New to the hobby

[melypr1985]

There are many ways to aclimate. Depends on what is already in the tank. In an empty tank if you choose to not QT specimens i would simply float a bag for 20 minutes. And allow the bag to sink and the fish to swim out. After certain fish have been established you may need an acclimation box.

This varies greatly according to the SG of the water they were shipped or bought in. We keep our fish only system at 1.019 at the store because that's what the fish get shipped to us in. We float and release there, but if you're bringing a fish home from our system then you have to drip acclimate slowly. I always tell my customers to take at least an hour to do it unless they can match their QT to our SG. I always recommend QT, that goes without saying.

 

[stevo01]

Scratch that. Sorry i dont do that and i dont recomend it. I prefer to not add foreign tank water when it comes to fish and corals. I float the bag for 20 minutes, then use a net and strainerand pour the fish into the net and add the fish to the tank. Sorry about that.

 

[stevo01]

This varies greatly according to the SG of the water they were shipped or bought in. We keep our fish only system at 1.019 at the store because that's what the fish get shipped to us in. We float and release there, but if you're bringing a fish home from our system then you have to drip acclimate slowly. I always tell my customers to take at least an hour to do it unless they can match their QT to our SG. I always recommend QT, that goes without saying.

Ive not had problems from not drip acclimating my salt fish yet. I only bought fish from one store near me and i dont actually know what they keep the fish in for SG. Good point tho, just hasnt been an issue for me.

 

[stevo01]

Also the water the fish are in could have copper, ect.

 

[Adam113]

I just dumped a small bit of fish flakes in. When should I expect to see ammonia show up, if any?

 

[Brew12]

I just dumped a small bit of fish flakes in. When should I expect to see ammonia show up, if any?

It is very hard to say. We call this ghost feeding. It depends on water temp, flow, are the flakes more vegetable or meat based? How much is a pinch compared to the water volume?
This is the advantage of dosing pure ammonia instead of ghost feeding. You can calculate exactly how much ammonia you need to get to 2ppm and you can watch it decay over time. When you can go from 2ppm ammonia to zero ammonia and nitrite in 24 hours you are ready to start adding fish.
If you are ghost feeding, it is guess work. Just go slow if you go that route.

 

[Adam113]

It is very hard to say. We call this ghost feeding. It depends on water temp, flow, are the flakes more vegetable or meat based? How much is a pinch compared to the water volume?
This is the advantage of dosing pure ammonia instead of ghost feeding. You can calculate exactly how much ammonia you need to get to 2ppm and you can watch it decay over time. When you can go from 2ppm ammonia to zero ammonia and nitrite in 24 hours you are ready to start adding fish.
If you are ghost feeding, it is guess work. Just go slow if you go that route.

This is the amount I added. If I test in a couple of hours, is it possible I'd see any? Or does the process take more time than that?

 

[Brew12]

This is the amount I added. If I test in a couple of hours, is it possible I'd see any? Or does the process take more time than that?

I'd check in about 12 hours. If you see no ammonia but nitrite or nitrate, then you know you are on your way and need to ghost feed more.

 

[Adam113]

I'd check in about 12 hours. If you see no ammonia but nitrite or nitrate, then you know you are on your way and need to ghost feed more.

Awesome. Thank you.

 

[Adam113]

Alright. I took some tests around 3 AM this morning, and not much had changed from yesterday evening.

Nitrates at about 10, everything else at 0.

I tested again when I got home from work about ten minutes ago, and we may have some changes... there looks to be possibly a trace amount of ammonia, and the nitrates look to be up to around 15 or so.

 

[Squig]

Looks like you're cycled, man!

 

[Brew12]

I agree that you are looking good. I would probably add almost twice as much food as last time wait until ammonia drops down below zero again. If it happens quickly you should be ready to start slowly adding fish.

 

[MaiReef]

I agree that you are looking good. I would probably add almost twice as much food as last time wait until ammonia drops down below zero again. If it happens quickly you should be ready to start slowly adding fish.

+1 and Welcome to R2R!

 

[Adam113]

Looks like you're cycled, man!

I agree that you are looking good. I would probably add almost twice as much food as last time wait until ammonia drops down below zero again. If it happens quickly you should be ready to start slowly adding fish.

+1 and Welcome to R2R!

Thanks everyone.

I am going to test again when I get home today, and if ammonia is back down to zero and nitrites are at zero, I'm going to go ahead and do a 5 gallon water change to bring those nitrates down.

After I get my base numbers after my water change, I think I'm going to add pure ammonia to get up to that 2PPM ammonia level, and see what happens in 24 hours to ensure I'm cycled and ready for livestock.

 

[Adam113]

Alright. I tested again when I got home. Ammonia at 0, nitrates at 0, and nitrates back down to closer to 5 or 10.

I went and got a bottle of ammonia. How much do I need to add to being my levels up to 2PPM? 29 gallon tank with about 20 pounds of live rock.

 

[Brew12]

Alright. I tested again when I got home. Ammonia at 0, nitrates at 0, and nitrates back down to closer to 5 or 10.

I went and got a bottle of ammonia. How much do I need to add to being my levels up to 2PPM? 29 gallon tank with about 20 pounds of live rock.

What is the concentration of the ammonia you picked up?

 

[Adam113]

What is the concentration of the ammonia you picked up?

I have no idea. The bottle just says clear ammonia (Harris Teeter brand).

 

[Brew12]

I have no idea. The bottle just says clear ammonia (Harris Teeter brand).

This might be ok. Clear ammonia may not be pure ammonia. For instance, the clear ammonia at Lowes has soap in it. Definitely a no go.

Give this stuff a good solid shake. If it foams, you shouldn't use it.

If it doesn't foam and you think it doesn't have a soap in it, you won't need to add much. 29 gallons is right around 110,000 ml. To get this to 2ppm you are looking at 0.2ml of ammonia. If this is a 10% ammonia solution you need to add 2ml to get to 2ppm.
If you decide to use it I would probably add 1ml, mix it into the water and measure it. Then see where you are at and if you need to add the 2nd ml. It really doesn't take much at all.

 

[Adam113]

This might be ok. Clear ammonia may not be pure ammonia. For instance, the clear ammonia at Lowes has soap in it. Definitely a no go.

Give this stuff a good solid shake. If it foams, you shouldn't use it.

If it doesn't foam and you think it doesn't have a soap in it, you won't need to add much. 29 gallons is right around 110,000 ml. To get this to 2ppm you are looking at 0.2ml of ammonia. If this is a 10% ammonia solution you need to add 2ml to get to 2ppm.
If you decide to use it I would probably add 1ml, mix it into the water and measure it. Then see where you are at and if you need to add the 2nd ml. It really doesn't take much at all.

Just did a quick google search and there are people on other saltwater fish forums that said it is in fact pure ammonia with no additives!

It doesn't foam at all when shaken. I'll go with .2ml and see what I've got. How long should it take to register in the water test?

 

[Adam113]

Just put a few drops of the ammonia in. How long until its throughly mixed and I can test for 2PPM?