russells55
Community Member
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2021
- Messages
- 84
- Reaction score
- 33
- Location
- kitchener
- What state or country do you live in
- Canada
Hi all.
I’m not sure what to do next.
heres the situation.
My friend has given me his fluval evo 13.5 tank. I have had freshwater tanks for years and still do but never saltwater. However I like to think i have a fair idea of what im doing.
bit of info on the Evo tank. He had it setup for about 2-3 years all stock stuff (filter/light) but about 2 months ago he upgraded to a 70gallon. I’m told it use to have: 2 clown fish , 3 small torch corals , 5 frags, bunch of snails and hermit crabs and 3 live rock chunks and live crunched coral sand.
He said he took out a bunch of thing and has been neglecting this tank. All that’s left now is 1 live rock chunk 1 frags and a bunch of snails and 2 hermit crabs and the sand.
then just before I got the tank the power block for the light got cut by a vacuum or the cat lol. So no light at all for about a week I’m told.
so jump to me now.
The tank was dirty and came 1/3 full. I mixed up a batch of new salt water mostly Rand some tap. filled it up and set it up on a stand. Fixed the light power supply.
right away the tank seamed to come to life about 12 little snails and bristle worms? All moving around in the sand.
I added a DIY filter cage for chamber 1 on this in tank sub thing and filled it with fluval white ceramic blocks. Then added more live rock a peppermint shrimp and did a 30% water change and sand gravel vac.
I tested and got:
Nh3 0.25 No2 0.5ppm n03 5-15ppm
shrimp seamed happy.
24 hours later: 0 ammonia. 0 nitrite and 5-15 for nitrate (Color are hard to tell a difference)
3 days later all still 0, 0, 5-15
so I was thinking since it was an establishment tank I didn’t need to cycle or it did a mini one.
i then bought more livestock then I would have normally done but it was Boxing Day sale and 20% or more off everything at big als so I went a bit nuts I know my bad.
Now I have 1 clown fish, 2 peppermint shrimp and 2 small torch corals , 2 goniopora (that won’t open) and 2 green candy cane frags (I think that’s what there called) plus the 1 frag the tank came with.
for the last 2 days the nh3 ammonia has gone from 0 to 0.5 to 1.5 ( I then did a 30 % water change) down to 0.75 today
what should I do here…
I have seachem prime and pristine and stability plus an api ammonia lock. I don’t really use these for my freshwater ever but I belive there still good. If anyone thinks that should help.
i was thinking lock up some of that ammonia?
Or do I just do more water changes. (Every time I do a water change I seam to have issues with the salt level even though I pre mix it to 1.025 )
should I buy a phosphate test kit?
Thanks in advance sorry for the long rambling post
I’m not sure what to do next.
heres the situation.
My friend has given me his fluval evo 13.5 tank. I have had freshwater tanks for years and still do but never saltwater. However I like to think i have a fair idea of what im doing.
bit of info on the Evo tank. He had it setup for about 2-3 years all stock stuff (filter/light) but about 2 months ago he upgraded to a 70gallon. I’m told it use to have: 2 clown fish , 3 small torch corals , 5 frags, bunch of snails and hermit crabs and 3 live rock chunks and live crunched coral sand.
He said he took out a bunch of thing and has been neglecting this tank. All that’s left now is 1 live rock chunk 1 frags and a bunch of snails and 2 hermit crabs and the sand.
then just before I got the tank the power block for the light got cut by a vacuum or the cat lol. So no light at all for about a week I’m told.
so jump to me now.
The tank was dirty and came 1/3 full. I mixed up a batch of new salt water mostly Rand some tap. filled it up and set it up on a stand. Fixed the light power supply.
right away the tank seamed to come to life about 12 little snails and bristle worms? All moving around in the sand.
I added a DIY filter cage for chamber 1 on this in tank sub thing and filled it with fluval white ceramic blocks. Then added more live rock a peppermint shrimp and did a 30% water change and sand gravel vac.
I tested and got:
Nh3 0.25 No2 0.5ppm n03 5-15ppm
shrimp seamed happy.
24 hours later: 0 ammonia. 0 nitrite and 5-15 for nitrate (Color are hard to tell a difference)
3 days later all still 0, 0, 5-15
so I was thinking since it was an establishment tank I didn’t need to cycle or it did a mini one.
i then bought more livestock then I would have normally done but it was Boxing Day sale and 20% or more off everything at big als so I went a bit nuts I know my bad.
Now I have 1 clown fish, 2 peppermint shrimp and 2 small torch corals , 2 goniopora (that won’t open) and 2 green candy cane frags (I think that’s what there called) plus the 1 frag the tank came with.
for the last 2 days the nh3 ammonia has gone from 0 to 0.5 to 1.5 ( I then did a 30 % water change) down to 0.75 today
what should I do here…
I have seachem prime and pristine and stability plus an api ammonia lock. I don’t really use these for my freshwater ever but I belive there still good. If anyone thinks that should help.
i was thinking lock up some of that ammonia?
Or do I just do more water changes. (Every time I do a water change I seam to have issues with the salt level even though I pre mix it to 1.025 )
should I buy a phosphate test kit?
Thanks in advance sorry for the long rambling post
