So I might've made a mistake.. 40 Gallon W Clownfish

[soarer209]

Ive been going to a LFS and over time i finally gave in and started a saltwater tank on Feb 8 Thursday i Added My 40 gallon, premixed saltwater, Live rock and Live sand from my LFS. Put it my heater and wave makers and two hob filters one was given to me by my neighbor with media and purigen in a filter bag already in it. The next day i added dr tims one and only like the fish store said too and let it sit for a few days then add a fish or two. So i did just that. My water is at 32ppm and 1.024 salinity. The ph is 8.2 im currently waiting for my ammonia and nitrate and nitrite testing kits to come in the mail this week. I got the sailfert brand. Upon doing more research i believe i shouldve waited longer to add fish and wait for my nitrogen cycle to pass but they said adding the pair would help kick start the cycle. What should i do now to continue to keep these beautiful fish alive? How often should i change/clean the water?

my build post w pictures https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/40-gallon-clownfish-tank.1035449/

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Welcome to Reef2Reef, and you're learning a valuable lesson to take what your LFS says with a grain of salt (some give good advice, but many others give really bad advice).

That said, hopefully others will chime in for you here, but having used Dr. Tim's and presumably actually live rock (i.e. rock that has soaked long enough to have nitrifying bacteria on it), your tank likely is cycled. Personally, I'd probably make sure you've got good aeration in the tank and add a bunch more of the Dr. Tim's bacteria to be safe, then make sure the tank is processing ammonia once you get your test kit.

 

[soarer209]

Welcome to Reef2Reef, and you're learning a valuable lesson to take what your LFS says with a grain of salt (some give good advice, but many others give really bad advice).

That said, hopefully others will chime in for you here, but having used Dr. Tim's and presumably actually live rock (i.e. rock that has soaked long enough to have nitrifying bacteria on it), your tank likely is cycled. Personally, I'd probably make sure you've got good aeration in the tank and add a bunch more of the Dr. Tim's bacteria to be safe, then make sure the tank is processing ammonia once you get your test kit.

Most defiantly! My neighbor has given me some good advice i believe. So adding more dr tims wont hurt anything ya? And is there anything else i can add to the tank to help with removing ammonia and nitrites? i have some purigen in my filter but anything else you guys recommend would be appreciated !

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

So adding more dr tims wont hurt anything ya? And is there anything else i can add to the tank to help with removing ammonia and nitrites?

Adding more shouldn't hurt (it should just help convert the ammonia to nitrite), and nitrites aren't harmful in saltwater (just fresh), so there's no need to worry about them.

As long as your tank is cycled and you have some rocks for the nitrifying bacteria to colonize, you should be fine without adding anything else. Water changes and your standard filtration should be enough (you can fine tune the filtration to keep nitrate and phosphate in check once you get your test kits).

Also, to give you some peace of mind with the ammonia while you wait:

How toxic is ammonia, really?

In the context of trying to understand why so many people believe Seachem Prime was useful for them in an elevated ammonia situation, against the data in the link below about Prime potentially doing nothing to free ammonia in seawater, the question arises, why...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[soarer209]

Adding more shouldn't hurt (it should just help convert the ammonia to nitrite), and nitrites aren't harmful in saltwater (just fresh), so there's no need to worry about them.

As long as your tank is cycled and you have some rocks for the nitrifying bacteria to colonize, you should be fine without adding anything else. Water changes and your standard filtration should be enough (you can fine tune the filtration to keep nitrate and phosphate in check once you get your test kits).

Also, to give you some peace of mind with the ammonia while you wait:

How toxic is ammonia, really?

In the context of trying to understand why so many people believe Seachem Prime was useful for them in an elevated ammonia situation, against the data in the link below about Prime potentially doing nothing to free ammonia in seawater, the question arises, why...

www.reef2reef.com

Thank you i have no idea nitrites werent that harmful in saltwater.. how often do i water change? just depends on nitrate and phosphate?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Thank you i have no idea nitrites werent that harmful in saltwater.. how often do i water change? just depends on nitrate and phosphate?

Some people do it that way; I think most do it on a schedule (like 10% or so weekly).

Randy Holmes-Farley has written quite a bit about Nitrites in reef tanks, but here are some relevant quotes:

No. Nitrite at 1 ppm is not toxic.

In a not fully cycled system, nitrite might possible get high enough to be an issue and I wouldn't put in fish at 10+ ppm nitrite. The lowest tox level I've seen reported for rapid toxicity of nitrite to fish >100 ppm. The 10 ppm gives a protective buffer.

Nitrite and the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

 

[soarer209]

Some people do it that way; I think most do it on a schedule (like 10% or so weekly).

Randy Holmes-Farley has written quite a bit about Nitrites in reef tanks, but here are some relevant quotes:

should i start a schedule now or wait and make sure my cycle is fully complete?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Ive been going to a LFS and over time i finally gave in and started a saltwater tank on Feb 8 Thursday i Added My 40 gallon, premixed saltwater, Live rock and Live sand from my LFS. Put it my heater and wave makers and two hob filters one was given to me by my neighbor with media and purigen in a filter bag already in it. The next day i added dr tims one and only like the fish store said too and let it sit for a few days then add a fish or two. So i did just that. My water is at 32ppm and 1.024 salinity. The ph is 8.2 im currently waiting for my ammonia and nitrate and nitrite testing kits to come in the mail this week. I got the sailfert brand. Upon doing more research i believe i shouldve waited longer to add fish and wait for my nitrogen cycle to pass but they said adding the pair would help kick start the cycle. What should i do now to continue to keep these beautiful fish alive? How often should i change/clean the water?

my build post w pictures https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/40-gallon-clownfish-tank.1035449/

Typically. you want to add ammonia chloride. Then add your denitrifying bacteria. When the ammonia rises then falls and holds a steady reading of Zero for at least 5 days and nitrate rises and falls and holds at 20 or below- you are cycled.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

should i start a schedule now or wait and make sure my cycle is fully complete?

Personally, I'd probably do a water change now, then add more bacteria, then worry about getting on a proper schedule for water changes after you've gotten your test kits and can measure your parameters.

 

[tritonpower]

you could always run to petco and grab a suction to the glass ammonia checker. quick answer

 

[soarer209]

Personally, I'd probably do a water change now, then add more bacteria, then worry about getting on a proper schedule for water changes after you've gotten your test kits and can measure your parameters.

okay ill do one tomorrow maybe 10%?

 

[soarer209]

you could always run to petco and grab a suction to the glass ammonia checker. quick answer

i got one in there but wasnt too sure if it was accurate it stays yellow in the safe zone

 

[soarer209]

Typically. you want to add ammonia chloride. Then add your denitrifying bacteria. When the ammonia rises then falls and holds a steady reading of Zero for at least 5 days and nitrate rises and falls and holds at 20 or below- you are cycled.

okay it was at 20 today when i tested nitrate should i test it again in a few days or tomorrow?

 

[Macbalacano]

I think you should be ok, especially with a 40-gallon. I don't think it would hurt in your situation to put in more bottled bacteria.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

okay ill do one tomorrow maybe 10%?

10% should be fine - you can do more or a larger one later if you think it's necessary to get your parameters in line.

 

[vetteguy53081]

okay it was at 20 today when i tested nitrate should i test it again in a few days or tomorrow?

Check again in 24-48 hrs

 

[soarer209]

okay ill check again in 48 hours and ill go buy more of dr tims to put in this weekend or sooner. On a good note my clownfish are acting normal and seem healthy..

 

[vetteguy53081]

okay ill check again in 48 hours and ill go buy more of dr tims to put in this weekend or sooner. On a good note my clownfish are acting normal and seem healthy..

Dr Tim’s or micro bacter XLM very good

 

[soarer209]

Dr Tim’s or micro bacter XLM very good

thank you brother! ive been using dr tims so far. You think i should add any coral to help with filtering the water or no?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Most will suggest to hold off on coral for a few months until the tank stabilizes. Corals are not easy, and require research and preparation in advance for success. (and they don't filter water, not in the way that we consider "filtering" to mean cleaning the water)