from my local pet store and put them into the tank after "drip-acclimating" them. They were very slender mollies and I know they weren't the cream of the crop but I was a little anxious to get something into the tank and maybe help with the cycle a little bit. Well after about five hours they both went belly up and I don't know what to do with them. I currently have them in a net floating at the top of the tank. I am thinking they can help provide an ammonia source for the tank and allow me to do some more testing and see how quick my tank can break everything down.

Now will they actually provide an ammonia source doing what I'm doing? If so, how long should I leave them in there? I know I am switching things up a little bit by not going with the shrimp but I figured the mollies would be a better idea. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Maybe a dumb question, but were the acclimated to saltwater? Mollies are normally sold as freshwater fish, very rarely will you see them sold as saltwater fish (they are one of the few fish that can be acclimated to freshwater AND saltwater). Could that be the reason?

I'd say leave them in there if you want for a few days maybe. I wouldn't do more than that cause then they'll just turn to muck and stink up your house.

 

[loyalrogue]

That's really sad to hear.
I wish you'd have asked here first and most likely avoided putting them thru that kind of death.

As Devilish asked, were those sold to you as saltwater Mollies?
If so, they would have been kept in the same tanks as the other saltwater fish, and not where the freshwater fish were.

Mollies are brackish water fish, and are one of the few that can be acclimated to both full freshwater, or full saltwater environments.
Of course, to properly acclimate them to a different salinity level should be done over a period of days or weeks by gradually changing out small amounts of water instead of a simple drip over a few hours.

Since they're dead already you may as well leave one in there for a while to prove to yourself that the tank has cycled.
It'll be basically the same as tossing a dead shrimp, or food in there to rot.
You should see a small ammonia spike at which point you can remove the corpse, and then watch the ammonia drop and nitrates rise.