Need advice/help

Peasey · Mar 6, 2018

Hey everyone,

Not sure what's going on with my coral and tank.

Info on the tank truvue 65, reef octo 1000bh skimmer built in filtration bio balls, was up and running for about 3 years buddy lost interest drained brought to me did a clean and filled let cycle for a few days added snails, crabs, a mated pair of clows and 3 damsels, the stoney coral and the Duncan coral, resently added the Kenya tree coral who was ticked for a week and is now ticked again, then this weekend added some snails and the 2 small soft coral that I can't remember the names of.

The Ammonia had gone up a bit so I did some ammonia lock with no change and have been doing 5-10 gallon water changes with little to no change and the last 2 days my Duncan has been ticked as you can see from the pics.

Only other change is I got some zooplanktos-m to feed the corals and have only gave a very little.

Also stopped feeding as much when I noticed the ammonia went up

Any thoughts on what can be going on? And what steps I should take

Thank you in advance

EmdeReef · Mar 6, 2018

If I understand correctly your tank and rocks were dry and then you filled the tank and added lifestock?

If so, your tank is just cycling. By adding fish and inverts your ammonia went up and you don’t have enough nitrifying bacteria to convert ammonia to nitrite and nitrate.

At this poInt you should add bacteria such as Biospira or Dr Tim’s to speed up the cycle. You may have to dose a couple of times give your livestock.

Water changes will have limited impact at this stage but can provide immediate relief. Once your ammonia is undetectable, your tank can be considered safe for fish/inverts etc.

NS Mike D · Mar 6, 2018

so you probably figure out, in a new tank, adding a few fish and clean up crew can quickly overload your bacteria. the bacteria will multiply and get in balance with the new ammonia levels pretty quickly. go slow!!!!!

no need to feed with zooplankton for now or for a long time - let the coral zooxanthellae use up the nitrates during photosynthesis.

+1 on the above post about adding bacteria to help break down ammonia - how's the skimmer? is it tuned well enough so that it can pull the organics before they break down?

the kenya tree and duncan will open and close - hang in there, they are great at consuming nutrients - t0 the point you'll eventually need to prune the kenya tree

did I mention to go slow?

KMench · Mar 6, 2018

Like the others said, it’s probably cycling still. Most saltwater tanks take weeks to cycle and establish the requisite bacteria. Try adding some of the bottled bacteria as mentioned and keep your ammonia low (zero is where it really should be). Keep the feedings to a minimum until the bacteria become established and the ammonia drops to 0.

KMench · Mar 6, 2018

double post

Peasey · Mar 6, 2018

Thank you for the quick replies.

The sand rock etc was never dry it was drained of water and delivered to my house 10 mins later.

I have been out of the hobby for about 5 years and didn't think this through.

I'll grab some Dr Tim's and I'll be patient I was worried about the Duncan as he was really happy until Sunday and the last thing I want is to start killing things.

As for feeding the fish once a day good enough?

Peasey · Mar 6, 2018

NS Mike D said:
so you probably figure out, in a new tank, adding a few fish and clean up crew can quickly overload your bacteria. the bacteria will multiply and get in balance with the new ammonia levels pretty quickly. go slow!!!!!

no need to feed with zooplankton for now or for a long time - let the coral zooxanthellae use up the nitrates during photosynthesis.

+1 on the above post about adding bacteria to help break down ammonia - how's the skimmer? is it tuned well enough so that it can pull the organics before they break down?

the kenya tree and duncan will open and close - hang in there, they are great at consuming nutrients - t0 the point you'll eventually need to prune the kenya tree

did I mention to go slow?

The skimmer seems to be tuned pretty well, it's picked, I watch it a lot to make sure it's pulling and the water is agitating to pull. Of course if the water level drop then no skim. But it's been good 96% of the time

NS Mike D · Mar 7, 2018

Peasey said:
Thank you for the quick replies.

The sand rock etc was never dry it was drained of water and delivered to my house 10 mins later.

I have been out of the hobby for about 5 years and didn't think this through.

I'll grab some Dr Tim's and I'll be patient I was worried about the Duncan as he was really happy until Sunday and the last thing I want is to start killing things.

As for feeding the fish once a day good enough?

My duncan was one of my first lps. I made every noobie mistake in the book and eventually I was left with a gray stump. I was about to toss it when i noticed a glimpse of green inside so i moved it to an barren spot on the rocks. a few weeks later i noticed a single tentacle emerge.

glad I double checked for life back then: