Add fish?!?

[eqbal9947]

Hey everyone!
Tank is newly cycled and I did a 50% water change on a 200g tank last night.
My nitrate is at 75 (Hannah checker).
My dilemma is, should I add fish now or keep them in quarantine for another 10 days until I finish work.
I work 14 hours a day for 9 days so it’ll be hard to find time for a water change within that time.
what y’all think?

 

[Jekyl]

I would try and get nitrate lower while tank is empty. At 75 you're already fighting an uphill battle.

 

[eqbal9947]

I would try and get nitrate lower while tank is empty. At 75 you're already fighting an uphill battle.

What percent water change you think will get me there?
I have enough to do like a 15%

 

[davidcalgary29]

What's your nutrient export system? Do you have a sump in which you can cultivate macro?

 

[bnord]

As per above, skimmer? socks? macro?
How any weeks total and what was the starting rock substrate?

At any rate, I would be more comfortable personally being around for more time when I made the big jump of adding fish - personally

 

[Jekyl]

What's your nutrient export system? Do you have a sump in which you can cultivate macro?

This. As far as water changes go... if you're at 75 nitrate and do a 50% change, you'll then be at 37.5. If you intend on having coral you want this number to be around 10 or less.

 

[Dbichler]

Since you just finished cycle I would change as much as possible once you add fish to a tank that big it becomes near impossible to do so start off right and worry less later

 

[eqbal9947]

As per above, skimmer? socks? macro?
How any weeks total and what was the starting rock substrate?

At any rate, I would be more comfortable personally being around for more time when I made the big jump of adding fish - personally

What's your nutrient export system? Do you have a sump in which you can cultivate macro?

I have skimmer,socks , media reactor with zeolite, carbon and gfo.
I will be putting chaeto in sump when I can get my hands on it .
I just did a 20% and used all my water. Hopefully that’ll be enough

 

[Uncle99]

If they are ready from QT….put them in….75ppm nitrate for fish is no trouble, but maybe start a small carbon dose to pull more from the waters.

Work it down slowly until you get to say 10-20ppm and then you can add some softies, they will also mop up some more nitrates and phosphate.

 

[davidcalgary29]

I have skimmer,socks , media reactor with zeolite, carbon and gfo.
I will be putting chaeto in sump when I can get my hands on it .
I just did a 20% and used all my water. Hopefully that’ll be enough

As you know, there aren't any dedicated fish stores at all north of Edmonton, but you can get chaeto from Neal at Marine Experience, along with various other types of macroalgae. They do ship, so you won't necessarily have to make the lengthy drive to the city. He also sells homebrewed phyto, if you don't want to have yours shipped from My Little Ocean.

 

[bnord]

I have skimmer,socks , media reactor with zeolite, carbon and gfo.
I will be putting chaeto in sump when I can get my hands on it .
I just did a 20% and used all my water. Hopefully that’ll be enough

Then surely your nutrients wil be on the slope down and fish are only a short ways away - what is your stocking plan - sorry if i missed that elsewhere

 

[Lavey29]

Nothing ever ends well in this hobby if you rush.

 

[eqbal9947]

Then surely your nutrients wil be on the slope down and fish are only a short ways away - what is your stocking plan - sorry if i missed that elsewhere

I have 2 clowns, a small hippo and a small watchman goby going in there
Other fish that would come in will be QT’d for a few weeks so it shouldn’t overload the system

 

[eqbal9947]

As you know, there aren't any dedicated fish stores at all north of Edmonton, but you can get chaeto from Neal at Marine Experience, along with various other types of macroalgae. They do ship, so you won't necessarily have to make the lengthy drive to the city. He also sells homebrewed phyto, if you don't want to have yours shipped from My Little Ocean.

I will be hopefully getting copepods. I need chaeto that I don’t have to QT for 15 days. I want guaranteed clean stuff

 

[eqbal9947]

The 25% water change literally did nothing. Test still says 75 ppm. Not sure if Hanna checkers are butt or it’s true. Will test again in a few hours
Should I use vodka?

 

[Sleeping Giant]

I order my copepods and live phytoplankton from MY LITTLE OCEAN here in Canada. The containers are full with bugs, they are dated and the price is great, shipping overnight.
I've done 2 purchases with out issues and so happy I found them as it's so hard to find these stores in Canada.

My Little Ocean

mylittleocean.online

 

[Sleeping Giant]

Ethical Aquatics

Providing only healthy, quarantined animals for your tank!

ethicalaquatics.ca

For quarantined fish. I haven't used them yet. Canadian store

 

[davidcalgary29]

Ethical Aquatics

Providing only healthy, quarantined animals for your tank!

ethicalaquatics.ca

For quarantined fish. I haven't used them yet. Canadian store

Chris is great and much recommended. My Little Ocean is based near Edmonton, so it should arrive in Ft. McMurray pretty quickly.

 

[davidcalgary29]

I will be hopefully getting copepods. I need chaeto that I don’t have to QT for 15 days. I want guaranteed clean stuff

You may well be out of luck on that. Mitchell at New Dawn Aquaculture (also Edmonton) doesn't seem to have any in stock. Mine is in a tank with aiptasia, and aiptasia tends to ride in on macro, so it's not safe for transfer. Have you put out a call on the Edmonton Area Saltwater Enthusiasts facebook page?

Not sure if Hanna checkers are butt or it’s true. Will test again in a few hours
Should I use vodka?

Hanna checkers are pretty reliable. If you do dose vodka, do it only when running your skimmer and start off slowly. You can create an algal bloom pretty quickly that could wipe out your tank. You can also try running carbon, add some Algone packets, or buy some AZ-NO3 from the 'States, as it's impossible to find in Canada (I bought mine from the company itself). I find NOPox to work the best for me, personally, and Prime takes care of emergencies. I had several occasions where high nitrates bleached out my stylocoeniella, but Prime took care of it quickly.