I think I messed up

AquariumDani · Feb 4, 2019

20g, ~0-.25ppm ammonia, .50-2.00ppm, 10ppm nitrate, 8.0 pH
water, LS, LR added 1/7, fish added 1/25, 2 astrea & 2 nassarius added 2/1.

I messed up the cycle I think, I thought by adding live rock & sand that the nitrogen cycle would begin. I was testing the water for 2 weeks and everything was reading perfect. I assumed I could add fish, so I added fish 2 onyx clowns & a firefish.

NOW I think my tank is cycling. I’ve been doing water changes and adding Prime.

What should I do?! I’m a noob and I’ve grown so attached to my onyx clowns

Mikedawg · Feb 4, 2019

Any chance a LFS would hold them for awhile to give your tank time to complete its cycle/you manage water parameters? Assume you didn't add any bacteria in a bottle accompanying your LR, LS.
Good luck.

Waters · Feb 4, 2019

AquariumDani said:
20g, ~0-.25ppm ammonia, .50-2.00ppm, 10ppm nitrate, 8.0 pH
water, LS, LR added 1/7, fish added 1/25, 2 astrea & 2 nassarius added 2/1.

I messed up the cycle I think, I thought by adding live rock & sand that the nitrogen cycle would begin. I was testing the water for 2 weeks and everything was reading perfect. I assumed I could add fish, so I added fish 2 onyx clowns & a firefish.

NOW I think my tank is cycling. I’ve been doing water changes and adding Prime.

What should I do?! I’m a noob and I’ve grown so attached to my onyx clowns

That will normally work as long as the live rock has been cured and already contains the bacterial needed to support your fish. It doesn't appear that was the case unfortunately. Not much you can do but remove the fish at this point and wait for the cycle to finish. If you can't take him back to the LFS, can you set up a small QT that you can maintain to hold the fish? If you keep doing large water in your DT you will be removing the ammonia/nitrites that are required for the cycle to finish and the water chemistry to stabilize.

dugthefish · Feb 4, 2019

Do small, regular water changes and add some Dr. Tim's or other bottled bacteria until the cycle completes. Old school cycling used a fish or two in sterile water You'd be better off just pushing through the cycle, imo.

AquariumDani · Feb 4, 2019

So, more info.

The rock is dry rock, and the sand isn't truly live sand - I looked into it.

My closest LFS doesn't open until Thursday so that's not an option right now. On Friday, it will be 2 weeks since getting the fish. I have a 20g, so in regards to small water changes should I be doing 20% or should I be doing smaller? I have put in Prime and then a different day I have put in top fin nitrifying bacteria starter.

I feel that my water parameters aren't outrageous but I am concerned since ammonia and rites are supposed to be at 0. My clowns seem to be doing completely fine though? No unusual behavior and are not losing any color.

saltyfilmfolks · Feb 4, 2019

It ok. You are fine.
Add some bottled bacteria, dr tims one and only bio spira Fritz Zyme etc.
the tank is in fact cycling. That’s just the old school way of doing it.
An ammoina alert badge is cheap and appears to be more reliable then the api test.

Mikedawg · Feb 4, 2019

AquariumDani said:
So, more info.

The rock is dry rock, and the sand isn't truly live sand - I looked into it.

My closest LFS doesn't open until Thursday so that's not an option right now. On Friday, it will be 2 weeks since getting the fish. I have a 20g, so in regards to small water changes should I be doing 20% or should I be doing smaller? I have put in Prime and then a different day I have put in top fin nitrifying bacteria starter.

I feel that my water parameters aren't outrageous but I am concerned since ammonia and rites are supposed to be at 0. My clowns seem to be doing completely fine though? No unusual behavior and are not losing any color.

I think you'll be okay, especially since your fish are healthy after two weeks. Many reefers would wait until ammonia and nitrite are at 0 before doing a large water change, but you are probably at mid cycle now. I would test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate every day to identify any changes in their values and primarily use water changes if ammonia and nitrite rise to unacceptable levels.

AquariumDani · Feb 4, 2019

I am about to be 2 weeks with fish on Friday.

I was about to purchase the Red Sea instead of the API test kit: https://www.amazon.com/Red-Sea-ARE2...&sr=8-1&keywords=red+sea+marine+care+test+kit Does this look sufficient?

Mikedawg · Feb 4, 2019

Given that you can't get to LFS for a few more days and online supply will take about the same time, I would recommend you continue using the Top Fin bacteria to help.
Good luck

AquariumDani · Feb 4, 2019

Mikedawg said:
Given that you can't get to LFS for a few more days and online supply will take about the same time, I would recommend you continue using the Top Fin bacteria to help.
Good luck

Should I be using this every day? I ordered Dr. Tim's one and only on Amazon so it should arrive tomorrow.

Mikedawg · Feb 4, 2019

AquariumDani said:
I am about to be 2 weeks with fish on Friday.

I was about to purchase the Red Sea instead of the API test kit: https://www.amazon.com/Red-Sea-ARE2...&sr=8-1&keywords=red+sea+marine+care+test+kit Does this look sufficient?

I've had pretty good luck with RS products; lot of reefers also use Salifert test kits

AquariumDani · Feb 4, 2019

Thank you, everyone, for all your help. I appreciate it so much.

dantimdad · Feb 4, 2019

I would just wait it out and dose the Dr. Tim's per instructions.

I think your clown buddies will be fine. Just feed very sparingly.

rkpetersen · Feb 4, 2019

One more thing - Don't worry about the nitrite level. It's generally not even worth testing for it, as saltwater fish can tolerate very high levels. Not the same as with freshwater fish.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/rhf/index.php

Mikedawg · Feb 4, 2019

AquariumDani said:
Should I be using this every day? I ordered Dr. Tim's one and only on Amazon so it should arrive tomorrow.

Wouldn't dose every day; just according to Dr. Tim's instructions and your bacteria will be fully established soon.

AquariumDani · Feb 4, 2019

rkpetersen said:
One more thing - Don't worry about the nitrite level. It's generally not even worth testing for it, as saltwater fish can tolerate very high levels. Not the same as with freshwater fish.

Interesting, I thought nitrite were dangerous to fish and nitrate fish could tolerate.

KrisReef · Feb 4, 2019

I would only feed the fish lightly for the next week, once/day or less until ammonia is zero!

Ammonia will kill the fish long before you need to worry about starvation. Over feeding is the leading cause of ammonia, and since you already have ammonia be kind to the fish and feed them lightly. One flake per day is more than enough, believe it or not!

They will not grow on one flake per day, but they will survive easily a month on this tiny ration. Good luck.

rkpetersen · Feb 4, 2019

AquariumDani said:
Interesting, I thought nitrite were dangerous to fish and nitrate fish could tolerate.

As mentioned in that article by RHF, nitrite is much much less dangerous in saltwater largely because the high chloride level of saltwater interferes with nitrite uptake by fish and inverts. Clownfish in particular only start to be bothered when the nitrite level gets to around 30 ppm, and it may take 300 ppm or more to actually cause deaths.