Into about a week or just over it with new tank..

[Nicknackzz13]

Hey yall hows everyone doing?

So ive been on here posting a lot meeting people etc and everyones very helpful

anyways i got a new water testing unit today and gave it a shot..

heres my reading, PS i done a 2/3Gallon water change about a few hrs later and the reading the same if not less)

PH- 8.2
Ammonia- 1.0/0.5
Nitrite- 0 ppm
Nitrate- 0 ppm

And my green Chromish is doing fine, hes out swimming daily, hides at night, but comes out more and more each night, got him some brine shrimp too and done a 2/3G water change, he seems happy healthy and eating great!

 

[Breakthecycle2]

Why do you have fish if the tank isn't cycled?

 

[jetmaker]

And why are you doing water changes before the end of cycle.

 

[Nicknackzz13]

i was advised to do a water change and to add a fish! yup i know! :S

 

[Nicknackzz13]

got about 3 weeks to the end of the cycle or less.. water change because someone on here said do a water change

 

[tj w]

I would take the chromis out and bring it to a friend or the lfs. Be patient and let the tank cycle. Ask lots of questions.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

i was advised to do a water change and to add a fish! yup i know! :S

got about 3 weeks to the end of the cycle or less.. water change because someone on here said do a water change

Wow. Sorry. Ya didn't get the best advice there.
e gads.
Clearly R2R needs a basic set up sticky. And how to cycle. Basics.

It's not likely the fish will survive sadly. Are you adding any bacterial like dr Tim or prime? How cool is your local fish shop?

 

[jetmaker]

got about 3 weeks to the end of the cycle or less.. water change because someone on here said do a water change

Yeah sorry about the bad advice on here. Should not of got don't do a water change until after the cycle you're depleting your purpose. If you are going to cycle with that fish add bio speria give him some relief.

 

[WilRams]

Its already a sticky in the New to Saltwater section...

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/

 

[jrose323]

I agree with above. I would get the Chromis out and place him in a temporary (Established) tank. Keeping him in there during a tank cycle is both life threatening and very stressful for the fish (Gill irritation, eye irritation, respiratory stress). The method of using a fish to cycle your tank is an archaic method and not used today. It looks like you have live rock, so natural die off from the live rock will suffice to kick off and complete your tank cycle which can take anywhere from 2-6 weeks.

Based on your test parameters, your nitrogen cycle has just started and your ammonia spike is only going to get worse as your nitrifying bacteria begin to reproduce and colonize. When this occurs, you will notice your nitrites start to spike and your ammonia will slowly start decreasing. From this point, the bacteria will begin converting your nitrites in to nitrates and you will notice your nitrates start to climb and your nitrites reduce. Once your ammonia and nitrites are at 0 PPM, (Nitrates will still show a reading...This is ok); you are safe to perform a partial water change to remove some of the nitrates. At this point, you are safe to introduce CUC and slowly introducing fish. Keep in mind, you do not want to introduce a large amount of fish at once as with each fish add, you need to allow time for the nitrifying bacteria to adjust to the increased bio load and not cause a mini cycle.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Its already a sticky in the New to Saltwater section...

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/

I agree with above. I would get the Chromis out and place him in a temporary (Established) tank. Keeping him in there during a tank cycle is both life threatening and very stressful for the fish (Gill irritation, eye irritation, respiratory stress). The method of using a fish to cycle your tank is an archaic method and not used today. It looks like you have live rock, so natural die off from the live rock will suffice to kick off and complete your tank cycle which can take anywhere from 2-6 weeks.

Based on your test parameters, your nitrogen cycle has just started and your ammonia spike is only going to get worse as your nitrifying bacteria begin to reproduce and colonize. When this occurs, you will notice your nitrites start to spike and your ammonia will slowly start decreasing. From this point, the bacteria will begin converting your nitrites in to nitrates and you will notice your nitrates start to climb and your nitrites reduce. Once your ammonia and nitrites are at 0 PPM, (Nitrates will still show a reading...This is ok); you are safe to perform a partial water change to remove some of the nitrates. At this point, you are safe to introduce CUC and slowly introducing fish. Keep in mind, you do not want to introduce a large amount of fish at once as with each fish add, you need to allow time for the nitrifying bacteria to adjust to the increased bio load and not cause a mini cycle.

I meant a well written concise article like this.

Thanks.

Good luck buddy. Not the end of the world.
Sorry for the trouble.

 

[jetmaker]

got about 3 weeks to the end of the cycle or less.. water change because someone on here said do a water change

I think cycling with a fish or dead shrimp is not good it gives what you would call a soft cycle. You add 2 fish and wonder why they died. It will create a mini cycle in the future I always hard cycle with pure ammonia and I can add 5 or more at one time with no problems. Just my Imo.

 

[Nicknackzz13]

Daaannnggg..

Yeah I'm a total noob at this and I've heard and was told to add a very hardy fish to help cycle... I wanted bio spira but I couldn't find it anywhere so I got instant cycle and have had it in the tank since i had it set up so I assume it's kept the little chromish happy and stress free, I gotta get my hands on a bottle, but right now I'm using abti stress stuff for fish and instant cycle too I have for diatoms in some parts which I've been told is good because its the tank cycling, I'm also gonna buy some ammonia decreasing stuff so would this help with the cycle too or should I not ? Would adding ammonia decreasing liquid mess my cycle up???

Cause I was gonna get some tomorrow..
.thanks y'all for the advice
.yes I got live rock and sand and the tank was established before I got it so I guess the people who have me advice thought itd had been already cycled so itd be okay ?

Anyways the chromish is eating well and happy so far the tank is changing everyday, sobwoukd adding ammonia liquid mess my cycle up or is it a good idea??.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

sobwoukd adding ammonia liquid mess my cycle up or is it a good idea??.

bad idea

 

[jetmaker]

Remove fish if you use pure ammonia but yeah pure ammonia starts a cycle immediately.

 

[jrose323]

Ammonia decreasing solution is not needed as that will only prolong your tank cycle.

Whether you are working with a tank that was previously established, etc. Anytime you re-setup the tank, you will experience a cycle. Your bacteria establishes itself in porous areas in the tank (Sand, Live rock, Filters, etc) but when you have those items exposed to air for periods of time (Transport, etc) your bacteria begins to die off.

I would strongly suggest speaking with your local fish store to see if they are willing to hold the fish for you temporarily in one of their tanks. Most good LFS places would not have an issue doing this. If you do not take this approach, keep an eye on your fish daily. Your ammonia is low at the moment, but as the cycle really kicks off, you are going to see that climb to between the 4 - 8 PPM mark. With ammonia that high, it will without doubt begin to affect your Chromis. Watch for signs such as purple, red, or bleeding gills, red streaking on the fins or body, going to the surface to gasp for air, or becoming weak and laying at the bottom of the tank. These are all signs that your fish is on his way out due to ammonia poisoning.

 

[jetmaker]

Really this fish can do the cycle but it will be a soft cycle.

 

[jetmaker]

You can get bio speria from Dr fosters Smith

 

[Nicknackzz13]

Okay co guys, yeah I check him daily ..

Okay so I should grab some bio spira I found a fish store close to me I can get it at 100ml bottle for $12.99.. Should I get some to put in??

 

[jrose323]

I would recommend it to try and establish your bacteria colony and prevent that ammonia spiking to unsafe levels. Essentially, you want to start seeing those nitrites start climbing which means ammonia is being processed out by the bacteria. So far, we are not seeing that which signifies that your bacteria has not yet established to process out the ammonia.