New tank that was passed on by a friend

[princess4880]

I have bought saltwater aquarium from friend at work it is a 30 Gallon with 2 clown fish. Checked all levels yesterday had to do water change and add lots of salt almost like if it were 1st startup. Checked levels last night they were all good but ph was 8.6. Today I checked again and now nitrate and nitrite are showing unsafe and stress. I need help with what to do next. Ammonia level is also good.

 

[Hara]

You need to do water changes to get the nitrites and nitrates down. How high are they? If they are severe, you might want to do a 50% water change today, check the readings and then do another one tomorrow. If there was a dramatic improvement, maybe only 25%. Keep this up until they are at zero.

 

[princess4880]

Thank you did 50% yesterday. Do I need to make it sand bottom instead of gravel or coral that is in it?

 

[Hara]

I would do another 50% today if the readings are still in the danger zone. Vacuum the substrate well when you are doing this, well under the surface. Do not attempt to change out the substrate until you have the nitrites under control.

 

[princess4880]

It only came with filter and heater so bought little powerhead at wal-mart last night to help. How long does it usually take to get the water stable after it has been off for so long? Any other suggestions of things I might need to purchase (test kits etc...) the test kits I have are from walmart and they are just strips are these sufficient? Also bigger fish was trying to attack smaller should I do anything to help that? I will try to post some pics of tank shortly

 

[Hara]

As far as how long does it take, that is hard to say. I would say within a week, with improvements happening little by little would be within reason. You need to pick up test kits that will be a little more accurate. Try a petsmart or local fish store. Be sure to clean out the filter floss and add fresh carbon if those things are in there now.

How long have those fish been together? If the aggression keeps up, I would take one of them to a store and trade it in for a different fish. Give them time to settle in first tho. Try rearranging the tank decorations a bit.

 

[princess4880]

Changed filter yesterday ( should I change again or just rinse out) and moved decorations because I took the undergravel filter piece out. I plan on going to Knoxville to The Aquarium store where they only deal with saltwater to pick up better test. Fish have been together about 5 months after lionfish died while guy was in Iraq. Fed them cube of brine shrimp last night after water change not sure if they eat it all as it broke up and floated around. Should we get any kind of cleaners or anything like that yet?

 

[Hara]

dont get any type of invert, or fish until you have the water under control...chances are they will die if you dont wait. You might also want to cut back on feeding the fish, once every two days is sufficient and then maybe only half a cube.
It is my belief that the moving of the tank, decorations and all that stirred up the bad stuff and that is why you are having problems now.

 

[princess4880]

What about flake food? What do I need to start a qt tank or start a new tank? What is a good vaccum? Also do I need to get a protein skimmer once I get good water quality?
Thank you for the help hopefully I can get it under control soon.

 

[pkremer]

Many here will recommend against flake food because it can fall to the bottom and start to break down so quickly before fish find it; personally, I use it (spirulina flakes), and have not had too big of a problem because I put just enough in where the fish eat it all well before the bottom of the tank.

A QT tank will need a filter, a heater, a light, and something for the fish to hide in/behind. Whether you want substrate is up to you, many people will recommend against substrate in a QT for simplicity.

A good vaccuum is where you dig the siphon deep into the substrate and get all the garbage that may be hiding in it. I assume you have crushed coral? Push the siphon as deep as you can go into it, to the bottom if you can, allow any cloud of buildup to siphon up and out, and then move over to the next spot.

As far as the skimmer, I'll let someone else answer that..I'm not sure if a 30 gallon without corals would need a skimmer, but a more experienced reefkeeper could give you a better answer...

Paul

 

[princess4880]

I assume it is crushed coral also definitely not sand. Tried siphon gravel cleaner from Walmart and can't get it to work right any suggestions on a good one?

Might it be easier to start new water as to have taken on this old one that has been let go for over a month?

 

[pkremer]

Have you ever used a siphon before? They can take a little getting used to.

Here's a method I used to get my siphon to work...first of all, make sure the bucket you are siphoning the water into is BELOW your tank, not level with it...place the bucket on the floor, let gravity help you. Place the large end of the siphon completely under water, and then turn it so that the large end of the siphon is pointing UP (make sure the large end of the siphon is completely underwater the whole time)...allow any air bubbles to completely leave and float to the top. Then turn the siphon DOWN and if water does not start moving through, put your lips on the end of the siphon and suck for just a second...this should start the water siphoning through.

If you do this and it does not work, take the siphon out of the water, and hold the entire siphon by the middle of the hose, and dump both ends out at the same time...once the siphon is completely empty of water, try the above again. This method has always worked for me.

I hope that was clear, and didn't leave you ever more confused...I'm not sure what you mean by "start with new water." Do you mean starting with a new tank or changing out 100% of the water in your current one? I would not recommend either of these options. You have to remember that if your fish are still alive, they have grown accustomed to the water in the tank. A massive and rapid water change (even if it is a good change) is stressful for fish. Unless your ammonia and nitrite levels are so high that the fish will die, I would recommend keeping up with your partial water changes to bring the levels down. Remember, the water is not the problem, it is what is in the water creating the problem....

Paul

 

[princess4880]

Clownfish aquarium levels

Thank you for the help I think I am on the upside of the water problem I hope. Only thing high this morning is the nitrate so I am going to test again to make sure I did it correct and then if still high try 10% pwc this time. How hard is it to take care of an anemone? Should I get one for the clownfish later on once water stays good or is there something else I should get first. Is there anything you can put in water to help keep levels good once I get them stable?

04/06/06 Got better filter w/biowheel & test kit. Levels are now nitrite and nitrate are 0, ph 8.3-8.4, alkalinity is high 2.9-3.6 (3.0), ammonia is still .5 have put some ammo-lock in twice to try and help ammonia. Any other suggestions that I need to do before I can add more fish. Still doing water changes, also are these levels good for clownfish?

 

[princess4880]

I Got a better filter w/biowheel & test kit. Levels are now nitrite and nitrate are 0, ph 8.3-8.4, alkalinity is high 2.9-3.6 (3.0), ammonia is still .5 have put some ammo-lock in twice to try and help ammonia. Any other suggestions that I need to do before I can add more fish. Still doing water changes, also are these levels good for clownfish?

 

[Brenden]

Alk is not high. What is the CA reading? Are you sure your NH3 test is giving accurate results? By now it should have dropped and you would have a slight NO2 reading if anything. Run a test on the NH3 test by testing some distilled water.

 

[princess4880]

What kind of test for the ca my kit does not have it? Not certain about test, but the nitrate just went to 0 today, nitrite went yesterday NH3 was .5 yesterday and 1 day before.

 

[Brenden]

Clarification: If this is FO tank then CA is really not important to you. The reason I asked was due to your alk level. Salifert CA test IMO are the best. What kind of test are you using? NO2 and NO3 levels disappearing over night does not make sense. I also think your NH3 reading is incorrect. At least I hope it is.

 

[princess4880]

Finally got gravel siphon working correctly and changed filter system completely from whisper to a penguin 200 bio-wheel I think is the reason for the big change in levels. Test is Red Sea Marine Lab. How do I check to see if NH3 test is correct? As I said before this tank was passed on and he had not done anything with it in over a month plus his wife got on meth while he was in Iraq at war so who knows how long it had bad levels, salt was really low when we got it.

 

[princess4880]

Still having big problems with total ammonia it is now at 2.5 temp 79 ph 8.3 nitrite & nitrate 0 alk high. Could it be the crushed coral substrate causing the problem now? Have done water changes day after day cleaning substrate everytime. Did bottle water test on ammonia and it read good. Also lfs had me put ammo lock in it and ever since seems to be getting higher.
What is a good powerhead for 30 gal?

Thanks
Nickie

 

[princess4880]

Levels today are NH3/NH4 = 5
Temp 79
PH 8.2
Alk- High (2.9-3.6)
NO3=5
NO2=.1

Also have noticed a type of algae ( I guess thats what it is) growing on decorations and side of tank today. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

What would happen if I take out all the crushed coral but a little? Maybe this would let me know if that is my problem or not.