Tank Transfer

brandon429 · Apr 20, 2016

What if the ammonia readings were off, or adulterated by additives like prime (known issue w API along w other search result confounds)

The challenge with persistent low level ammonia challenses is that they imply large sources of ammonia are leaking...being only partially oxidized down to only .25 which also implies some ability for the tank to filter.

It nullifies the massive surface areas of the sand, that kind comes loaded as well (owing to bottle bac genetic studies validating bac transfer ability) and the live rock portion

for a persistent low level reading to be accurate, a large waste store is somewhere and this is 90 gallons had me thinking hmm

Then I thought, if he was bac deficit it would take longer to build up to acceptable levels than is taking...having to do skip cycles is challenging when the live rock isn't overdone as usual agreed.

Wiz · Apr 20, 2016

I am by no means arguing, but I would not call a brand new tank persistent low levels. Even in the 20 gallon two and a half months is not persistent low levels. It seems to me that the levels are elevated because of the new setup and cycling process. Had there been more to the problem I might agree but in this particular case I would have to disagree. And if chemicals are still causing fluctuations That were added to start you are not ready for fish or stock anyway. Again my opinion.

bsbalr24 · Apr 20, 2016

Appreciate all the advice guys.

I learned much during this process being my first big transfer. What was the general consensus from everyone including local fish forums and lfs, they all said that was the best bet and that there would be a small cycle of some sort but shouldn't last more than a week or harm any of the fish I currently have.

Now I know more of what to do and not to do and honestly won't be doing anything of his magnitude anytime soon. Once everything calms down and hopefully no one gets sick before I can quickly qt them, I'll slowly start adding more to fill up the tank.

As I said, none of the current fish show any signs of illness or distress of any kind but I will keep you guys updated weekly if you care to read along and chime in as we go.

Again I really appreciate all the help and quick response time all of you guys had.

brandon429 · Apr 20, 2016

No harsh taken Wz this is fun to dissect and trade angles never a harm ~

Wiz · Apr 20, 2016

Always. :-D I love it. Always learning

bsbalr24 · Apr 21, 2016

An update today:

PH has gone down to 7.8
Ammonia is still minimal reading
Nitrite is still at 1.0
Nitrate has raised up to 10

Wiz · Apr 21, 2016

Nitate being the end og the cycle and still rising supports the idea that cycle is not complete. And you should never have a nitrite or amonia reading unless cycling. Assuming your tests are accurate, I would say you are still cycling.

bsbalr24 · Apr 21, 2016

I plan on doing a small water change to help with that as well as add some ph up to bring the ph to around 8.0

brandon429 · Apr 21, 2016

want to reiterate

if these are api tests, we are not factoring search results that show your numbers will range much differently if ran on another test kit, any other kit

if they were not api then ill go reread first post ha~

bsbalr24 · Apr 22, 2016

Now having white stuff build up all over the tank. Covering rock, powerhead and live plant. Tried to search what it is but couldn't find anything.

brandon429 · Apr 22, 2016

when we move tanks fully, or even rearrange in tank, we kick up waste that fuels other animals and plants we kicked up into suspension who are just natural hitchhikers, floating around, waiting for a niche to exploit. maybe a little boost of extra light, or some nutrients...they grab onto the feed, grab a substrate and reproduce a bit, until reserves are gone *or your hand clean them off

Bunnee911 · Apr 22, 2016

Did you add anything to the water? Did you dose ph?

brandon429 · Apr 22, 2016

nice call, in case its a precip.

also, it could be the silt we beg people to rinse out of new sandbeds, but often is not rinsed due to unfounded fears of bacterial loss

bsbalr24 · Apr 23, 2016

Did add some ph up since ph dropped to 7.8

As of about 20 min ago everything was normal. PH 8.2 ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 0.

No sand was washed due to the fact that it's all live sand but rock was added after the cloudiness cleared.

7FootReefer · Apr 23, 2016

I would be careful adding pH up, especially when using Api tests. Make sure there is good surface agitation and flow, and that really should be all you need to keep the PH stable. Don't get too caught up worrying about your PH levels especially when using api tests.