New tank setup questions

[DLHDesign]

I would suggest adding Prime to both tanks immediately. Use the "emergency dose" instructions on the bottle (e.g.; 5x the volume for normal treatment).

Ammonia is poison to fish. Anything above 0.5ppm is considered toxic - with 0.2ppm being the point at which action should certainly be taken.

Could you take a picture of the tanks? There are a few questions I could ask, but usually a full picture of the tank(s) will answer them faster.

 

[Captain Quint]

Lots to unpack here, but first - welcome to R2R! I'm glad that you found us and hope you find it helpful.

To start off; the vast majority of us have been where you are. Keeping a saltwater tank is a huge undertaking and it's unreasonable to think that anyone new to the hobby could know everything right from the start. So please don't take any advice given as criticism against you. Members here are looking to help you progress your skill in this hobby - to bring you up; not bash you down.

My first suggestion is to keep things slow. The "golden rule" of reefing (and saltwater in general) is that "nothing good happens fast". You will not get a saltwater tank overnight. It sounds like you know this already, so I just wanted to reinforce that.

If possible, I would personally suggest returning the fish you have. Neither of your tanks seem to have established the biological processes that are often looked for to ensure that fish can survive without stress.

If that is not possible or is not desirable - there are certainly other options. @Lasse has posted an article that outlines some very good, clear steps that you could take to build a successful, long-term tank. It's a great article and worth the scant time it will take to read through it.

In either case; yes - water changes will help to keep your fish healthy and as happy as possible. The only downside of doing too many water changes is that you spend more money on salt and water than you might really need to. But the costs involved in a gallon or two of saltwater is usually pretty cheap - less than the cost of even one fish, usually. And since doing them might save all your fish - it's a good trade-off.

I wouldn't worry about changing the lights just yet. Until you start adding coral, even ambient room lighting is fine for fish.

In terms of adding coral and nems; I would suggest waiting to add them until you understand what it is that they need and how you will provide them with this. Elements, flow, stability, and - yes - lighting are all things that corals require to survive and thrive. Poke around the site. Check out the "stickies" in the various sections that interest you. Ask any questions you have. Don't wait until you know everything (you - we - never will), but do at least understand the basics.

Good luck and - most important - enjoy the journey!

Fantastic advice. I missed the part of adding the fishes with ammonia. Thanks for pointing that out.

 

[DLHDesign]

Thinking about doing a water change to assist.

Not a bad idea if you have saltwater made up already - and know that it's free of ammonia. If you do that, do so before adding the Prime.

 

[Captain Quint]

I would suggest adding Prime to both tanks immediately. Use the "emergency dose" instructions on the bottle (e.g.; 5x the volume for normal treatment).

Ammonia is poison to fish. Anything above 0.5ppm is considered toxic - with 0.2 being the point at which action should certainly be taken.

+1 if this is the case of not allowed to return. You could donate to a mature home which would really be a good thing.

As mentioned Prime will bind some of the bad juju...you can safely add up to 5 times the amount recommended by Seachem.

 

[rkpetersen]

Hi. Welcome to R2R.

Sounds like neither aquarium was really ready for fish yet (i.e. not cycled), but the fish are there now so you'll have to work with that.
Use Prime, feed sparingly for now and continue to add a bacterial product every couple of days until ammonia stays at 0.
The best bacterial starter product out there is refrigerated Fritz Turbo Start. Others such as BioSpira, Tim's, etc are good but not as good; only the Fritz works overnight.
For water changes, the standard recommendation is 10% a week, but there is huge variation on that. RODI water only for everything from here out.
5 gallons a week for the 75 is probably ok initially, given the small bioload.
However you may need to do additional larger ones if ammonia becomes/stays a problem.
Definitely wait several months at least before adding a BTA. Consider starting first with rock flower anemones and mini maxi anemones.
There are a whole lot of considerations to making a saltwater tank into a successful reef with growing stony corals, etc, but most of those (lighting, dosing, flow, nutrient levels) can wait for now.

 

[Ruben's Reef]

!!! Welcome to R2R !!! As you can see, you already have a lot of good recommendations. I'm glad that LFS send you here. Something I will tell you from my little experience, Do Not Rush anything on saltwater. Give some time for the system to develop and don't add a bubble tip anemone until the system mature, like about a year. I got one 2 month after cycling and didn't make it. Now I have one anemone that is getting huge. Try to do your own water (RODI). That will save you a lot of $$$ and headache. Be patience.

 

[Lasse]

I miss your ammonia measurements - what brand are you using in order to test? how does your fishes act. If your test is done with normal type of test - you can say two things. 1. these test can´t be trusted - they often show to high redings. 2. If it in reality is 1 ppm NH3/NH4 - and that the pH is 8.2 - the toxic part is only around 0.07 ppm (NH3) - not panic as an acute reading but not so good in the long run.

What I would do in this situation is to stop feeding – no feeding at all. Put the skimmer wit max aeration, let the powerhead point against the surface (why? – it will helps to aerate out toxic NH3 from the water) Check that the fishes act naturally – it is better than guessing a value from a hobby test.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[rkpetersen]

Also consider getting a SeaChem Ammonia Alert to put in the tank. They are surprisingly sensitive to even low levels of ammonia, and provide a continuous reading.
When you're done with it in your display tank, you can transfer it to your quarantine tank.
If you don't have a quarantine tank, that's another topic for discussion; most (but not all) would recommend using one to keep parasites out of your display.

 

[cvanchuck]

I miss your ammonia measurements - what brand are you using in order to test? how does your fishes act. If your test is done with normal type of test - you can say two things. 1. these test can´t be trusted - they often show to high redings. 2. If it in reality is 1 ppm NH3/NH4 - and that the pH is 8.2 - the toxic part is only around 0.07 ppm (NH3) - not panic as an acute reading but not so good in the long run.

What I would do in this situation is to stop feeding – no feeding at all. Put the skimmer wit max aeration, let the powerhead point against the surface (why? – it will helps to aerate out toxic NH3 from the water) Check that the fishes act naturally – it is better than guessing a value from a hobby test.

Sincerely Lasse

I'm using
API Master Test Kit
And
Hanna HI98319 for salinity

 

[cvanchuck]

I'm going to do an emergency die of prime to both tanks. And do water change in a few days if nothing goes down.

Is this ok?

 

[cvanchuck]

Also consider getting a SeaChem Ammonia Alert to put in the tank. They are surprisingly sensitive to even low levels of ammonia, and provide a continuous reading.
When you're done with it in your display tank, you can transfer it to your quarantine tank.
If you don't have a quarantine tank, that's another topic for discussion; most (but not all) would recommend using one to keep parasites out of your display.

This?

 

[Lasse]

How does your fish looks like? API test gives the total NH3/NH4. As @rkpetersen says - Sea chem ammonia alert will probably give a better picture of what´s happen. It easy to panic in this situation - do not do that if your fishes looks good and behave normal.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[cvanchuck]

How does your fish looks like? API test gives the total NH3/NH4. As @rkpetersen says - Sea chem ammonia alert will probably give a better picture of what´s happen. It easy to panic in this situation - do not do that if your fishes looks good and behave normal.

Sincerely Lasse

Fish are fine. Nice in color and eating well.

 

[cvanchuck]

Was also looking to buy this
HI700

Low Range Ammonia Colorimeter – Checker® HCK

 

[rkpetersen]

This?

I wouldn't bother with the pH alert badge. https://www.amazon.com/Seachem-001001-Ammonia-Alert/dp/B000255R5G

Also, that Ammonia Checker is listed as for freshwater use only; don't know if it would work in salt.
That said, the Hanna Checkers are in general some of the best hobbyist-level testers around.

 

[cvanchuck]

I would suggest adding Prime to both tanks immediately. Use the "emergency dose" instructions on the bottle (e.g.; 5x the volume for normal treatment).

Ammonia is poison to fish. Anything above 0.5ppm is considered toxic - with 0.2ppm being the point at which action should certainly be taken.

Could you take a picture of the tanks? There are a few questions I could ask, but usually a full picture of the tank(s) will answer them faster.

 

[DLHDesign]

Tanks look good. Make sure to keep that surface water moving - a lot of the stuff that's being advised will benefit from (even require) good gas exchange. Which you get from a skimmer, but also from the movement from the surface of the water.
Keep an eye on that temperature - 78+/-F is good. Higher temps means higher metabolic activity, which generally means everything bad happens faster. Unless your house is unusually cold, you might want to turn your heaters off (or unplug them).

The HI700 is for freshwater ONLY. It will not read correctly in saltwater. The Ammonia Alert badge @rkpetersen linked to is the best bet for ammonia detection - I use them in all my quarantine tanks. They are slow to read, so give them an hour or so after you do water changes/Prime addition before you read it's value.

Note that - aside from a reduction in oxygen (see the "gas exchange" above) - adding Prime won't really hurt anything. @Lasse is likely right that the test is reading high based on the behavior of your fish, but you might still want to do a water change and Prime addition just in case. At the least, I would do a water change as there's certainly no harm in that.

 

[cvanchuck]

Done a prime dosage to both tanks and moved the powerheads up more for Agitation

 

[cvanchuck]

Would adding air to the water work ?

 

[Lasse]

Every type of gas exchanger is good if you suspect NH3. (ammonia gas) - but stress will harm and it is a balance act. If this was my aquaria I would wait with aeration of the DT if the fishes look good and have it as a plan B. The reason why I not have recommended prime is that I have never use that product - I do not know much about it.

Sincerely Lasse