Bought 150 Gallon Tank - Now Concerns

NVCyberPro · Mar 17, 2020

Hi, I bought a 150 gallon established tank on Sunday, it took about 5 hours to make the move so I know the fish were stressed. Checking the ammonia levels we are near .25 ppm and we are preparing for a 30 gallon water change at the moment. The trigger fish is swimming constantly back and forth towards the current of the power head and we are uncertain if the snowflake is eating, if he did it was a piece of krill that fell into the rock work. He was eating whole shrimp and silver sides before the move and hasn't taken a silver side.

The inhabitants are - Sailfin Tang, Yellow Tang, Blue Tang, Bursa Trigger, Christmas Wrasse? Diamond Goby, Blue Damsel, Snowflake Eel, large hermit crab, large snail, two unknown small anemones.

Simple sump, protein skimmer and a canister filter with UV (unknown age on bulb).

Any suggestions or comments are welcomed.

Thank you

James

dankaqua · Mar 25, 2020

James, could you post some photos of the tank and system so we can see what you are talking about?

I imagine the tank's ammonia levels were near-zero before the move and thus kicking up detritus and/or stirring up the sand (or similar) could release a kraken-sized load of nutrients into the water column...

Hard to say how to help at this point (without more info, seeing the system etc) but I would start with doing daily water changes (10-30%) until the system stabilizes.

Since the fish were likely healthy before the move, the system should be sufficient for supporting them. But since everything got stirred up, I imagine you'll be battling stability and cycling issues for a while.

cmaxwell39 · Mar 25, 2020

Agreed with the above. I would do lots of water changes and watch your ammonia and nitrite levels daily for a while. If the tank was stable before the move, the small cycle you are experiencing now should pass relatively quickly.

As far as the fish, it might take them a few days to a few weeks to get back to their normal routine. Moving the tank and setting it up again is a major stress for them. I would not panic. As long as the fish aren't breathing hard or showing other signs of disease/stress I think they will come around.

Congratulations on the new tank and good luck with it. What are your ultimate plans for it?

homer1475 · Mar 25, 2020

API test kits?

My guess is yes, and they always show .25 ammonia even when it's 0. API is notorious for false ammonia reading in SW.

pecan2phat · Mar 25, 2020

Add Seachem Prime every 24 hours until the ammonia drops off.

sp1187 · Mar 25, 2020

wouldn't be concerned about the snowflake not eating.
let everything get settled in.
oh.... and welcome to the show.

fishguy242 · Mar 25, 2020

hi welcome to the reef going to love it here!
lots of fun/info/fun/help/fun!!!
pics!!...we all love pics!!!!
i agree with all above ,no worries ,keep ammo in check will stable itself ,yes pics will help,happy reefing

ReefChef19 · Mar 25, 2020

You could also add some beneficial bacteria in a bottle like bio spira, that will also help lower the Ammonia as it feeds off of it.

NVCyberPro · May 15, 2020

Thanks everyone .... I had expected a notification and until now I thought that no one had replied. Everything is well! and yes the ammonia test is faulty and the eel is eating fine, seems if you move anything in the tank he may go on a hunger protest for a day

fishguy242 · May 15, 2020

good to hear...now we want pics....lol...happy reefing

NVCyberPro · May 15, 2020

This is what it looked like upon purchase. I have added 50 - 60 lbs of rock, along with several coral colonies and a pair of clown fish. I will need to take new pictures.

fishguy242 · May 15, 2020

very nice,beautiful healthy fish,make sure you qt anything before adding

NVCyberPro · May 18, 2020

Thank you, yes I have 2 QT's setup, one for fish and one for corals.

NVCyberPro · May 19, 2020

As requested, pictures of sump, overflow and drain. Thanks again.

NVCyberPro · May 19, 2020

fishguy242 said:
good to hear...now we want pics....lol...happy reefing

Pictures from yesterday, we have more rock curing and corals in QT. Awaiting for QT, curing and trying to get this tank stabilized. Thanks

brandon429 · May 19, 2020

can you run one more ammonia test + post pics of it in white light against the color chart

we want to see if it still appears .25 or totally hard yellow zero

Katrina71 · May 19, 2020

NVCyberPro said:
Pictures from yesterday, we have more rock curing and corals in QT. Awaiting for QT, curing and trying to get this tank stabilized. Thanks

You have Serene lights?

NVCyberPro · May 19, 2020

brandon429 said:
can you run one more ammonia test + post pics of it in white light against the color chart

we want to see if it still appears .25 or totally hard yellow zero

I can check that again later, I am pretty positive my ammonia is at 0 no matter what the test shows. My main water quality issue is the Nitrate. Still way to high.

NVCyberPro · May 19, 2020

Katrina71 said:
You have Serene lights?

Yes, we have the Sernene light on the top backside of the rim of the aquarium.

NVCyberPro · May 19, 2020

Here is our Coral QT - I am still looking for advice on reducing nitrates (I don't believe we over feed but the fish and eel does consume a lot of food) Also I knew the skimmer was was undersized and I would like an affordable upgrade as to figure out why my tank & sump level fluctuate for no apparent reason. Thanks