We blew it

Isla_Nut · Jan 9, 2022

This is my 1st marine aquarium in 15 years (19 gallon Biocube) & I was so excited. Looks like a LOT has changed over the years b/ca we knew about buying bottled bac, but didn't know you could buy bottled ammonia & cycle without a fish. Long story short we've been cycling with a skunk clown & it seemed to be going really well. Ammonia finally spiked & went down to 0, Nitrites spiked, Nitrates growing slowly & started to see some spots of brown algae so we got a couple of tiny Hawaiian hermits. Then all of the sudden the Nitrites went to 5ppm (maybe higher, that's as high as my test shows) so we started doing daily water changes, but it wasn't coming down. Clown seemed strong, eating & swimming very well. Well, we missed a day of water changes & tho it didn't die the next day, it was gone the next (today.)

*So now I'm wondering what to do now. How do I bring the nitrites down & will high nitrites kill my hermit crabs? I was getting ready to get snails to control the algae, but maybe that's a bad idea?? Will not having a fish in the tank stop the tank's cycling?
Thx!!

Jekyl · Jan 9, 2022

The cycle is already progressing. I suggest new tests. Salifert are good ones. The numbers weren't coming down because your test wasn't showing how high they really were. If looking for a quick fix I would suggest adding some live rock. Actual mature rock purchased from another reefer or a local fish store. This will instantly give you all that is needed for the nitrification cycle.

Jekyl · Jan 9, 2022

Also was the fish showing any issues before dying? With the amount of water changes being done I'm not sold that ammonia was the cause.

Isla_Nut · Jan 9, 2022

Thx for the test suggestion. I'm going to take some water to my lfs tonight too.
We do have live rock in the tank. Our ammonia has been at 0 for several days, but the nitrites are very high. We've been doing about a 12% (2gallon) water change most days since the nitrites got so high. The salinity is perfect. Fish seemed completely healthy, no spots, eating heartily, swimming great, etc, last night b4 it died.
But will the high nitrites kill my hermit crabs?

theMeat · Jan 9, 2022

Imo you shouldn’t do a water change until nitrates rise to at least 10 ppm

Cell · Jan 9, 2022

Nitrites aren't harmful in saltwater. How long has the tank been set up? Got a pic?

BrianAnthony · Jan 9, 2022

Advice you got above sounds good. My 12g nano tank cycled for 2 months. Hang in there... The brown stuff you saw were probably diatoms. I wouldn't add anything else until Ammonia and Nitrites are 0.00. Usually during your cycle you shouldn't perform many water changes. Your constant changes probably stalled the cycle. Just let mother nature work or like the above post said... Add a piece of mature rock to speed it up a bit.

Isla_Nut · Jan 9, 2022

theMeat said:
Imo you shouldn’t do a water change until nitrates rise to at least 10 ppm

Our nitrates got to 20 ppm, but are now at 10ppm

Isla_Nut · Jan 9, 2022

Cell said:
Nitrites aren't harmful in saltwater. How long has the tank been set up? Got a pic?

Only a few weeks. I messed the rock all up trying to get the fish out.
Thx!

Jekyl · Jan 9, 2022

The nutrients in the water did not kill your fish. Without ammonia being the issue then the cause of death was something else.

Uncle99 · Jan 9, 2022

When ammonia spiked and went to zero, your initial cycle is complete.
I doubt ammonia killed the fish, nor nitrite at low levels.
You don’t post nitrate, but if extremely high, maybe contributory.

theMeat · Jan 9, 2022

When nitrites fall to zero the cycle is complete. Nitrite at plus 5 ppm can be a major stress and above 5 starts to be toxic. I agree the clown likely had other issues

Cell · Jan 9, 2022

theMeat said:
When nitrites fall to zero the cycle is complete. Nitrite at plus 5 ppm can be a major stress and above 5 starts to be toxic. I agree the clown likely had other issues

This is not true in saltwater. Nitrite is non-toxic in saltwater at the levels we see.

Azedenkae · Jan 9, 2022

theMeat said:
When nitrites fall to zero the cycle is complete. Nitrite at plus 5 ppm can be a major stress and above 5 starts to be toxic. I agree the clown likely had other issues

This is incorrect for marine fish.

Nitrite has to be at 25ppm for prolonged periods for there to be potentially long term side effects. It has to be far higher than that to be lethal.

billyocean · Jan 9, 2022

Throw some biospira in there and call it a day.

Sink_or_Swim · Jan 18, 2022

Isla_Nut said:
This is my 1st marine aquarium in 15 years (19 gallon Biocube) & I was so excited. Looks like a LOT has changed over the years b/ca we knew about buying bottled bac, but didn't know you could buy bottled ammonia & cycle without a fish. Long story short we've been cycling with a skunk clown & it seemed to be going really well. Ammonia finally spiked & went down to 0, Nitrites spiked, Nitrates growing slowly & started to see some spots of brown algae so we got a couple of tiny Hawaiian hermits. Then all of the sudden the Nitrites went to 5ppm (maybe higher, that's as high as my test shows) so we started doing daily water changes, but it wasn't coming down. Clown seemed strong, eating & swimming very well. Well, we missed a day of water changes & tho it didn't die the next day, it was gone the next (today.)
*So now I'm wondering what to do now. How do I bring the nitrites down & will high nitrites kill my hermit crabs? I was getting ready to get snails to control the algae, but maybe that's a bad idea?? Will not having a fish in the tank stop the tank's cycling?
Thx!!

Sorry about your clown, Skunk clowns are cute little buggers.