My 15 gallons of the ocean!

[Ben's Pico Reefing]

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Good luck with your new fish friends and acclimating them, looking fwd to seeing them in their new home!

Thank you all!!!

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Today is the day!! I am on the way to the store!!!

 

[Ben's Pico Reefing]

Today is the day!! I am on the way to the store!!!

The exciting part

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

This is a pretty sad update.

I went to the fish store, and I had them test my water, and they said I couldn't get fish because my nitrites were high, which they were around 5ppm, but I thought they didn't matter? They said my tank was to unstable and to just do 20% water changes until it comes down, but won't that just manually take them away and won't it do anything?

 

[jabberwock]

This is a pretty sad update.

I went to the fish store, and I had them test my water, and they said I couldn't get fish because my nitrites were high, which they were around 5ppm, but I thought they didn't matter? They said my tank was to unstable and to just do 20% water changes until it comes down, but won't that just manually take them away and won't it do anything?

I don't think it is sad. Buying fish before your tank was ready and them dying would have been sad. I am pretty amazed that the LFS did not sell you everything you wanted. They typically push the sale rather than holding back. Good for them, and good for you too. Nothing in this hobby happens fast.

Nitrites is a sign that you still have some ammonia being processed, and or the bacteria in the tank are SLOWLY processing the Nitrite into Nitrate. I would go to 2 different LFS and buy a small piece of wet live rock from each. This will add diversity to your bacterial population. That should speed things up.

I know it is a blow, but sincerely, Happy Birthday.

 

[jabberwock]

A small water change couldn't hurt, but not critical.

 

[Lavey29]

I don't think it is sad. Buying fish before your tank was ready and them dying would have been sad. I am pretty amazed that the LFS did not sell you everything you wanted. They typically push the sale rather than holding back. Good for them, and good for you too. Nothing in this hobby happens fast.

Nitrites is a sign that you still have some ammonia being processed, and or the bacteria in the tank are SLOWLY processing the Nitrite into Nitrate. I would go to 2 different LFS and buy a small piece of wet live rock from each. This will add diversity to your bacterial population. That should speed things up.

I know it is a blow, but sincerely, Happy Birthday.

Nitrites are irrelevant in reef aquaria. Dangerous to freshwater but essentially meaningless to salt water if you show no ammonia and measurable nitrates numbers. But you are correct, a new tank may still be developing its nitrifying bacteria so the cycle may be operating slowly at first which means ammonia would be present and that is the concern for fish not nitrites.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Nitrites are irrelevant in reef aquaria. Dangerous to freshwater but essentially meaningless to salt water if you show no ammonia and measurable nitrates numbers. But you are correct, a new tank may still be developing its nitrifying bacteria so the cycle may be operating slowly at first which means ammonia would be present and that is the concern for fish not nitrites.

The fish store said I have 5ppm nitrates, as well as 5ppm nitrites.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

I don't think it is sad. Buying fish before your tank was ready and them dying would have been sad. I am pretty amazed that the LFS did not sell you everything you wanted. They typically push the sale rather than holding back. Good for them, and good for you too. Nothing in this hobby happens fast.

Nitrites is a sign that you still have some ammonia being processed, and or the bacteria in the tank are SLOWLY processing the Nitrite into Nitrate. I would go to 2 different LFS and buy a small piece of wet live rock from each. This will add diversity to your bacterial population. That should speed things up.

I know it is a blow, but sincerely, Happy Birthday.

I am going to a store that has live rock from their fully cycled aquarium, to get some small pieces.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

I don't think it is sad. Buying fish before your tank was ready and them dying would have been sad. I am pretty amazed that the LFS did not sell you everything you wanted. They typically push the sale rather than holding back. Good for them, and good for you too. Nothing in this hobby happens fast.

Nitrites is a sign that you still have some ammonia being processed, and or the bacteria in the tank are SLOWLY processing the Nitrite into Nitrate. I would go to 2 different LFS and buy a small piece of wet live rock from each. This will add diversity to your bacterial population. That should speed things up.

I know it is a blow, but sincerely, Happy Birthday.

And yes, while I know that it is not really sad, I was just really disappointed because I thought I was going to be able to get fish today, and I have been looking forward to this for what feels like for ever.

I am happy that my fish store focuses more on the wellbeing of their fish rather than sales. I would be devastated to put in fish that would later die because of a fault made by me, so that's why I am waiting until my nitrites go all the way down.

 

[Ollie67]

This is a pretty sad update.

I went to the fish store, and I had them test my water, and they said I couldn't get fish because my nitrites were high, which they were around 5ppm, but I thought they didn't matter? They said my tank was to unstable and to just do 20% water changes until it comes down, but won't that just manually take them away and won't it do anything?

That's unfortunate to hear, but unexpected things happen all the time. 5ppm is pretty high for nitrites. This would suggest that your tank is still cycling through and your parameters. My nitrite spiked up above 5ppm on day 4 after my ammonia and stayed above 4-5ppm until day 12. My nitrite gradually dropped to zero on day 19.

Since you have quite a bit of nitrite still in the system, they most likely want you to wait for cycling to do some more work, as you will soon have a nitrate spike to get the nitrite. My nitrate went up to 40+ppm I believe and then dropped to under 5ppm now which is fine. Just wait a few days and you will be ready for some fish! Do you have a test kit? You can try to test levels in 2-3 days.

And just like @jabberwock said, get 2-3 small live rocks you can have in your tank. I have one in my sump/media basket and one in my rockwork. It will help with the cycle.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

That's unfortunate to hear, but unexpected things happen all the time. 5ppm is pretty high for nitrites. This would suggest that your tank is still cycling through and your parameters. My nitrite spiked up above 5ppm on day 4 after my ammonia and stayed above 4-5ppm until day 12. My nitrite gradually dropped to zero on day 19.

Since you have quite a bit of nitrite still in the system, they most likely want you to wait for cycling to do some more work, as you will soon have a nitrate spike to get the nitrite. My nitrate went up to 40+ppm I believe and then dropped to under 5ppm now which is fine. Just wait a few days and you will be ready for some fish! Do you have a test kit? You can try to test levels in 2-3 days.

And just like @jabberwock said, get 2-3 small live rocks you can have in your tank. I have one in my sump/media basket and one in my rockwork. It will help with the cycle.

Yup, I have a test kit, but it's API, so I wanted to go to the fish store to get it tested by real stuff, plus I thought that because I had nitrates, that meant that there was enough beneficial bacteria to break down ammonia to safe nitrates.

 

[Ollie67]

And yes, while I know that it is not really sad, I was just really disappointed because I thought I was going to be able to get fish today, and I have been looking forward to this for what feels like for ever.

I am happy that my fish store focuses more on the wellbeing of their fish rather than sales. I would be devastated to put in fish that would later die because of a fault made by me, so that's why I am waiting until my nitrites go all the way down.

I understand the feeling, but patience is key. Once you get your fish and they're safely in your tank it will feel very rewarding! If your nitrate hits zero, do you think you can get fish during the week or will you wait for the weekend?

And yes, I think it's good that your LFS had you wait. Regarding testing, I brought a water sample to my LFS and they tested it with API LOL. They claimed that it's fine as long as it's in the general ball park... But I would still test with your API kit just to see what's going on. My API kit actually showed zero ammonia and zero nitrite. The day before I was it was 0.25ppm nitrite, so it's somewhat accurate. Just make sure you use the correct number of drops, shake when needed as per instructions, wait the proper time to read, and have good lighting. These things will help you get more better results from the less accurate API kit.

Also regarding water changes, I wouldn't go crazy with it. A water change during cycling, such as a 10-20% change, can help dilute parameters such as ammonia and nitrite if it's super high, but it can also take away other nutrients and bacteria. Since nitrite is at 5ppm, it's not crazy high so I would just be patient for now. If it's still at or above 5 in 2-3 days then you can consider a small water change.

I still haven't done one in my tank yet, I've only taken out a small amount to adjust salinity before I had my ATO. I plan on doing one next week or so though.

 

[Nate Chalk]

You could have picked up some live rock or some rubble from the lfs to kick start ur cycle faster?

 

[jabberwock]

Nitrites are irrelevant in reef aquaria. Dangerous to freshwater but essentially meaningless to salt water if you show no ammonia and measurable nitrates numbers. But you are correct, a new tank may still be developing its nitrifying bacteria so the cycle may be operating slowly at first which means ammonia would be present and that is the concern for fish not nitrites.

Agree. Nitrites are the indicator, nothing more.

 

[lil sumpin]

Yessir get you some LR rubble. I added some about 2 weeks into cycling and within a week I saw pods, a ball anemone and aiptaisia lol. Of course I extracted the pieces that had the most pests but it was great to see the first stages of life appearing in the tank.

 

[ralquist]

Slight bummer, but that’s all good you’re just one day closer to a cycled tank! That’s definitely sounds like a good LFS and one you should stick with! Sending positive birthday vibes your way!

 

[Ollie67]

Yessir get you some LR rubble. I added some about 2 weeks into cycling and within a week I saw pods, a ball anemone and aiptaisia lol. Of course I extracted the pieces that had the most pests but it was great to see the first stages of life appearing in the tank.

Just wondering, what is a good place to get pods from? An LFS? Or online? I've seen some online but many had mixed reviews.

 

[Ollie67]

What day of the cycle/tank is it approximately? @WalkerLoves_TheOcean