New To Marine

[Joshi39]

Hi guys,

Well basically i decded to change from fresh water to salt water becoz i love lionfish!! they jus look so elegant! and i couldnt resist in caring for two!!
So i have set up my 3ft tank with a hole heap of base rock and wat i believe was two pieces of live rock, which i later found out are actually rocks cover in coral and one actually has cunjevoi! which is a surprise as conjevoi prefer tidal areas! but anywho! Im running a 1200lp/hr canister filter (i know its not perfect for a marine tank but the guy at st george aquariums which has been runnning for over 30 yrs said i can get away with it if i keep a minimal amount of fish, which is exactly wat im gonna do).. I waited 4 days before testing my water, which i brought from the aquarium,, the readings are as follows,

Thursday
Ammonia 0.5 - 1
Nitrate 0 - 5.0
Nitrite 0.25
PH 7.8 < a bit low i have read i need to airate the tank some more.

Friday
Ammonia 0.5
Nitrate 5.0 - 10
Nitrite 0.25
PH 7.8

Than i waited till today being sunday
Ammonia 1.0
Nitrate 5.0 - 10
Nitraite 1.0

I have done four water changes since its been set up a week today, but nothing seems to be changing, now could this be because the good bacteria for salt needs the extra air to help it thrive hence the weir filter? or should i jjust wait it out for the levels to drop, i did have a eel in there which i brought on wednesday and it escaped and died on friday while i was at work =(, but i have now decided on waiting out the cycle before i buy any other fish...

Anyone got any idea on why the levels are not dropping?

 

[seffieuk]

Hi guys,



Well basically i decded to change from fresh water to salt water becoz i love lionfish!! they jus look so elegant! and i couldnt resist in caring for two!!
So i have set up my 3ft tank

I assume you mean dwarf species as a 3ft tank is not large enough for anything else?

with a hole heap of base rock and wat i believe was two pieces of live rock, which i later found out are actually rocks cover in coral and one actually has cunjevoi! which is a surprise as conjevoi prefer tidal areas!

ok, what sort of rock is it, as it might never become live?

but anywho! Im running a 1200lp/hr canister filter (i know its not perfect for a marine tank but the guy at st george aquariums which has been runnning for over 30 yrs said i can get away with it if i keep a minimal amount of fish, which is exactly wat im gonna do)

On the salty side of this hobby you rarely 'get away' with anything! Lion fish are messy and require the best of filtration


.. I waited 4 days before testing my water, which i brought from the aquarium,, the readings are as follows,

Thursday
Ammonia 0.5 - 1
Nitrate 0 - 5.0
Nitrite 0.25
PH 7.8 < a bit low i have read i need to airate the tank some more.

Friday
Ammonia 0.5
Nitrate 5.0 - 10
Nitrite 0.25
PH 7.8

Than i waited till today being sunday
Ammonia 1.0
Nitrate 5.0 - 10
Nitraite 1.0

I have done four water changes since its been set up a week today,

You shouldnt have done any water changes

but nothing seems to be changing, now could this be because the good bacteria for salt needs the extra air to help it thrive hence the weir filter? or should i jjust wait it out for the levels to drop,

You need powerheads in your tank, have you got any?

i did have a eel in there which i brought on wednesday and it escaped and died on friday while i was at work =(, but i have now decided on waiting out the cycle before i buy any other fish...

Why did you put an eel in your tank when the tank has not cycled yet - were you told to do this by the lfs - we haven't cycled with fish for a long time

Anyone got any idea on why the levels are not dropping?

Can you tell us how much live rock you put in your tank?
How much base rock?
Do you have any live media in the filter?
Do you have any powerheads?
Stop doing water changes
What test kits are you using?
What temp are you running at?
What SG are you running at?

Apologies for so many questions, but we need the answers to help you - and one more thing, please remember that we are here because we love our hobby, some lfs are in the game to make money

It's lovely to have you onboard and look forward to seeing your tank develop - everything on the salty side takes time and patience

Seffie x

 

[Joshi39]

Thank you for the reply,

Yes im getting two of the dwarf family

it is base rock but was dried for a while, so i sorta know it may never become alive, i have 10 kilos of the base rock and 3 kilo of live rock, which are covered in a few differen corals, but the guy said he wouldn charge me for them.. which was good,

i have read on more than one website and spoken to alot of people and they say a daily 25% water change while cycling the tank is

currently i do not have a powerhead, i keep forgetting to get it off my mate, he is giving me one he doesnt use anymore

We being who? not to be rude! How will ammonia be present in the tank if there is no waste or bi product from a living organism? how will the good bacteria thrive?

Do you have any live media in the filter?

Filter was started from scratch again

Do you have any powerheads?

getting one tomorrow off a mate

Stop doing water changes

Will do

What test kits are you using?

API Saltwater Master Test Kit

What temp are you running at?

26 degrees c

What SG are you running at?

im only new to salt, what is this?
if you meant salinity?? its 1.025

 

[seffieuk]

Thank you for the reply,

Yes im getting two of the dwarf family

Lovely, which ones?

it is base rock but was dried for a while, so i sorta know it may never become alive, i have 10 kilos of the base rock and 3 kilo of live rock, which are covered in a few differen corals, but the guy said he wouldn charge me for them.. which was good,

I would buy some more live rock asap

i have read on more than one website and spoken to alot of people and they say a daily 25% water change while cycling the tank is

you would do a water change on uncured live rock, because it smells soooo bad you do not do a water change on a cycling tank with anything other than uncured live rock

currently i do not have a powerhead, i keep forgetting to get it off my mate, he is giving me one he doesnt use anymore

Glad to read you are getting one soon but your really need two - one for either end. You need to be aiming for at least x 20 flow, you also need surface agitation

We being who? not to be rude!

I use the Royal We!! that is the reefers on here, sorry, you will get ussed to my daft ways

How will ammonia be present in the tank if there is no waste or bi product from a living organism? how will the good bacteria thrive?

You have die off from the small ammount of live rock you have

Do you have any live media in the filter?

Filter was started from scratch again

You really do need some more live rock

Do you have any powerheads?

getting one tomorrow off a mate

What sort is it and how much flow?

Stop doing water changes

Will do



What test kits are you using?

API Saltwater Master Test Kit

They can be unreliable - you might want to check at the end with your lfs

What temp are you running at?

26 degrees c

I like to run a bit warmer than that, my tank runs at 28c

What SG are you running at?

im only new to salt, what is this?

Specific Gravity - how much salt is present in your tank
if you meant salinity?? its 1.025

That is fine if you are not going to have corals?

What lighting do you have?

Seffie x

 

[Joshi39]

Well my lfs doesnt know which ones they can get, but when they come in ill know what type they are....
I got the powerhead today, its a aqua one 1200 litres per hour. the air stone is agitating the water and so is the filter o0utlet.. im planning on gettin some more live rock but not to much more... the lightin is a twin tube, cnt rmemeber what globes r in it though, they are for marine and fresh water though.. i thought API was a good brand?? so why wouldnt the test kit be accurate?

cheers