New, and need help with cycling.

[Bitchwheur?]

Okay so my dad rushed me in to this hobby, I made a mistake, please don't judge me. I have a 30 gallon bio cube, one day after work my dad decided to get me into the hobby of reefing, and he just picked me up from work and we went straight to petco, without little knowledge of reefing, we bought a bag of live sand some salt mix. My dad poured regular house water on it. Even though I told him not to, but we quickly added the declorinator stuff, we mixed the salt in, added one uncured live rock, it was a bigger one though. The bag of live sand we used said to add crustaceans in as soon as it's all set up for some reason, I think that was supposed to act as an amonia source, we waited four or five days added two more bigger live rocks (i'd say we have max amount) and a crab. A few days later we added two clown fish, because the amonia read zero, but I don't think there was amonia to begin with. When I noticed the first one dead, he was in the crabs arms being consumed, I checked the water the amonia was at 3 ppm I did a 50% water change using already mixed saltwater they sell at my local fish store and i now know not use tap. sadly the next day the other clown was dead and amonia levels were the same. It's been about five days since then. The crab is doing fine, and the amonia has since droped to .50 ppm and the nitrites 5.0 ppm the ph is 8.2. Should I add any more amonia? I plan on doing more water changes today. Is my cycle almost over or begining?

 

[Tahoe61]

Hi and Welcome.

I would say the tank is in the early stages of the cycle. Since the ammonia level was so high I see no down side to doing smaller water changes, 2-3 gallons. I would add some bacteria in a bottle, I WOULD NOT add any more ammonia.

Do not be too hard on yourself, you appear to understand that this hobby takes patience, a lot of patience.

Keep testing, give the tank a couple more weeks, at least two before adding any further live stock.

If after water changes and bacteria in a bottle you test and there is no detectable ammonia or nitrites, you can add some fish food, medium pinch, wait a day and see it there is any detectable ammonia or nitrites. If not then I would proceed with another smaller water change. Give it a day or two test again.

It's a fascinating hobby.

 

[Erik R]

Tahoe is correct on all points (no doubt!)

What I wanted to add is that it seems you are not too happy with the prospects of taking care of a Reef tank, and it sounds like you are being sent down a road you dont want. I would say your first step would be to determine if this is something you want to do. If you are not sure, you should probably stop. Taking care of a Reef is something that requires dedication, diligence, experimentation, and constant education... not to mention a healthy dose of time and patience. But if your head is not into it, this could be more frustration than you are wanting.

If this is something you really want to pursue, you are definitely in the right place to ask questions, and everyone here started knowing nothing and we are all learning as we go.

One big tip: People at Petco are 99% likely to not be any kind of expert on anything. I would advise asking people here or visit a couple dedicated aquarium stores in your area. My general rule of thumb is: As everyone. Collect their answers and look for correlations. Discard the divergent opinions. What remains is likely to get you to truth.

If this is a path you want to take, have fun with it!

 

[Bitchwheur?]

Yeah I no longer go to petco. They are also more expensive, and yes I've wanted a reef tank since forever, I've already been putting alot of time, effort, and money into this, it's all I've been thinking about for days actually lol. Thanks for the responses!!

 

[Erik R]

Yeah I no longer go to petco. They are also more expensive, and yes I've wanted a reef tank since forever, I've already been putting alot of time, effort, and money into this, it's all I've been thinking about for days actually lol. Thanks for the responses!!

Very good! Sorry if I misread your message and took a direction that was not intended.

I am somewhat in the same boat as you. I had a tank many years ago and had some success with it as well as frustrations. Currently am planning on a new tank, but am taking my time. Listening to people, watching their problems and solutions, as well as mistakes. Still weighing the prospects.

 

[Jason mack]

Welcome too this wonderful hobby , it does all seem overwhelming sometimes all the info and testing and worrying and doubting yourself .. we've all been there , you'll do fine , your already on the right path , your on reef 2 reef ...
1. Read everything you can on here , research , research ,ask questions , lots of them ..
2 . Patience is everything .. it can take couple of months or even longer for a tank too cycle , it takes more than a year for your tank too mature .. we do everything slowly ..
happy reefing !

 

[beaslbob]

I would try a common molly. they can live in full saltwater and if they don't make it, better to lose a $2.00 molly then a $15 marine fish.

I would also add some macro algae to stabilize and balance out the operation. Macro (and other) algae consume nitrates and co2 and return oxygen and fish food. Plus if something goes bump in the night the resulting ammonia bump is consumed directly by the macros as the bump goes away and/or bacteria build up.


my .02

 

[KJ]

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

 

[Bitchwheur?]

Thanks for the replies they are all very helpfull!!! I'm still a little lost though my amonia is at 0 ppm now and my ph is at 7.4, my nitrates and nitrites are super high, but I plan on more water changes. and I want to know if it would be okay to add another live rock as long as it's already alive and covered with coraline?

 

[beaslbob]

are you using the high range pH kit?

 

[Bitchwheur?]

Yes i am

 

[beaslbob]

That's very low ph if 7.4 is correct. indicates high co2. Adding some macro algae to balance out the tank with lower co2 and result in a higher ph.

And be sure to measure pH just before lights out.

my .02