Hello, I set my 45 gallon tank up waith 60 lbs live argonite black sand and used imagitarium pacific water. I have a remora aquac protien skimmer and a 70 gallon aquaclear filter with biomax, carbon and foam and 2 circulators. Day 2 purchase 5 large live rocks. Day 3 nitrite rose to .25 and ammonia an almost unmeasurable amount. Levels dropped to 0 day 4 and 5. I went to a small local saltwater store and explained my plans for the tank. I had wanted to get a few crabs but she insisted that I could get my clowns so I did. Day 7 amonnia is .50 and nitrate is .25( very unhappy fish). I did a 10% water change and used a ammonia neutralizer. Next day ammonia and nitrate the same. Added stress coat fish look better but ammonia is now 1.0 and nitrite 5 and nitrate is .25 at day 9. Just so you know I did do my research and questioned her but thought because she owner a store she would know what she was talking about. What should I do now? Thanks, Carrie
Misguided by Saltwater Store Owner
- Thread starter Carrie75
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kschweer
Moderator
Welcome!! Sorry to hear about the troubles. I would get those clowns out asap. If you have a friend with a tank maybe they can hold them for you until your tank properly cycles. Best of luck!
+1 I agree. Your tank hasn't cycled completely and adding ammonia remover actually slows the process. Find a temporary home for the clowns, even back to the lfs you bought them from will do if no other way is available.
mcarroll
10K Club member
Ideally return the fish to the store where you bought them.
An uncycled qt tank is only an improvement because it has new water in it. Not a good option imo.
Using ammonia remover is actually an ok option, but it's not a magic bullet. Likewise for water changes. And your cycle will probably be longer.
Get a Seachem Ammonia Alert so you can see when there's a change in ammonia levels vs having to run a drip test every few hours.
Either do a water change or add some ammonia remover when ammonia is detected.
An uncycled qt tank is only an improvement because it has new water in it. Not a good option imo.
Using ammonia remover is actually an ok option, but it's not a magic bullet. Likewise for water changes. And your cycle will probably be longer.
Get a Seachem Ammonia Alert so you can see when there's a change in ammonia levels vs having to run a drip test every few hours.
Either do a water change or add some ammonia remover when ammonia is detected.
Last edited:
mcarroll
10K Club member
If you have a friend with a tank, that's great news!
Steal about a half a cup to a cup of their sand and add to your tank. It will shorten the cycle time by close to one hundred percent. I would not even bother moving the fish (which will be even more stressful because it will ultimately amount to two more catches and two more moves) if you can do this.
4FordFamily
Tang, Angel, and Wrasse Nerd!
mcarroll
10K Club member
I guess for the record - since I think the thread title is projecting - I think you both kinda messed up.
They could have been right that your tank was ready to some degree....your tank did complete a cycle. It was just a very small cycle. The bio-load you introduced should have been commensurately small. But a pair of clowns is not small...too easy for a newbie to overfeed or get any of several husbandry basics wrong with that choice and....r.i.p. I can imagine some other suggestions that may have worked out fine tho. What you had in mind would have been fine, for example.
You had the right idea in mind, you just have to trust your own gut and research more.
That store owner is not alone - there are plenty of folks in this hobby who will be ready to tell you the right thing to do. In fact, that may be all of us!!
But at the end of the day, it's your tank and you have to decide the course it takes.
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