I'm in BIG trouble

[Frosflame]

Hi guys,

Just started my 2 ft cube but already running into problems. Appreciate any advise and help.

Day 1 : Filled the tank with freshwater and substrate and canister filter running. Added anti chlorine.

Day 2 : Mixed in Coralife salt to an SG of 1.025-26. Skimmer installed and running.

Day 3 : Added in my half dead/half life rocks from previous tank (2 years ago). At this point tank still clear.

Day 4 : Added in 2 snails, a hermit crab and 1 anthea. The Anthea died within 4 hours. Started to panic and thought SG too high. Made a big mistake, removed a pail of salt water and mixed in a pail of fresh water from the tap with anti chlorine/chorimine without leaving it overnight, intention was to bring SG down. Water within half an hour became extremely white and cloudy, cant even see the rocks. Snails LS behaved strangely. immediately removed them. Now I don't know what to do.

Please advise?

[olezontie]

You are going to get flamed for not reading up first.

http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=5300

Do proper cycling before adding life stock, unless you are expert reefers.

[Just me]

bro, you are supposed to do a proper cycling first before adding any life stock in.

the water cloudly, may be due to you pouring water in and thus the sand particles and some of the rocks dirt or small pieces got stirred up. should clear out soon, i hope.

My advice, waitout first, test the water again, add a piece of raw dead prawn to kick start the cycling & finished the cycling before attempting to put the life stock in. hope it helps.

[andylee]

Bro,

u made a major mistake by introducing livestock in by Day 4.

Another mistake is to mix in a pail of freshwater to bring down SG without first properly removing impurities from FW.

And if u added in rocks from previous tank 2yrs ago, they shld be dead by now if nothing is done to keep them alive. Cure the liverocks properly first.

Let the water cycle for at least 1 more week then test the water parameters again.

[zephyros]

for life sake ... get test kit test ur ANN

[ozy]

Hi,

You probably should do some research first.

If you want, I can roughly go over the cycling process with you.

[Dazza]

Please read proper cycling procedures lah. I understand its hard to keep the urge to add fishes in suppressed till tank is fully cycled. Patience will ensure u enjoy the hobby for a looonnng time. Happy reefing.

[Frosflame]

Thanks to all bros who replied.

Firstly, I know it's my fault for not reading enuff and in the process failed to cycle the tank properly. A pink anthea died as a result. However, I managed to save the snails and the hermit as I had some aged seawater on standby.

1)However, what should I do to the tank now? Should I change water using NSW bought from the aquarium? If so, how much?

2)Are my life rocks dead after this episode? Cos I saw worms floating around and even a crab died. The rocks are currenly about 40% covered with coraline only.

The whiteness of the water doesn't seem to go away, It's so bad you guys won't believe it. It's like 25% milk mixed with 75% freshwater. Can't even see the rocks in the middle. I don't think it's a case of sediments being thrown up.

It's a sad day...

[Frosflame]

Hi,

You probably should do some research first.

If you want, I can roughly go over the cycling process with you.

Thanks bro for your kind offer. From wat I read, I should have waited 10 days for the saltmix to be ready b4 adding LR. Then another 10 days of running the tank without lights. Meanwhile, a piece of market prawn can be added to aid cycling. After 20 days, lighting can be switched on but in shorter duration to prevent algae booms. After about a month, LS can then be added gradually. Is that right?

However, now that I have added the LR on the 3rd day, what should I do to remedy the screw up. There's like a tank full of LR and it's going to be very tedious to remove them. Can I simply change water or just waitout now?

Thanks in advance.

[Maxstar81]

Day 3 : Added in my half dead/half life rocks from previous tank (2 years ago). At this point tank still clear.

U have previous reefing experience !?

Started to panic and thought SG too high. Made a big mistake, removed a pail of salt water and mixed in a pail of fresh water from the tap with anti chlorine/chorimine without leaving it overnight, intention was to bring SG down.

Did U check salinity b4 removing salt water & replacing fresh water?

IMO, please read about water cycling & do be patient.

Hope U have a better exp next time round.

Cheers!

[ozy]

Can you tell us what skimmer are you using?

The sympton you describe sounds like you have a bacteria boom in your tank.

Does the water smell?

Actually, I would suggest you change all the water (some may beg to differ). I prefer a total new reset. Just let the water run with skimmer on to aerate the water. (another controversial matter). If you can, get some test kits and monitor the ammonia, nitrite peak. If not, just wait for 6-8 weeks, you water should be safe provided there are no milkiness during the period. At the end of the cycle, change another 50% to dilute the nitrate in the water and you are ready to stock SLOWLY.

The rocks are not dead (not all dead yet). The amount of bacteria activities on/in the live rocks are not determined by the coraline algae on them.

[hammy]

it is vital to understand the level of nitrogeneous waste product rise and fall during the first few weeks. 3 important reliable test kits must be employ to measure ammonia , nitrite and nitrate

monitor the water quality and do not introduce any fish until ammonia and nitrite level have been zero for several days .

ammonia : As you put in your half dead/ live live rock, decomposition processes begin, ammonia is formed and this build up to a peak before declining

nitrite : the second phase , the oxidation of ammonia to nitrite, soon follows, also peak and then steadily fall away.

nitrate: as soon as ammonia and nitrite are formed , further bacteria continue the oxidation process to produce the less harmful nitrate.

process takes about 1 months - 2 months .

in my opinion, since the ammonia stage has already begun , there is no need to change water and wait patiently for the cycling processes to complete . aome claimed skimmer is not necessary , however i susggest u on your skimmer and have a powerhead to circulate your water .

mixed your water to a specific gravity of 1.021- 1.025 ( temp dependent) using at least a swing arm hydrometer.

just siphon the worms out if they are dead .

[andylee]

Bro,

We can sit down and talk when we meet up.

[Just me]

bro, what i will do if i were you, is to remove all the water and start again. spend some money and strength and buy some salt water from LFS to avoid further trouble.

[Just me]

and also, spend some kopi money on andylee, since he so nice to meet you to talk to you about it. he will be of great help.

[mUAr_cHEe]

First of all, I want to clarify and state that I am not doing this for any recognition of any sort.

Firstly, I know it's my fault for not reading enuff and in the process failed to cycle the tank properly.

Glad that you know, so please do not repeat the same mistake again.

A pink anthea died as a result. However, I managed to save the snails and the hermit as I had some aged seawater on standby.

Surprised that it is your fish that died but not your inverts. Usually inverts are more sensative and tend to die first.

1)However, what should I do to the tank now? Should I change water using NSW bought from the aquarium? If so, how much?

No need to do anything. Just leave it be, and let this water cycle. No need to waste water like that. Tell me what you going to do. Take our old water, top up with new water, then put in a market prawn to start the cycling? Why not leave your dead fish in the tank in the first place?

2)Are my life rocks dead after this episode? Cos I saw worms floating around and even a crab died. The rocks are currenly about 40% covered with coraline only.

Even if your rocks are dead, with proper cycling, it will become alive again.

The whiteness of the water doesn't seem to go away, It's so bad you guys won't believe it. It's like 25% milk mixed with 75% freshwater. Can't even see the rocks in the middle. I don't think it's a case of sediments being thrown up.

It is probably sediments thrown up, and they are light-weight, so it might take some time for them to settle down. No worries, I'd usually throw a filter in, and viola! Its cleared overnight.

It's a sad day...

Dude! Its not the end of the world. Your life still sounds better than mine. I spend 15 days travelling here and there far far away. Got home or back in Singapore on Saturday night. Flew off again on Monday afternoon. I am coming back tomorrow, going to spend maybe a week or 2 in Singapore, then I am off again for who knows how long, and got another stupid inauguration ceremony to attend on 9th Jan. Probably to save money, I will be spending my new year away from my family so that I can save on air fare.

I think a bad start to a tank is still tons and way better than time away from your loved ones.

And try typing in proper english, when I have been using rottern english for the past 2 years in this forum. Its very stressful.

[mUAr_cHEe]

Thanks bro for your kind offer. From wat I read, I should have waited 10 days for the saltmix to be ready b4 adding LR. Then another 10 days of running the tank without lights. Meanwhile, a piece of market prawn can be added to aid cycling. After 20 days, lighting can be switched on but in shorter duration to prevent algae booms. After about a month, LS can then be added gradually. Is that right?

However, now that I have added the LR on the 3rd day, what should I do to remedy the screw up. There's like a tank full of LR and it's going to be very tedious to remove them. Can I simply change water or just waitout now?

NONSENSE!

Just put water, salt, sand, rocks in all the same time. No need to wait here and there.

And the prawn too.

Referring to my previous post, there is no need for you to do that, just maintain your water and let it cycle for at least a month. Personally, I will cycle about half a year. It is a proven method for me to have lesser chance of algae bloom.

No need to on lights also when cycling. Rocks do not need light to live. Do not bother about coralline algae too. It is too over-hyped. Nothing special or good when you got coralline algae. It is just a sign that your water is stable. To me, coralline algae is a pest, sucks up all my calcium unnecessarily. Make me waste money buy Kalk and Calcium reactor to satisfy its needs.

[Frosflame]

Thanks for all your input, when I got home today, the murkiness has reduced considerably. I left my skimmer (weipro 2011) on and there was a humongous amount of skimmate collected. The water doesn't exactly smell but it has this subtle weird scent. Due to the fact that the tank is in my bedroom, I have decided to change half the tank water with NSW. This time, I will leave it for about a month before I do anything. Thanks all once again for your input.

[Just me]

sorry you had a bad start. hope this time round will be better. Good luck, bro.

[zarkon]

Thanks for all your input, when I got home today, the murkiness has reduced considerably. I left my skimmer (weipro 2011) on and there was a humongous amount of skimmate collected. The water doesn't exactly smell but it has this subtle weird scent. Due to the fact that the tank is in my bedroom, I have decided to change half the tank water with NSW. This time, I will leave it for about a month before I do anything. Thanks all once again for your input.

Bro, buy some test kit. Test the water before adding any LS.

Anyway best of luck.

[andylee]

Hmm.. from what i understand bro.. it's better not to run ur skimmer while cycling is in process..

u need the ann spikes to kick-start the cycle and skimmer only slows down the cycling process..

[Frosflame]

Hmm.. from what i understand bro.. it's better not to run ur skimmer while cycling is in process..

u need the ann spikes to kick-start the cycle and skimmer only slows down the cycling process..

With the amount of dead stuff in the tank, I think there's more than enough ammonia in the tank. Maybe I'll run it till the water clears out, then off the skimmer and add in more LR and leave it to cycle. Thanks for the tip

[zephyros]

bros, juz remember

this hobby is not for the one whom is not patience

[Maxstar81]

Frosflame,

U wanna know whats a really funky smell.

Smell your tank after an anemone dies in it.

WOO HOO !!!

zephyros,

I agree man....

Lost $$$ due to my impatience in starting

my own tank. Newbies tend to be rather

excited lah. Anyway, everythings seems stable

for now....

[andylee]

When anemone dies.. the smell fills the whole house..